Is the CS Precisio a decent table saw??

[adrtree]

Anyone have any experience with the Precisio CS50 or 70??? I have been comparing and here in Norway the Bosch and Dewalt are almost as much as the Festool CS50?? Any known issues or problems?? It is by far the most portable and I like all the features but how durable is it?? I need a new table saw for the purpose of renovating my own houses so I'm not a pro user. I searched it on the net and can't find too much info on it.
Thanks,

 

[ajones]

Hi

If you are working on your own house/s why the need to be so transportable ? will it need to be loaded into a van every night ? why not invest in a cheaper heavier saw

 

[AlexThePalex]

I have a CS70 and all I can say is that it's a great saw. No complaints whatsoever. If you have specific questions, feel free to ask.

 

[Festool fan from norway]

Hi
I got the CS 70 and i love it, but you need to buy a new stopper CS 70 LA, the one that comes with the saw is useless.

 

[bellchippy]

I have the 70 model and love it, best best portable saw I've ever had, it's by far the best site saw available.

 

[skinee]

i bought the cs50 last year on the spur of the moment,it being a shop demo model and the price reduced,i could not reccommend it,there are design flaws that should have been so obvious,for instance with the side table extension,the fence would not move between it and the main saw table without snagging,i sought the advice of another uk member  who had posted here on the saw,he had the same problem, i ended up having to modify the mechanism by filing the v-shaped slider,how does such an obvious fault ever get to the production stage?,beats me!,i also dont like the on/off switch/pull handle arrangement,i find it a little awkward but this is only my opinion,unfortunately for me the 30 day return wasn't available at that time or i would have returned it,i use the saw and am planning to mobilise it with a sysport type cart in the next few months but if i with the benefit of hindsight and knowing the quality of their tools from owning some, i should have bought the mafell erika saw,check it out,someday i hope to have one.

 

[Kev]

I've played briefly with the 70. I really couldn't imagine cutting a large panel on it.

Cost here in Oz is high. I haven't run out and purchased one and will be thinking long and hard on it.

If space wasn't an issue for me - something more solid and beefy would be a certainty.

I'd probably be more inclined to go CMS. At least you get some flexibility.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I got the CS 70 and i love it, but you need to buy a new stopper CS 70 LA, the one that comes with the saw is useless.

No idea what you expect of it then, but I completely disagree. I mostly use the standard fence that comes with the basic saw and I find it a very practical and good fence. It has positive stops for quite a number of angles and they're all dead on. You can mount it on all 4 sides of the table and extend it in various ways. The CS 70 LA you point to is for working with the table extension. If you don't have the side table extension, there's little need to get the CS 70 LA fence.

I've played briefly with the 70. I really couldn't imagine cutting a large panel on it.

It is not a panel saw nor a sliding table saw. So no, it is not made for sawing panels. Nevertheless, it is possible if the need should arise, I do it all the time on my CS70 Set with all the extensions installed. Yes, you have to put a little bit of effort in it, but it does work. Basically it is only the first cut that's a bit tricky, but from there on you work with smaller pieces that the CS70 Set can handle just fine. Take note that I am talking about the SET version, with the BASIC version you can, of course, forget it.
 

 

[adrtree]

Hi

If you are working on your own house/s why the need to be so transportable ? will it need to be loaded into a van every night ? why not invest in a cheaper heavier saw

The table saw has to be stored away and then setup in different spots on the current house I'm doing and who knows how it will be with the next home on work space. In Norway interior space is at a premium and forget about garage space unless you buy a much more expensive house than mine. Even if you do have garage space none of the garages here are attached.
I would like to work outside or in the garage but considering the ground here stays wet and snow in the winter it makes it a problem going in and out tracking muck through the house.

But all things considered Kev I looked at cheaper saws and none of them were even close to straight other than the Bosch and Dewalt. The Bosch has a cheesy fence . The Dewalt is 8000 Kr without the stand and the Bosch is 6900 Kr. The Festool 50 is about 9800KR and then the 70 is 11,500 KR. There are only about 6 or 7 different choices in saw brands here in my area. Not quite like the US.
In the US I would buy a cheaper saw.
The Dewalt or  Hitachi are much cheaper products in America but here in Norway they are almost as high in price as Hilti or Festool on many products. In America the Dewalt table saw is around $450/2600KR with stand. Here it is 10,000KR/$1600.00 with stand.
And before anyone says "Why don't you ship one?" 110V US  220V Norway.
I do believe the Bosch or Dewalt are worth 400-500 but definately not 1600.
Sorry Its a bit long winded. Decisions are complicated for pre frontals like me  [blink]

 

[itsmehc]

SORRY IN NORWEGIAN............................

