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Post by nucone on Sept 22, 2014 21:11:40 GMT -5
I am contemplating my 2nd Mafell purchase and am trying to decide between the KSS300 and KSS400. My immediate intended use is for installation of strand woven bamboo flooring. This will be used in a house that is occupied so dust collection is important. Splinter free cuts are also important in what I understand is a very difficult material that is prone to splintering. There are quite a few angled walls so the adjustable miter feature is also important. From everything I have read on this site, it seems the KSS300 would be the better choice for flooring and that is where I am leaning. I also do occasional small scale framing jobs so versatility is also a desire but not a requirement. I do have a few questions/concerns regarding this possible purchase.
1) How effective is the dust collection? (I will use it with a Festool CT extractor)
2) Will either saw make a clean splinter-free cut in stand woven bamboo?
2) Can the KSS400 rail be used (or even purchased separately) with the 300 saw?
3) I have a number of blades for a Festool TS55 that are the same diameter and bore but appear to have a wider kerf than the Mafell KSS400 blades. Has anyone tried using these blades on the KSS400? I would prefer not to stock up on a different set of blades if the ones I have will also work.
I am having somewhat of a mental block purchasing an expensive KSS300 saw whose blade diameter is less than the scoring blade on my slider. I know that bigger is not always best but any insights to help me get over this bump would be helpful.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Steve
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Post by MrToolJunkie on Sept 22, 2014 22:17:39 GMT -5
I am sure that you have read Tom's thoughts on the KSS400 and comparison pics, etc... Also Wrightwood has lots of good insight on the 400, both corded and cordless. I think that Ghostfist is a HUGE advocate of the 300 and uses it a lot in building sets in the film industry. I know that 7 has both saws and uses them -- I believe he added a 400 recently and has had the 300 for awhile. Hopefully these users will weigh in.
I am in the same boat as you, except I am pondering the bigger KSS80 vs. KSS400.
I do know that the cross-cut rail for the 400 will not fit the 300. If you are talking the normal F rails, then they can be purchased separately for both saws, although the 300 only works at 90 degrees with the F-rail without cutting into the rubber. That is why the Flexi-guide works so well with it - it is thinner and the saw does not cut into it when bevel cutting.
I really like the 300 for its versatility and it sounds like it would be perfect for flooring. It also has a flat tooth blade which would be great for all kinds of joinery cuts. I am not sure the thicker blades matter that much - I think Tom or someone made a comment that the thickness difference is like 1/128th of an inch or something - that is really, really small and I doubt it would make any noticeable difference.
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Post by 7 on Sept 22, 2014 23:35:20 GMT -5
I am contemplating my 2nd Mafell purchase and am trying to decide between the KSS300 and KSS400. My immediate intended use is for installation of strand woven bamboo flooring. This will be used in a house that is occupied so dust collection is important. Splinter free cuts are also important in what I understand is a very difficult material that is prone to splintering. There are quite a few angled walls so the adjustable miter feature is also important. From everything I have read on this site, it seems the KSS300 would be the better choice for flooring and that is where I am leaning. I also do occasional small scale framing jobs so versatility is also a desire but not a requirement. I do have a few questions/concerns regarding this possible purchase. 1) How effective is the dust collection? (I will use it with a Festool CT extractor) I use mine (both) with the same vac. Dust collection is excellent, not perfect, but very good expecially considering the side of the saw is open. If you use either without a vac the vast majority of the dust still exits through the dust port. Mafell is excellent at designing the channels. 2) Will either saw make a clean splinter-free cut in stand woven bamboo? With a fresh blade cuts are very clean. Worst case you can cut the bamboo upside down and I am guessing you'd be good to go. I have cut bamboo with other saws so understand your concern...unfortunately I have not installed bamboo with either saw. 2) Can the KSS400 rail be used (or even purchased separately) with the 300 saw? The 300 rail is thinner and isn't compatable with the 400's KSS rail. The 400's kss rail is much more simlar to the standard F-rail in terms of stability, thickness, and splinter guard etc. Both saws can ride the standard F-rails but the 300 will not properly bevel because it is designed to bevel on it's own thinner kss track and flex-track. 3) I have a number of blades for a Festool TS55 that are the same diameter and bore but appear to have a wider kerf than the Mafell KSS400 blades. Has anyone tried using these blades on the KSS400? I would prefer not to stock up on a different set of blades if the ones I have will also work. I use the same blades with the MT55 and the KSS400. I don't forsee an issue sharing your TS55 blades with the KSS400 but am not positive just because I haven't used a Festool blade on the 400. I do see it as an advantage in favor of the 400 that the blades are the same size as the regular track saws and are sold from several manufacturers. I am having somewhat of a mental block purchasing an expensive KSS300 saw whose blade diameter is less than the scoring blade on my slider. I know that bigger is not always best but any insights to help me get over this bump would be helpful. The KSS 300 blade is just big enough for the depth of cut to be enough to just barely cut through a standard 2x4 (not beveled obviously, just plumb cut) Nothing odd about the blade size being small as long as the cuts are kept to 1 1/2" or less. The little saw is powerful enough to cut up to it's full depth.
