I've read on this forum that the Makita track is identical to the Festool track and can be used with my TS 55 REQ track saw. I have the opportunity to purchase a 2700 mm Makita track for less than $200. Has anyone used a Makita track with a Festool saw ?
Makita track versus Festool Track
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Tayler_mann
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I have a makita track saw with tracks and a TS55. The saws fit both tracks but buyer beware the the Makita tracks are garbage. The track had a convex shape and rocks side to side. I called it into makita and they said it is part of the "extrusion process". If I wanted to I could pay shipping to get it back to them and they could look at it and pay shipping back to me but it was a three month delay. The festool sticker price is worth the penny.
mrboult
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Also the blue tape (non friction) on top of the rails is really hard and over time will wear groves into the saw base!! See this happen to both makita and festool saw used on the makita tracks.
And I've heard that some of festools rail accessories don't fit. I know the clamps do for though.
And I've heard that some of festools rail accessories don't fit. I know the clamps do for though.
Tayler_mann
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Also the splinter guard on the makita is awful. It's extremely soft and you end up cutting it away from the blade after 20 uses or so and it no longer works. My track is also bowed and has a 32" arc in it so straight line cuts are not possible. This is true of both my 55 and 110 track.
blaszcsj
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glass1 said:
I will second the fact that the tracks I had were quality tracks. I have had both long and short. I only sold off my makita stuff because as my festool stuff has grown so have my accessories and several of them are not compatible with the makita rails. I had no issue of grooving from the plastic slides on my old makita saw.
I will agree with the other post that the softer strip was slightly annoying. It moved around due to the softer glue used as well. Especially in the sun. And it was a pain in the ass to clean off and replace. I will also have to say that the long festool rail was much better packaged during shipping.
I think it just depends on what you want to use it for. If it is just for the saw and you don't care about using the end stops then get the makita rail. If you want to use accessories get the festool.
Michael1960
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Another owner of both Festool and Makita tracks. Some Festool owners report difficulty joining and aligning Festool tracks. The Makita tracks are very easy to join - just butt them up and tighten the joiners and your ready to go. I have not joined my Festool tracks.
GregBradley
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I have Makita and Festool saws and tracks. Pretty much use them interchangeably.
I prefer the Makita Anti-Splinter as the Festool Clear one dries out in the low SoCal humidity and pulls itself off the track and into a curve.
Bear in mind, Makita tools are some of the most heavily counterfeited tools on the planet. Makita has tools made in China, then the suppliers copy them, the employees steal the plans and copy the copies, etc. etc.
Buy Makita only from legit sources or you will get crap!
I prefer the Makita Anti-Splinter as the Festool Clear one dries out in the low SoCal humidity and pulls itself off the track and into a curve.
Bear in mind, Makita tools are some of the most heavily counterfeited tools on the planet. Makita has tools made in China, then the suppliers copy them, the employees steal the plans and copy the copies, etc. etc.
Buy Makita only from legit sources or you will get crap!
Papajoe
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hopper said:
IM ALSO SHOPPING FOR ANOTHER TRACK SAW. THE PRICE IS 70% HIGHER FOR FESTOOL TS 55; TRACK AND 118" RAIL IS $975 FESTOOL, AND $570 MAKITA/118". i think festool makes good tools in general, but there are good alternatives that exist. the track saw seems to be 1. the wood whisperer recently replaced his Kapex with a Bosch glide. he also stating the kapex is better, but not by much, and he can do everything he needs with the bosch. the Kapex cost $1475.00 vs the Bosch 12" glide was $390, this labor day sale.
Papajoe said:
I looked up this CPO Outlets place. And based on the prices I saw, there is NO F-ing way I would ever buy Festool if I could get quality Makita tools for these low prices. Track saw $280. 55" rail $73. Combo saw track $409. Funny you are gouged when you buy both as a kit. Reconditioned saw $250. Rail connectors $21. No 10 foot rail listed. I would not be surprised if Makita and DeWalt steal Festool's lunch and kick them in the butt too. The Festool TS55 saw is $590 bare. $690 with 55" rail. $690 Festool compared to $353 Makita. Very close to DOUBLE the price. Is the Festool saw TWICE as good? I doubt it. I own the TS55 and rails. Good saw. But if I could have bought the Makita for HALF the price, I would have. Unlike a lot of people, I do not intentionally try to spend more than I need too.
