Festool TS 60 vs Mafell MT55cc

[Cheese]

I am looking at carpentry saws for a couple reasons. I am doing some remodeling in our house. To keep the dust out I take a bunch of measurements, go to the shop and make a bunch of cuts on the Kapex before going back inside to install. An HKC55 or KSS would save a bunch of trips for some of the smaller jobs and help avoid when I cut something a mm or 2 long. Second I build and install cabinets for others. Often times I need a few miter cuts during the installs.  Would be nice not to avoid return trips to the shop for these cuts.

That monkey motion of going in...going out...going in...going out...makes me nauseous. It's the same stuff I presently deal with going up...going down...ad nauseam.

The HKC works well for 2x materials...no problem there. It's a good dust collector using just the bag and it's just an all around innocuous saw.  [big grin]  It just does its job without any drama.

For the thicker stuff, I'd recommend the HKC 85 if it was available in the US, I'd certainly consider that because of its enhanced depth cutting abilities. The other saw that has grabbed my intention lately is the Mafell KSS 80. There are so many good things about that saw.

Right now for thicker applications, I'm using a Milwaukee 8-1/4" worm gear drive saw that doesn't know what a track saw rail is and will absolutely not be bullied by a strong arm. I can strong-arm the Festool and the Mafell 55 offerings but the Milwaukee will not be bullied at all. It has a diamond blade on it now and will cut 2" thick bluestone slabs all day long...dry. It's one of those saws that you'd send to NY for a knife fight in an alley and you'd know what the outcome would be before hand. [smile]

 

[SoonerFan]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] if I had to guess today I would guess I end up with an HKC55 for a few reasons:

1. Works with tracks I already own and can order with a track length I want
2. Price compared to Mafell
3. Cordless and I don’t own a cordless saw today
4. Seems to be an all around handy saw and for me would be a “trip eliminator”

Thanks for the additional input

 

[squall_line]

For the thicker stuff, I'd recommend the HKC 85 if it was available in the US, I'd certainly consider that because of its enhanced depth cutting abilities. The other saw that has grabbed my intention lately is the Mafell KSS 80. There are so many good things about that saw.

One of the few things that kept me from getting a KSS 80 during the Mafell anniversary sale was the fact that you couldn't get the KSS 80 without the track, and the K85Ec (which is the same top end) has a different base plate that doesn't work with the crosscut rails (well, and the KSS 80 rails are unique to that saw).  If I could have gotten the KSS 80 without the track and gotten the track later when I needed it for a project, I may have gone that route and used it as essentially as a K85 stand-in/replacement for my TS75.

Now, could I have called TW and tried to sweet talk someone into selling the KSS 80 by itself?  Maybe, but it was still a chunk of change more than I really wanted to be spending at the time, and then the sale ran through, so I let it drop.

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] if I had to guess today I would guess I end up with an HKC55 for a few reasons:

1. Works with tracks I already own and can order with a track length I want
2. Price compared to Mafell
3. Cordless and I don’t own a cordless saw today
4. Seems to be an all around handy saw and for me would be a “trip eliminator”

Thanks for the additional input

You'll be quite happy with the HKC, I used it to rip a lot of 8/4 aromatic cedar for sweater drawer liners as the TS 55 I initially started with was burning the cedar. Because of the brushless motor along with the thin kerf blade, the HKC even with a single battery did an admirable job. The Janka hardness of aromatic cedar is in the same range as mahogany, maple & cherry.

 

[simonh]

I've had some Mafell gear including the plunge saw and KSS55? cross cut saw. I'm back on Festool platform now.  There's a few nice things on the Mafell stuff and the older Cuprex motors were always strong.  They're newer battery saws have motors by a third party (Matebo?) and run off the battery alliance stuff.  I just didn't need more platforms and for the few nice features its a much more niche world when it comes to accessories or third party add-ons.

 

[SoonerFan]

4. Seems to be an all around handy saw and for me would be a “trip eliminator”

I really should get the HKC.  I got a notification from Apple Health today that my average flights of stairs climbed has more than doubled.  This coincides with me trimming (casing doors, install base / quarter round, etc) in a bathroom I remodeled.  Not surprised given all the trips up and down to make cuts on my Kapex. 

 

[rst]

I’ve made three sets of steps with treated lumber and an interior set with  my HKC. I have the three different rails that I set to the angles I need to cut. I have other saws I could use but have the saw attached to the rail makes things so much easier

 

[SoonerFan]

I’ve made three sets of steps with treated lumber and an interior set with  my HKC. I have the three different rails that I set to the angles I need to cut. I have other saws I could use but have the saw attached to the rail makes things so much easier

I redid our steps using a Kapex for all the cuts but would have used the HKC for sure if I owned one.