My opinion- I like the KSS a lot more for flooring and trim work (small trim jobs only because I prefer to set up the whole miter saw station if there is more than a couple doors. The 300 is just so light and small. It is easy to cut the flooring right at the end of the room where the cuts are and rest it right on the top of the CT vac between cuts. The fact that it fits inside a systainer makes it seem a lot more portable to me. To deal with the blade size & no mainstream seller issue I just bought quite a few blades when I bought the saw and will sharpen them when dull.
KSS400- I use mine almost exclusively for deck jobs- framing and surfacing and love it for these tasks. A large deck would be a lot of work for the 300. I like the blade availability, track rigidity, and the fact that it rides the F Rails & bevels...even though I use the MT55 for these tasks so have never used the 400 for that...just nice for some odd senseless reason that it does.
Hope this helps, let me know if you have other specific questions or if there are any of the above that I should add more info to.
Thanks in advance for your input. Steve |
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Post by wrightwoodwork on Sept 23, 2014 4:32:02 GMT -5
I would lean more to the 300 as more portable and lighter and will do the job perfectly fine. The cost of saw blades is more related to the number of teeth not the diameter. I haven't worked with bamboo flooring. I presume the ends are tongue and grooved so the end of the run is cut. If I'm doing hardwood or laminate flooring I tend not to worry about slight chipping, fir the simple reason it will be covered by the skirting or a bead so is not in view when finished I prefer to have the skirting to the bead as it looks more pro where beading looks like an after thought
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Post by GhostFist on Sept 23, 2014 11:29:24 GMT -5
I've mitered pre finished solid oak flooring without chipping, using my 300. Personally I think everyone needs a 300
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sgtrjp
Junior Member
Posts: 65 
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Post by sgtrjp on Sept 23, 2014 13:05:03 GMT -5
I think a 300 will compliment your TS55 nicely. Another use that hasn't been mentioned is cutting drywall and the bottoms of door frames to allow for clearance. Make sure you don't hit any screws or nails, but it only takes a minute to make it around the whole room and the DE takes all the mess.
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Post by 7 on Sept 23, 2014 23:01:22 GMT -5
I agree with the others: buy for what most closely matches your primary use so that your tools are specialized according to what you specialize in. Improvise a bit for the occasional tasks. I am not sure that you actually mentioned that you do mostly wood flooring but that is what I took away from your post.
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Post by nucone on Sept 24, 2014 18:09:09 GMT -5
Thanks for the input guys, it looks like you have confirmed the way I was leaning. The KSS300 it is.
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Post by nucone on Sept 28, 2014 8:03:19 GMT -5
I called to order Friday and Timberwolf is out of stock on the KSS300 so I have been muddling over options. In the KSS videos I have seen, it appears the flex rail doesn't want to lay flat. I am trying to determine whether this is just an optical illusion or real. Would I be better off getting a rigid rail even though it would restrict bevel cuts? I do have a TS55 if I needed to do bevel cuts in the field.
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Post by 7 on Sept 28, 2014 16:05:06 GMT -5
I haven't noticed my flex rail not laying flat. It does have an edge that flares up so that it would appear to not be laying flat if viewed from a certain angle but it actually lays flat on the material. The rigid (F-rails) are nice but I wouldn't think you would need any unless you are wanting to make 8' long cuts with the 300. If you already have a TS55 I would think you will end up using it for the majority of your sheet goods anyway. The flex rail will cross cut the 4' length of ply.
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