Skill saw

[Markc]

Thanks everyone. Much appreciated.

[Razor]

Whilst I remember one amazing point in the Festools favour is that they were doing a scheme where if it gets stolen whilst in warranty, (3 years) you could pay £100 for a new replacement. Would be worth anyone whose interested checking if they still do it. They was around 5 months ago when I bought my extractor

[fin]

festool had that scheme when i got all my stuff good few years back.

as for the blades. ripping a door for example if i put a brand new festool 48t blade in and tried to rip a oak door it would struggle (this is in one pass) it would leave burn marks etc etc. put in a lesser tooth count blade and it flies through. can be just say a 28t blade.

same craic for worktops. i was on a job a while back and the kitchen fitter was complaining about his cutting oak worktops with his 48t blade. next job i done cutting oak worktops i got a lesser count blade and it absolutely flew through. again 28t blade and again all the blades were new.

its deffo worth having a selection of different blades anyway to get the most out of the machines

[Job and Knock]

I've done this job wit both a Festool TS55 and a Makita DSP600 cordless on tracks. For chipboard core or plywood core doors I generally use a 48 tooth blade - proper all wood doors cutbegter with a 28 tooth blade. That said I have cut doors with my mickey mouse Makita DHS680 165mm brushless cordless saw, a batten and a couple of clamps on quite a few occasions. A bit slower than using a track saw, but do you really need to make that sort of expenditure for the few doors you will do? I'd say the main thing is to have a decent blade with the right number of teeth for the job and a saw with enough power.

As a joiner I personally can't see much advantage in having an undercut saw - they are expensive, you need to finish the cut off with a pull saw and you can't neaten the edge by running a block plane over it whilst the door is still hanging (I like to finish my bottom edges with a 1 to 2mm chamfer especially if it is veneeted and the csrpet is thick) - I just take the door off and plonk it on a couple of (folding) trestles to do my cuts and trimming. Hell, I even use a planer on the odd occasion.

[oz0707]

And i remember the days of measuring 2mm less, straight edge stanley, scoring, then cutting at right size with straightedge and circle saw. (as i'm sure anyone over 30 does)

[Job and Knock]

To the OP - if you do decide to go with a professional saw there is nothing wrong with the Makita SP6000. It lacks some of the fit and finish of the Festool (TS55) or Mafell (MT55cc), together with a couple of features (like the quick blade lock/release of the Festool or the quick blade change of the MT55cc), but it is 95% of either IMHO. I was/am a long term TS55 user, but in the last couple of years I've used my cordless Makita DSP600 (effectively a cordless SP6000) for many days, in fact a lot more often than the corded Fedtool. OK, the dust extraction isn't quite as good (but it ain't bad), it isn't as nicely finished as a Festool, it has a clunkier blade change mechanism, etc ' but it works and it works well. It also has a nifty feature (also found on the corded model) which allows you to make a scribing cut on veneered boards before making a main cut - reduces splintering of the surface veneers. The downside, of course, is that it will bust your budget. SP6000 saws are currently running at about £270 with another £50 for a guide rail

[Razor]

Or the Bosch is good for a budget buy. 90% the performance of a Mafell but just over half the price

I went for the Mafell mostly because it makes almost no dust with the proper extractor and I'm expecting it to last forever


Or until it gets nicked.............