Looking to purchase a cordless Plungesaw with rails etc

narrowed the choice down to 2…

Dewalt 54v – comes with 2 rails, connector 2 batteries etc for £598 inc vat

or

Festool 36v – when specced with above comes to around £700 inc vat

any real world experience of the above ?

Advantage of the Dewalt is I can use the 54v batteries on my other dewalt X-R kit ( but not vice versa)

Festool has 3 year guarantee with theft replacement ( £100 excess) , which in current climate seems pretty worthwhile .

Im not fussed about having different battery platforms .

so basically is the Festool £100 better than the Dewalt ?

I’d be going with the Dewalt, heard nothing but good things about their 54V setups so far.

Devils advocate – why cordless?  Anytime I use my plunge saw, I want it connected to the dust extractor, which doesn’t exactly make it cordless.

Pick one with a riving knife, they have a nasty habit of climbing out if you are not careful.

Need to be able to use it anywhere really. Quite often on sites with no power

the Dewalt does not come with a chip bag , but the festool does, but I have a cordless extractor so not a problem .

95% of my kit is cordless , just so much easier than dragging cables round too

Fair enough, I’m always domestic doing kitchens and bathrooms so power cable not a problem.

i had the original dewalt corded one and swapped to the TS55 which I find much better.  No idea on the cordless stuff though.

I have an old dewalt corded one, for what my comment is worth, and its a great bit of kit but I don’t think the quality is as good as my Makita stuff.

I use the corded Festool most days and would never hesitate to recommend. It’s small, lightweight easy to handle. It’s accurate (it’ll cut through a sheet of 18mm ply without marking the board beneath), has very good extraction (corded means the extractor starts up when the saw does, no need to be switching on/off), and the silicone edge on the rails means lining up is easy and accurate, not to mention lack of tear-out. The motor will limit itself if I over-work it, then come back when it’s cooled. The quick-change system for the blade is also very useful.

Can you visit a dealer and get your hands on each?

I’ve got the dewalt 54v circular saw with precision base and guide rails . ( non plunge )

I cannot recommend it enough , unbelievable power and very well made .

Never used the festool so no opinion on that .

im currently buying more 54v . You would not be disappointed!

In the STW time honoured tradition of introducing a third option when theres a choice of 2….

Makita and Dewalt have both made their saws compatible with Festool’s rail… and I think thats a shame as the other player in the plunge saw game is Mafell. And their rail knocks the spots off the festool one. I think Festool’s rail really lets them down. The only problem is Mafell is even more spendy than Festool. But if you’re using a tool often enough to justify festool money its hard not to justify a bit more for something better still.

The point of all that waffle though is…. Bosch make a Mafell compatible saw. Except its more than compatible – its pretty much the same saw, made in the same factory but its cheaper than a Mafell – and its cheaper than a Festool too. The only fly in the ointment is that just now is Bosch haven’t yet put out a cordless version but it can only be a matter of time. But if I wasn’t in a hurry to buy I’d be trying to find out if a release was reasonably imminent.

Need to be able to use it anywhere really. Quite often on sites with no power

Quite sensible. One of the limitations with fancy-pants plunge saws is theres quite bit of electronic jiggery-pokery going on inside with motors that are load sensitive and very the power to maintain the blade speed. They don’t like running off a site generator (in fact the just don’t run) they’ll only behave if theres a proper sine-wave power supply either from mains of from those fancy little inverter generators.

EDIT – the little Mafell KS range of saws in cordless flavour would be well worth a look if you’re mostly working on site – tiny saws, really cleverly worked out and with loads more oomph than you’d expect. They’re more of a site tool and less of a bench/furniture making tool that the TS55 and equivalents are aimed at.

The rail rolls up and and theres a crosscutting system that cuts the need to carry a chop saw in most instances. Saw, rail and cross-cutting system all fit in one tool box. They are fricking genius!

Cheers maccruiskeen

Did some research on those Mafell KS saws, and that led me to changing plans a bit and getting the Festool HKC55 Li instead. Comes with a similar rail to the Mafell job to do cross cuts.  Should save dragging the mitre saw out on occasion. Got the 1400 standard rails too for nice rip cuts. Also bought a 42 tooth blade to go with it for when a neater cut is required . Appears you can plunge cut with it too. Hopefully be a good Jack of all trades

 and getting the Festool HKC55 Li instead.

I’d forgotten about those.

If the rails you got don’t come with the little bar clamps – Makita’s rail clamps are compatible and cheaper and better. More often than not you don’t need them mind.