Ja 70 saga er bra den men, dyr i norge. Kjøpte min fra England for noen år siden, jeg har ikke angret et secund siden.
Eneste jeg vi si er gå for CS 70 EB modellen siden den kan du justere motorhastighet med.

Jeg bruker vel sagen til alt mulig fra parkett til aluminium, ikke med samme bladet sef.

Hva skal du bruke saga til?

Makita + Bosch osv har vel litt større kappehøyde, men dette har ikke vært noen problem hittil. CS 70 sager fint 48mm på 45 grader for trekantlekter.

 

[Guy Ashley]

SORRY IN NORWEGIAN............................

Ja 70 saga er bra den men, dyr i norge. Kjøpte min fra England for noen år siden, jeg har ikke angret et secund siden.
Eneste jeg vi si er gå for CS 70 EB modellen siden den kan du justere motorhastighet med.

Jeg bruker vel sagen til alt mulig fra parkett til aluminium, ikke med samme bladet sef.

Hva skal du bruke saga til?

Makita + Bosch osv har vel litt større kappehøyde, men dette har ikke vært noen problem hittil. CS 70 sager fint 48mm på 45 grader for trekantlekter.

Google translation seems a bit hit and miss on Norweigan but here is what it comes up with

"Yes 70 saga is well on men, animals in Norway. Bought my from England some years ago, I have not regretted the Secunda site.
All I say is go for the CS 70 EB model since it can adjust the motor speed.

I use both the saw to everything from wood to aluminum, not with the same blade SEF.

What do you use the thing for?

Makita + Bosch, etc. have a bit more cutting height, but this has not been any problem so far. CS 70 saws nice 48mm at 45 degrees triangle barge."

Hope that helps [eek]

 

[itsmehc]

OK the Google translator did almost good job at translating, just want to fix the first line.

IS WELL ON MEN this is wrong....................

------Yes 70 saga is well on men, animals in Norway. Bought my from England some years ago, I have not regretted the Secunda site.------

Yeah the 70 model is great but it is expensive in Norway. Bought my from England some years ago, I have not regretted that a second.

 

[jakiiski]

Do a comparison also on Mafell Erika, at least one person from www.kotiverstas.com got the Mafell, it made him apparently wonder a lot of the design decisions with Festool CS-saws.

 

[fezza]

I've got the CS 70 Set, its a fantastic saw, although i find it a bit cumbersome as a site saw. Its too expensive to leave on some sites, so packing it away every night is a bit of a pain. I wish they would of thought of some sort of trolley like the Kapex, and have the side tables that hinged, as it is now, the side tables are a bit naff the way they fix, could deffo be improved. Too much stuff to carry, most times if i'm ripping lengths, i grab the Metabo.

 

[windmill man]

I have the CS50, like it a lot, it does have a niggle with the fence crossover between tables but apart from that I am pleased with it. It is a light weigh table meant for lighter trim work. It is no where near as heavy duty as the CS70. Very portable and easy to set up and put in the van every night.

John

 

[fritter63]

Hi

If you are working on your own house/s why the need to be so transportable ? will it need to be loaded into a van every night ? why not invest in a cheaper heavier saw

So, I don't have any input on the CS products (as I'm on the wrong side of the pond), but I'd like to address this general comment/attitude, which I think is a little misguided.

As I've mentioned before, I'm not a professional cabinetmaker, I'm a hobbyist, although a pretty serious one. I've built practically every piece of furniture we have, and I've also built four of my guitars. I certainly DO NOT have a need to be portable *most* of the time.

However, on occasion it is nice to take the saw to the work area, even on my own property, or when I'm helping build sets for the local school drama productions.

But aside from that, I don't think it's fair to assume that the hobbyist or woodworker doesn't need to be mobile.

For me, I'm on my fourth house as far as ownership goes. I'm willing to bet that I have spent more time building my shops than I have actually building furniture over the last 20+ years. To the point that I'm tired of it. At my last house I "wired" the entire basement shop for compressed air with multiple valves, outlets, etc. Now, heck I'll just drag a 100 foot hose around to where I need it. Basically, I'm tired of building infrastructure which just gets sold or torn down when we move.

