Post by Tom Gensmer on Mar 29, 2014 22:24:28 GMT -5
So, I believe that I have seen photos of saws where the user machined a groove in the saw plate so that the saw is compatible with various track systems (Mafell, Festool, EurekaZone, etc.....).
Where my mind is going to, is for many of us it is a pretty tough pill to swallow to spend $3,000+ on some of the larger Mafell timber saws if we will only use them a handful of times. Or, our (my) ultimate goal is to acquire one of the larger Mafell saws (MKS 130 anybody??), but in the near term there are several other Mafell tools that are higher on the priority list (Erika 85, P1cc), but opportunities still pop up where a larger, track-guided timber saw would be handy.
Specifically, I'm looking at the Makita 5104 10.25" saw, or possibly the Makita 5402NA. Of course, I imagine they don't come close to their Mafell equivalents. That being said, I wonder if, as "starter" saws, they would still be serviceable if I took the saw to a machine shop and had them very precisely route a groove to match my F-tracks, perhaps off-setting the blade by, say, 1mm or so?
I am WELL aware that adapting traditional framing saws to track use is rife with problems, principally they lack the appropriate "saw-to-base" stiffness required for good quality cuts (it's easy to twist the saw blade relative to the track), particularly when making shallow cuts. That being said, if I were to use the 5104 for processing 4x material it would be primarily at maximum depth, so there should be a reasonable degree of stability.
Anyways, I just wanted to spitball this idea, and see if you guys had any input? Again, my intention here would be to acquire a Makita 5104, have a professional machinist modify the base to work on the F-tracks, and use the saw to help generate enough revenue that I can justify paying for the "Real Thing" (MKS 130), making only 0 degree bevel cuts with the Makita on the F-tracks.
www.timberwolftools.com/tools/makita/M-5104.html
Where my mind is going to, is for many of us it is a pretty tough pill to swallow to spend $3,000+ on some of the larger Mafell timber saws if we will only use them a handful of times. Or, our (my) ultimate goal is to acquire one of the larger Mafell saws (MKS 130 anybody??), but in the near term there are several other Mafell tools that are higher on the priority list (Erika 85, P1cc), but opportunities still pop up where a larger, track-guided timber saw would be handy.
Specifically, I'm looking at the Makita 5104 10.25" saw, or possibly the Makita 5402NA. Of course, I imagine they don't come close to their Mafell equivalents. That being said, I wonder if, as "starter" saws, they would still be serviceable if I took the saw to a machine shop and had them very precisely route a groove to match my F-tracks, perhaps off-setting the blade by, say, 1mm or so?
I am WELL aware that adapting traditional framing saws to track use is rife with problems, principally they lack the appropriate "saw-to-base" stiffness required for good quality cuts (it's easy to twist the saw blade relative to the track), particularly when making shallow cuts. That being said, if I were to use the 5104 for processing 4x material it would be primarily at maximum depth, so there should be a reasonable degree of stability.
Anyways, I just wanted to spitball this idea, and see if you guys had any input? Again, my intention here would be to acquire a Makita 5104, have a professional machinist modify the base to work on the F-tracks, and use the saw to help generate enough revenue that I can justify paying for the "Real Thing" (MKS 130), making only 0 degree bevel cuts with the Makita on the F-tracks.
www.timberwolftools.com/tools/makita/M-5104.html