Mafell Kss 40 18m?

[jarbroen]

Thanks for the tips.  I wasn't sure if I'd want the finer blade or the 12 tooth, or both.
The one place I could see the 40t coming in handy is interior trim.  I have a lot of tall base to install in my house.  If the 24t doesn't leave a good enough edge I'll get the 40t(it's a spendy sucker).

 

[RKA]

Nice, congrats!  Post up a review when you get into your projects.  I'm sure many would love to hear your impressions as you put it to work.

You might be okay with the stock blade if you flip over the trim and cut from the back side.  See how it goes.

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

The 24 tooth blade a is a great all-rounder blade, and as [member=21249]RKA[/member] points out, if you cut your millwork face-down you shouldn't have to worry about tear-out. The 40 tooth blade is nice for melamines, laminates, and other really hard, brittle, abrasive materials.

I've trimmed out whole additions and basements with my KSS-300/40, it just takes a little creativity for certain cuts. You'll find that you can even cut crown moulding on the flat, handy for those cramped job sites or big crown that's a hassle to get to a miter saw...

 

[jarbroen]

KSS 40 arrived yesterday.  The home quarantine has damped my enthusiasm a bit, but it's still fun to get tools.
One good/bad I wasn't expecting is the '99' battery instead of the '94'.  Good because more power, bad because I can't leave the battery in the saw when I put it in the systainer.  I tried closing, but it flexes the saw on the rail even with the saw as far down as possible.
The 99 batteries are also fairly heavy.  I'm sure in the long run I'll appreciate more capacity though.  Especially if I add more Mafell or Metabo cordless to my kit.

It's pretty cool how much kit they can fit in a sys4.  I can see this sucker getting whipped out often.  Nice that it comes with the parallel guide since the one I have for my MT55 doesn't fit.  Any idea what the two aluminum clip thingies are for?  The manual doesn't have pictures... lol

Now I'm also thinking about getting one of those MW1000 stations and making this my mobile platform.  Either that, or find a much less expensive small, portable table.  I have MFT's, but I don't enjoy lugging those around.

 

[Michael Kellough]

# jarbroen Congrats on the new kit.

I couldn’t get the lid closed on mine either but several people responded to my complaint saying that it was possible to close the lid. They were right.

A few points, first make sure the saw is plunged to maximum depth.
Make sure the rail is all the way in (how it fits in the foam insert.
Make sure the saw is all the way down the rail.
Push the front of the Systainer in as you close the lid (the Flexirail pushes it out so the lid doesn’t mesh)

It will take a little pressure to get the lid shut because the soft foam block under the lid hasn’t been compressed yet.

 

[jarbroen]

Thanks for the pointers.  I'll give it a whirl again - I was just worried about flexing the rail. 
I think it's about time I go hide out in my shop with the music up really loud and play with tools. [big grin]

 

[HowardH]

I have the DDF40, P1cc and just got the MT55cc Wednesday.  Jeff at Timberwolf told me I should have no trouble cutting through 8/4 walnut in one pass.  I'm going to test that this weekend.  Love my Festool but this is definitely a step up.  I can't think of anything else I need from them as a hobbyist but one never knows. 

 

[Naildrivingman]

I have the KSS40 complete kit.

I’ve done pretty much everything in residential construction over the last 30 years. While I haven’t done every task (yet) with the 40, I’m pretty sure I could frame and finish an entire house if I had enough blades and batteries

The only task I couldn’t do would be hip roof framing where comp/miter cuts on 2x material would be required. Of course I could try double sided cuts or single sided finished with a quality handsaw.

Even considering the lack of full comp/miter cuts in 2x, I can find no fault with this little powerhouse.

 

[Kodi Crescent]

I got the KSS 40 18m and the MT55 18m recently.  I haven't used them yet.  I went through the same battery and saw size struggles.  Timberwolf has a blog article and a graph regarding preferences for the smallest blade size necessary to do a job.

The MT55 depth of cut overlaps with the KSS 50 and almost to the KSS 60.  Get the angle attachment for the rail and I suspect you'd have something akin to the larger saws.  Plus, after the beginning of the year the batteries for the KSS 40 are now sufficient for the MT55 18M, so no battery duplication necessary.

And the KSS 40 with the battery attached will fit in the systainer with the lid closed.

As far as "buy once cry once", yes, Mafell is more expensive.  But in the end it should end up less expensive since you aren't nickel-dimed to death buying accessories to overcome shortcomings.  I'm considering selling most of my Festool items because of this.

 

[Lincoln]

Absolutely no reason why you can't have both - Mafell and Festool. They both have their strengths - Mafell with saws, Festool with Domino and routers.
I actually did sell off a heap of Festool when I got into Mafell, but now have a balance of both. Recently bought a DF500 and just yesterday bought a Sys-Roll.

 

[MrToolJunkie]

Absolutely no reason why you can't have both - Mafell and Festool. They both have their strengths - Mafell with saws, Festool with Domino and routers.
I actually did sell off a heap of Festool when I got into Mafell, but now have a balance of both. Recently bought a DF500 and just yesterday bought a Sys-Roll.

Agree...they complement each other and both make awesome tools, IMHO. I am so far happy with all my purchases form both companies. It is nice to have accessibility to great tools. Mafell is making more of a presence in NA, but it is still a very small company and not much market penetration.

 

[jarbroen]

I definitely plan on having a mixed Mafell/Festool environment.
I just purchased a MW 1000 to complement my KSS 40.

I wasn't thrilled with the rail connection for Festool and I was really disappointed with the Carvex.  Otherwise, I've been super impressed with Festool routers, Domino, tables, accessories.  Don't plan on selling any more of my Festool.
And I'm really happy with my Mafell rails and saw.  Just used my MT55 yesterday and reminded me how much I appreciate the rail system.  Easy peasy to connect two rails to straight edge 4x8' sheet of ply.  No muss, no fuss.  And the saw cuts square without needing to fiddle with the bevel(something my TS55 struggled with).