Makita SP6000
- Thread starter Brent Taylor
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Tayler_mann
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I bought the makita sp6000 for my sign shop to cut up 8 x 4 sheets of material that had been printed on our flatbed . Our printer is accurate to + or - .0001. The Makita tracks both the 55 and the 110" track are about 1/32" from being straight. This is problem one with the saw.
The second problem is the blade is a 6 1/2" with a 20mm arbor and a 40 tooth fine blade. I wanted to cut up 3/4" Baltic birch and I had 50 sheets to cut with 3" of waste on the edge. So I lines them up and drilled them all together with some long legs. First plunge was at full depth and the saw could make one 5' cut in about 1 minute. So I went to look for a 12 tooth rip blade and couldn't find anything. It's rediculous they wouldn't just make it a 5/8" arbor at a 6 1/2" blade or just went metric all together. I'm sure the Festool blades fit but Makita doesn't even make a wide variety of blades which is imho not good business.
Problem three no splinterguard on the right of the saw. Enough said there.
Problem four the saw has no guts. My TS55 blazes theough a piece of 1 7/8" beech like it was butter with the fine tooth blade. If I put the Panther in I can make my Bosch contractor table saw look like a little school girl.
Problem five is the locking cams that tighten on the track are garbage and never stayed till I out nail polish on the threads.
The last and final problem that I have found is the saw costs to much money for what you get period. If anyone is thinking about buying a track saw get a Festool. If you feel they are getting to expensive with the price increase go for the Mafell. I've heard good things about the Bosch but NA doesn't get the cool Tools.
That was my experience with the Makita and everytime I use it makes me glad I bought the Festool for my woodworking business. Other people may have had better experiences than I but mine was not a good one.
The second problem is the blade is a 6 1/2" with a 20mm arbor and a 40 tooth fine blade. I wanted to cut up 3/4" Baltic birch and I had 50 sheets to cut with 3" of waste on the edge. So I lines them up and drilled them all together with some long legs. First plunge was at full depth and the saw could make one 5' cut in about 1 minute. So I went to look for a 12 tooth rip blade and couldn't find anything. It's rediculous they wouldn't just make it a 5/8" arbor at a 6 1/2" blade or just went metric all together. I'm sure the Festool blades fit but Makita doesn't even make a wide variety of blades which is imho not good business.
Problem three no splinterguard on the right of the saw. Enough said there.
Problem four the saw has no guts. My TS55 blazes theough a piece of 1 7/8" beech like it was butter with the fine tooth blade. If I put the Panther in I can make my Bosch contractor table saw look like a little school girl.
Problem five is the locking cams that tighten on the track are garbage and never stayed till I out nail polish on the threads.
The last and final problem that I have found is the saw costs to much money for what you get period. If anyone is thinking about buying a track saw get a Festool. If you feel they are getting to expensive with the price increase go for the Mafell. I've heard good things about the Bosch but NA doesn't get the cool Tools.
That was my experience with the Makita and everytime I use it makes me glad I bought the Festool for my woodworking business. Other people may have had better experiences than I but mine was not a good one.
What a load of bs. I am calling you out. The makita has more power flat out. Yes less blade selection. Really just use the festool 12 tooth blade than. It's compatible. Yes one gets less capacity with the festool blades. I have too much time behind all these saws In my opinion your are just wrong. Most reviews on the web back me up on the cut quality whether or not there is a splinter guard the cut quality of the festool makita and the dewalt are nearly identical. By the way the dewalt has some nice features too like a smooth plunge action. Festool makes great vacuums but let's get real if they are going to say they are professional tools for professionals they better be Much Better. But this conversation would be better done over a couple of beers because in the end who cares really.
copcarcollector
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glass1 said:
[scratch chin]
What the what.. why, and why in the world does this appear to bother you so much?
People have their own experiences, preferences and opinions. THAT is a fact.
