festool vs mafell saw

[peter halle]

While all the negative remarks come from those that don't own Mafell...  [wink].

I don't see any negative comments here unless you consider price and only having one dealer at this point as negative.  Overall the comments have been pretty tame for a comparison or possibly a recommendation for a non-Festool product on a Festool themed forum.

Peter

 

[woodie]

I think it's $330 if you factor in no rail included with the mafell, plus the cost of shipping on the mafell (usually free or local pick up with festool dealers). It was a hard sell for me, but festool had recalled their saws and after a long wait, I sent my TS back.  No regrets, but now I have 2 sets of rails.  If I was buying today, it would be simpler and cheaper to stay in the festool ecosystem.

+1

I agree pricing is a bit steep in the US. Although in Europe and the UK I think they're more competitive.

 

[woodie]

I don't see any negative comments here unless you consider price and only having one dealer at this point as negative.  Overall the comments have been pretty tame for a comparison or possibly a recommendation for a non-Festool product on a Festool themed forum.

Peter

Yeah sorry, I intended that as more of a general statement as this is a topic that's come up a few times here.

 

[TelcoRandy]

It's interesting how all the positive feedback on Mafell comes from those that have owned both Festool and Mafell. While all the negative remarks come from those that don't own Mafell...  [wink].

I have a P1cc, does that count?  [tongue]

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

The P1cc is a marvelous jigsaw with some cool innovations. Blade change is the easiest and fastest of any saw. It almost gives me the feeling that I'm holding a portable bandsaw. It is the best jigsaw made. But, again, it costs $707!

  These German companies (Festool, Mafell, Fein) have it right. They design and build with integrity - setting the standard for excellence while keeping manufacturing within borders.
  Eventhough products made in China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Mexico, etc. are gradually improving, the bottom line is that they are still inferior. (It appears that Hilti is the exception. German engineered, but manufactured in China.)
What most American companies don't get, is that there is still a market for people who will pay for quality, durability, and service.
So for me, whether I'm buying Festool or Mafell almost doesn't matter...I'm buying from companies with concern that the worker have the best tool in his hands that man can make, not neccesarily the most cost effective.
 

 

[Tigers Tigers!]

[thanks] for all the comments guys It really says something when you can have constructive discussion on what is essentially a pro Festool site by nature, and
that we can have valued and interesting comments from everyone so thank you all!.
From what I can see

It's interesting how all the positive feedback on Mafell comes from those that have owned both Festool and Mafell. While all the negative remarks come from those that don't own Mafell...  [wink].

this is true and the most valid of all the comments as the comparison has been trailed by those having or owned both of the track saws, my whole purpose in this discussion was to find out what would best suit my needs
from guys with little or no agender, also due to the cost of theses tools there are few places you could ask (in the UK) these questions and have someone who has used or even know the Mafell brand.
The £ costs involved are high for me and I am not rich so I need my tools to work hard for me like a lot of you guys.
Its interesting to note no UK response and I think that would be because here in the UK Mafell is not pushed to the public and in fact there are not that many stockists', that I would believe is down to the cost of Mafell goods
the comment from tiny shop just about sums it up for me:

There is still a market for people who will pay for quality, durability, and service.
So for me, whether I'm buying Festool or Mafell almost doesn't matter...I'm buying from companies with concern that the worker have the best tool in his hands that man can make, not necessarily the most cost effective.

So I do intended to by lots of Festool tools, but will buy the Mafell MT55cc and aerofix tracks (my dealer says other Festool products will work with this track, but I guess I will have to try that's one out unless any of you guys know better  ???)
so back to the kapex VS Boschgcm12gdl I will check with my dealer on the set up of the kapex and see if I can trail them both but I doubt he will be up for that some how  [huh].
the weight is something of an issue as my last bosch one was a hefty if not very robust lump which did make it a pain to tote around even with the stand also the soft start is on my wish list also.

 

[wrightwoodwork]

I stay in the uk and a have few of the mafell products which I'm extremely happy with. I don't have the mt55 simply because I don't use a laminated sheet good and do more framing and roofs etc so have the kss400. I have used the mt55 and it is a very nice saw especially the scoring function and blade change.   For rails the best combination I personally think is the 1/1600, 1/1100 1/800/1100 then 2 conectors and the angle fence. If you use the angle fence with the 1100 rail you get a cross cut of 1200 then if you join the 1600 with 800 or 1100 you get 2.4 or 2.7. That is what I find I use most. You can get longer but to me it's not nessary as when you join them they automatically straighten. Where abouts do you stay

 

[RKA]

So I do intended to by lots of Festool tools, but will buy the Mafell MT55cc and aerofix tracks (my dealer says other Festool products will work with this track, but I guess I will have to try that's one out unless any of you guys know better  ???)

I don't believe that's true.  The mafell saw plate is designed to run on the mafell/bosch tracks and the festool tracks.  When using the festool track, the saw sits about 2mm higher, so you need to make that adjustment in the depth stop.  Also the bevel function will not have your cut line coinciding with the splinter guard on the festool track because of that height difference.  Festool tools can not ride atop the mafell/bosch track.  The aerofix tracks have the same profiles as the regular track, so it doesn't appear your dealer is correct or maybe you misunderstood what he was saying?

 

[wrightwoodwork]

Festool products will not work on mafell tracks, not unless you come up with a home made solution. The mt55 will work on festool tracks but only really at 90 any angles will not line p with the splinter guard as the the difference in rail thickness. Bosch do a router adapter to work on the rails I haven't seen. I don't know if the router adapter could fit on festool routers or only worked with bosch routers

 

[woodie]

When using the festool track, the saw sits about 2mm higher, so you need to make that adjustment in the depth stop.

It's the other way around actually, the Festool rail is 1mm thinner so the saw would be closer to the workpiece (Festool guide rails 5mm; Mafell guide rails 6mm). Either way you'd have to make an adjustment if depth of cut was critical. Bevels on the Festool rail would be further away from the splinter guard but only by a small amount.

In regards to using Festool on Mafell rails, as RKA and Wright mentioned they are not compatible... however I think one could easily make an adapter that would allow the use of a Festool jigsaw and/or router.  You would just need to make plugs to fit the existing rail slots on Festool's guide rail adapters. Here's a pic that should help illustrate.

[attachimg=#]

In the picture above I was just trying to see if it was possible to get a good fit to Maffel's guide rail. I used a saw blade with a 2.5mm kerf then added Lee Valley's UHMW tape to both sides of the cut to reduce the width and help smooth movement along the rail. The fit is perfect! All I need to do now is cut to width and fit. One drawback to this is that you would need to shim the base of the tool up to compensate for the increased height of the rail and any additional thickness you might have in the plug. The depth of the guide rail adapter for the OF1400 is 7mm so if my block sat perfectly flush to this I would need to shim the base of my router 1mm, compensating for the 6mm guide rail. I like to leave the table widener (493233) attached to my OF1400, which is thicker than the standard base. So if I made my plug taller I could compensate for the added height of the base allowing it to be used with my guide rails.