Maybe I represent the new reality - we need to be more mobile, since we can't count on staying in the same place for 30 years like our parents did.

Now, the centerpiece of my shop is a Delta Unisaw with sliding table attachment, and full sized (50" capacity) Incra fence system. It's awesome. I got it so that I could handle large panels as well as small stuff with thousands of an inch adjustability. But it took 6 of use to get it into the basement of the house I was living in at the time. It caused me nothing but grief taking up space in the moving van when we relocated to California, and it doesn't help much sitting out in my unheated barn when it's 30 degrees outside and I don't feel like being out there.

So if there is a product that can give me quality cuts, and portability as well so if we move I can take it easily, I'm there. And I'd take that over a huge saw any day.

Now if only Festool would sell it here....

 

[Kev]

Hi

If you are working on your own house/s why the need to be so transportable ? will it need to be loaded into a van every night ? why not invest in a cheaper heavier saw

So, I don't have any input on the CS products (as I'm on the wrong side of the pond), but I'd like to address this general comment/attitude, which I think is a little misguided.

As I've mentioned before, I'm not a professional cabinetmaker, I'm a hobbyist, although a pretty serious one. I've built practically every piece of furniture we have, and I've also built four of my guitars. I certainly DO NOT have a need to be portable *most* of the time.

However, on occasion it is nice to take the saw to the work area, even on my own property, or when I'm helping build sets for the local school drama productions.

But aside from that, I don't think it's fair to assume that the hobbyist or woodworker doesn't need to be mobile.

For me, I'm on my fourth house as far as ownership goes. I'm willing to bet that I have spent more time building my shops than I have actually building furniture over the last 20+ years. To the point that I'm tired of it. At my last house I "wired" the entire basement shop for compressed air with multiple valves, outlets, etc. Now, heck I'll just drag a 100 foot hose around to where I need it. Basically, I'm tired of building infrastructure which just gets sold or torn down when we move.

Maybe I represent the new reality - we need to be more mobile, since we can't count on staying in the same place for 30 years like our parents did.

Now, the centerpiece of my shop is a Delta Unisaw with sliding table attachment, and full sized (50" capacity) Incra fence system. It's awesome. I got it so that I could handle large panels as well as small stuff with thousands of an inch adjustability. But it took 6 of use to get it into the basement of the house I was living in at the time. It caused me nothing but grief taking up space in the moving van when we relocated to California, and it doesn't help much sitting out in my unheated barn when it's 30 degrees outside and I don't feel like being out there.

So if there is a product that can give me quality cuts, and portability as well so if we move I can take it easily, I'm there. And I'd take that over a huge saw any day.

Now if only Festool would sell it here....

Well put - I agree with all of your points.

Lifecycle cost and benefit is the real consideration.

Cheap doesn't alway equal bargain and big doesn't always mean better.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Hi

If you are working on your own house/s why the need to be so transportable ? will it need to be loaded into a van every night ? why not invest in a cheaper heavier saw

.........

However, on occasion it is nice to take the saw to the work area, even on my own property, or when I'm helping build sets for the local school drama productions.

But aside from that, I don't think it's fair to assume that the hobbyist or woodworker doesn't need to be mobile.

I'm a hobbyist and I definitely need my saw to be mobile. I live in a house that's bigger than the average house here but I still have no shop space so if I want to saw something I have to set it up in the backyard. And pack it up again when I'm finished. And as an added bonus it is great to be able to bring the saw with me when I'm helping out friends and family with their houses.
 

 

[MadViking]

I bought a CS 70 about 6 months ago, and I'm very happy with it. The only bad thing I can say about it is the fact that there isn't a dedicated transport system with wheels. There are some sort of tiny plastic wheels available, but these are for moving it indoors. The CS 70 weighs quite a bit, and I'm not a very big guy. It would be awesome if there was something similar to what Bosch has for their GTS 10, or the transport system available for the Kapex (aka Kapex UG). Btw if you already hae the Kapex you will have great use of the UG side stands since they fit on the CS 70 as well. Great if you want to rip long pieces, I use these often. I also wouldn't recommend the CS 70 for sawing panels, use the TS 55 and rails for that.