Jozsef Kozma
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That is probably correct ,GhostFist said:
but
I purchased my AT 65 after a demo and tryout (was my first festool)
It felt right from the get go
The Makita and Dewalt I had in my hands since then ,never even made me think
about switching
Most of the tools that I purchase ,I have seen it or even tryed it
Festool with their dealers made me a costumer, because I was able to try their
products
There are lots of tools on my wish list ,but I can not pull the trigger without
putting my hands on it
Poor marketing as far as I am concerned
This is what I miss here from some manufacturers
(On a recent trip to Germany a tool dealer told me
to give him a 3-4 day heads up and he will have the tools ready I am
interested in ,for demo and try out )
Tayler_mann
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glass1 said:
You can "call me out" if you would like fine sir, however, the Makita does not perform as well as my TS55. I have both and have used both quite extensively and have concluded that the Makita is cheaper because it is cheaper. Sorry my opinion offended you I just have countless hours of experience in two high production shops and figured my results would good to share.
joiner1970
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Yeah and on every makita rail saw I've ever used the stupid rubber button that sets the score mode has fallen off. Then it keeps setting to scoring mode when you try a normal cut. That's on 3 if not 4 saws I've used.demographic said:
The Makita wins all independent tests, or scores a tie with the Festool. OK, I'm pretending the Mafell doesn't exist with this summary. And I'm ignoring the conclusions where the Makita is considered on par/better, but preference still goes to the Festool due to the plug-it and the 'system' you're buying into with the rails and all (but then of course you're ignoring the price-point).
If we're going to pretend the Kapex stories on the FOG are anecdotal (of which I'm convinced, BTW), then surely we must give the SP6000 the same benefit of doubt. It is simply either on par or better, at a lower price.
Do be aware that the Makita rail clamps are a crime against humanity (*). When I discovered the Besseys - which also fit in MFT-holes, unlike the Makita ones - are actually cheaper, I wept a little. And bought the Bessey clamps. Along with some Bessey quick-clamps, as a matter of fact. (Then my wife wept when she found the invoice)
Also be aware the blade diameter is 165mm. "White labelled" offerings for this size are far and few in between, but what's more, if you do fit a 160mm blade (I've used Festool blades on mine [big grin] for laminated stuff), the scoring function obviously no longer works since the blade drops 2,5mm too short.
(*) I'm actually convinced I've been sold counterfeited copies; they're that bad.
If we're going to pretend the Kapex stories on the FOG are anecdotal (of which I'm convinced, BTW), then surely we must give the SP6000 the same benefit of doubt. It is simply either on par or better, at a lower price.
Do be aware that the Makita rail clamps are a crime against humanity (*). When I discovered the Besseys - which also fit in MFT-holes, unlike the Makita ones - are actually cheaper, I wept a little. And bought the Bessey clamps. Along with some Bessey quick-clamps, as a matter of fact. (Then my wife wept when she found the invoice)
Also be aware the blade diameter is 165mm. "White labelled" offerings for this size are far and few in between, but what's more, if you do fit a 160mm blade (I've used Festool blades on mine [big grin] for laminated stuff), the scoring function obviously no longer works since the blade drops 2,5mm too short.
(*) I'm actually convinced I've been sold counterfeited copies; they're that bad.
blaszcsj
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I think the makita I had for three years before I got my ts55 was great. I cut everything from plywood to solid surface with it and never missed a beat. I mainly switched over because of the plug it, safety, and system approach of the ts. Can't really say anything bad about it.
Rip Van Winkle
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Has anybody had their Makita SP6000 go "Kapex" on them or know someone else whose has? By "go Kapex" I mean has the motor burned out. There are some complaints amongst the Amazon 1 & 2 * reviews that mention motors releasing the unfortunate smoke, but I haven't found mention of it on various forums when I tried looking and it seems like the kind of thing that would have been mentioned if it were a problem.
Jozsef Kozma
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No it does not happen to Japanese tools , they are immune to tool failituresRip Van Winkle said:
If it happens they don't get reported just get fixed and even denied when asked
What a beautiful morning
demographic
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glass1 said:
When I bought my TS55 the Makita was about thirty quid cheaper.