I have a ton of festool rails up to 8 ft and I have several makita tracks up to their 118 rail and I love them all. I do not have makita saws. So I use my festool saws on the makita and festool track, interchangeably. I set up my saws so that I can use all the rails interchangeably with any of the saws.I use the 118 to break down plywood, which I lovre. I also prefer the makita edge guide material. I have placed it on all of my festool tracks. The only concern I have is with shipping. I have had bent festool track due to shipping abuse. The Makita shipped the long rail in a wood box, where the festool long rail was shipped in cardboard box. I would suggest that you should check any aluminum extrusion right out of the box. They may leave the factory straight but get bent bent in shipping.
RussellS said:
Completely different markets for all three companies. Your logic implies there is no market for any luxury (or higher priced) items if a cheaper alternative is available. Real world examples exist: cars, watches, phones, computers, stereo equipment. In the woodworking area beside motorized tools some examples: planes, blades, drill bits, chisels, router bits, etc. I will always spend extra to get the longest life out of them and to be able resharpen these items. Freshly out of the box the cheap versions are not as good as high quality ones and are certainly not worth resharpening.
There is a lot more to making a purchase besides price, unless price is the only factor you consider. **Note that this is not an attack on those who don't have the means to purchase high end items.**
Makita and Dewalt make good tools but they won't be cutting into Festool's or other high end tool makers sales.
JimH2 said:
Makita is going to steal Festool's business for saws with pricing like this. Half price, for comparable quality. Unless you buy Festool because the green color matches your eyes. When you buy a Ferrari or Porsche you get a look. Look is important with cars. And you get a 685 HP motor capable of taking you 0 to 60 in 2.0 seconds. You get something when you spend 10 to 50 times the price of a Camry. When you buy a Rolex or Audemars Piquet, you get looks and solid gold or diamonds. Its jewelry. And you get a Swiss chronograph capable of keeping exact time to .001 second per century. With the higher priced phones you get a bigger screen, more memory, better camera with two lenses. With computers you get the Intel i7 processor and 1 TB SSD. Instead of a ten year old AMD processor and 125 MB hard drive and dial up modem with no camera. You get something when you spend $5000 on a computer instead of $500. With stereos you get bigger amplifiers, speakers that have clearer sound. You get something when you spend more. Sound quality. I have Magnepan and Polk speakers. Spending money on speakers gets you quality sound.
With Festool track saws you spend DOUBLE the price of the Makita saw and you get the exact same performance, functionality. Imagine pick up trucks. I presume a few of the people here own one. Ford, GM, Fiat, all sell more or less identical pick up trucks. Similar motors and luxury conveniences in the cab. They ALL have 8 and 6.5 foot beds. That is how similar trucks are. They all use the exact same bed length. Why doesn't one make an 8.5 foot bed then it can boast it can haul longer lumber? And all pick ups cost the same too for comparable trucks. $20,000 to $80,000. Imagine how Ford sales would be if they doubled the price on their truck? Or GM cut its price in half? They would either lose or steal all the sales. People love their truck for imagined reasons. But when the time comes to write the check, that imagined love will disappear. If Festool keeps its price DOUBLE of Makita for the same quality, they will lose all track saw sales quickly. Except for the people who think the lime green tool color is prettiest.
Well when the trim crews kapex crapped out on site I was on after 3 months(came on when plugged into a ct and only turned off when unplugged-scary), the lead guy promptly sold it after Festool fixed it. Guess what he replaced it with? The makita ls1019l. He used mine and was blown away. Hey Festool why cannot you match the power and performance of your routers with your saws. I mean every saw is underpowered period yet every router is a class leader in power. Please no koolaid comments the saws are underpowered save for the tsc.
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