I would have had to pay more than that to get a T-Loc box to go with all the rest of my T-Loc boxes (mostly containing non Festools) and I'm just not interested in old style Systainers so the Systainer style Makita box can go whistle.
I prefer the ts55r to the makita.
Although when setup perfectly with a sharp blade the makita makes a better cut then the festool. The reason for this is that it has a much much harder guidance system, alloy rail groove against alloy base on one side and alloy rail groove against reasonably hard plastic on the other. When its adjusted snugly you can't wiggle it at all. Unfortunately it doesn't stay perfectly set up for long. Like others have said the adjusting screws for the cams (they aren't even cams by the way, just a type of spreading washer) vibrate loose fairly quickly, and the little plastic washers that tighten it to the rail wear out reasonably quickly. Some people might not mind replacing reasonably cheap plastic washers fairly regularly, and adjusting it to the rail every day, but it bugs me.
The 55r has a much stiffer base/tilting assembly, and doesn't bind several times when you try and tilt it to set a bevel.
Festool blades really do stay sharper longer than the makita ones, because the makita has more aggressive blade geometry, which may have something to do with the perception that the makita has far more power. The CLAIMED power difference is only 8%, cutting 42mm thick solid core doors I don't notice that much difference between them, for sure the makita is a bit more powerful, but I don't feel like its enough to matter.
My makita's base is badly grooved by the rails, and its not even, I had to adjust the saw because it wasn't cutting square anymore.
The bevel tip lock is a waste of time. You can't actually use it to cut because it is very loose in its little rail lip. Why would you want to leave your saw beveled on the rail? I take my saws off the rail when I'm not cutting because its easier to move the rail around without the saw on it. If the 55r is beveled I just sit it on its side on the bench.
Maybe in the US where the makita is considerably cheaper than the 55r there is a more compelling argument for buying the makita.
I saw a promotion a few weeks ago for the makita with 2 1400 rails, 2 clamps (rubbish ones) and connectors for a similar price to the 55r with 1 rail. I feel the price difference is small enough and the 55r is that much better that its a no brainer.
However, as with everything, your mileage may vary.
Although when setup perfectly with a sharp blade the makita makes a better cut then the festool. The reason for this is that it has a much much harder guidance system, alloy rail groove against alloy base on one side and alloy rail groove against reasonably hard plastic on the other. When its adjusted snugly you can't wiggle it at all. Unfortunately it doesn't stay perfectly set up for long. Like others have said the adjusting screws for the cams (they aren't even cams by the way, just a type of spreading washer) vibrate loose fairly quickly, and the little plastic washers that tighten it to the rail wear out reasonably quickly. Some people might not mind replacing reasonably cheap plastic washers fairly regularly, and adjusting it to the rail every day, but it bugs me.
The 55r has a much stiffer base/tilting assembly, and doesn't bind several times when you try and tilt it to set a bevel.
Festool blades really do stay sharper longer than the makita ones, because the makita has more aggressive blade geometry, which may have something to do with the perception that the makita has far more power. The CLAIMED power difference is only 8%, cutting 42mm thick solid core doors I don't notice that much difference between them, for sure the makita is a bit more powerful, but I don't feel like its enough to matter.
My makita's base is badly grooved by the rails, and its not even, I had to adjust the saw because it wasn't cutting square anymore.
The bevel tip lock is a waste of time. You can't actually use it to cut because it is very loose in its little rail lip. Why would you want to leave your saw beveled on the rail? I take my saws off the rail when I'm not cutting because its easier to move the rail around without the saw on it. If the 55r is beveled I just sit it on its side on the bench.
Maybe in the US where the makita is considerably cheaper than the 55r there is a more compelling argument for buying the makita.
I saw a promotion a few weeks ago for the makita with 2 1400 rails, 2 clamps (rubbish ones) and connectors for a similar price to the 55r with 1 rail. I feel the price difference is small enough and the 55r is that much better that its a no brainer.
However, as with everything, your mileage may vary.
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