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Post by jonathan on Apr 10, 2015 2:38:01 GMT -5
Well, looks like Festool is bringing their 18v battery-powered KSS saw competitor to market very soon.
Early days and of course and only speculation without the product actually being available yet, but what do you think? And how will this impact Mafell? I've been waiting for Mafell to update their KSS-300 & 400 more in line with the KSS-80, maybe this is a good incentive to give the 300 & 400 design a once-over?
Also I think Festool made a very wise choice to opt for dual 18v batteries instead of adding a new 36v battery to their line-up.
The Festool eco-system is rapidly expanding lately and I can see how many would simply go Festool-only for whatever they need. Feel free to throw in your 2cents...
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Post by GhostFist on Apr 10, 2015 4:29:06 GMT -5
Those of us that use the kss system know how great it is. I would prefer a 36v battery as opposed to dual 18v. Just seems too bulky that way. Apart from the conturo, I haven't seen festool come up with anything new for a whil, where as before I found their products unique and innovative. Also they've been dragging their feet on bringing any of their new stuff to the north American market so we're not seeing much growth to their product line here. Just my two bits. need more specs on this saws performance before I can really judge though,of course.
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Post by lincoln on Apr 10, 2015 17:35:35 GMT -5
I'm really suprised at the lack of interest over at the FOG.
Jonathan - what do you think needs to be updated on the 300 & 400? The saw itself, or the way it works with the rail? I don't have one, but find it a fascinating tool, and I'm tempted to get one at some stage.
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Post by wrightwoodwork on Apr 10, 2015 18:57:10 GMT -5
For us that use the kss system we all get how useful the concept is. For people that are pretty well invested in festool it might be a worth while investment depending on the work they do and also how they go about it. For people who do mainly kitchens and shop fitting it properly doesn't add much for them. The people who would get most benefits from it are the people doing 1st fix joinery, roofs, floors etc. A couple of months back I went past a job and the joiners had taken their dewalt chopsaw and stand and set up on top of the scaffold. Not that I'm critising them, but the first thought that went through my head is I'm glad I use the kss system and is a lot more mobile. The problem is a lot of people have never seen let alone heard of it
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Post by jonathan on Apr 11, 2015 0:52:29 GMT -5
Id like to see some cosmetic changes to bring it more in line with the other saws like mt55, kss80 & mf26. In short id like to see the kss400 be updated to the design of the kss80.
A red lever in the handle for blade change, lever for the blade guard moved to the front like the kss80 and most of all i dont like the traditional dust port on the side of the blade housing. Would be nice if they could get the housing flat so it can do shadow cuts along floors & ceilings.
Theres nothing really wrong with it as is, but i think they could improve it by porting over the updates they did on the big brother.
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dutch
New Member
Posts: 15
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Post by dutch on Apr 11, 2015 0:54:00 GMT -5
ive been holding back buying a kss 300 or 400 just incase they do get updated any time soon. the main thing for me is the tilt only going to 45 degrees. lots of my work is dealing with old buildings where corners are less than 90 degrees so i need a saw that can bevel past 45 sometimes to 48. ive got the mt55 which does bevel past 45 but obviously isnt the right tool for small crosscuts.
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Post by MrToolJunkie on Apr 11, 2015 12:12:27 GMT -5
I love the KSS80 - it is perfect in nearly every way. I would like to see the 400 incorporate the same guard raising mechanism and Cuprex motor with variable speed. Same idea for the motor on the 300. I like being able to adjust speed.
Also, I wish they came out with more blade choices for the 80 and 300 - a metal cutting blade for the 80 would be nice and some different configurations for sheet goods and melamine would be nice too.
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Post by skinee on Apr 11, 2015 16:31:14 GMT -5
in the past few months I have bought the kss300 and the corded kss400,this was before Aaron's(wrightwoodwork) post in which he revealed an email from mafell led him to believe the we might be getting a cordless kss300 sometime down the line,if I had that knowledge earlier it may have caused me to hold back on the 300 as cordless appeals to me more,having used both the 300 and 400 I would like to see a cordless 300 with a little more cutting depth capacity but keeping the saw as light as possible,as a saw of this type is mostly used for cross cuts surely a single 18v/5.2Ah battery would suffice,i have the cordless Milwaukee fuel saw with 66mm capacity and it uses this size of battery,keeping the weight down would be high on my priorities,the trend in powertools now being as light as possible to do the job, is, I think, a good thing,a good selling point about the new festool look-alike is the choice of rails,the ability to use the shortest,and therefore lighest,rail for the job would be an advantage,it seems from FOG that the festool saw will be delayed(nothing new there) but it will be interesting to see when it eventually appears.
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Post by ohan on Apr 12, 2015 5:55:13 GMT -5
How do you like the Milwaukee? I was considering it (or the Makita dual 18V) as a lower cost alternative to the Mafell but handling one in a big box store didn't give me a feel of confidence. How is it on the job, considering you actually HAVE the Mafells to compare it to?
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Post by skinee on Apr 12, 2015 16:22:59 GMT -5
How do you like the Milwaukee? I was considering it (or the Makita dual 18V) as a lower cost alternative to the Mafell but handling one in a big box store didn't give me a feel of confidence. How is it on the job, considering you actually HAVE the Mafells to compare it to? the Milwaukee is fine,i already had the fuel impact driver so bought the bare saw for cutting ply for the odd occasion when there is no mains power,i chose it over the 55mm model as the blade was on the right and it didn't feel much heavier in the hand than the 55mm model,its no competition for mafell however,mafell saws are a significant step up in class,hopefully we will eventually see a cordless kss300
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Post by 7 on Apr 12, 2015 23:11:38 GMT -5
Interesting. Does anyone know if they only plan to do the saw in cordless. I am not a big fan of cordless saws but I would definitely take a look at it. As Ghostfist said already though, most of the Festool stuff doesn't make it to North America anyway.
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Post by jalvis on Apr 13, 2015 10:11:22 GMT -5
Dont see that making it to the USA.
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Post by jm on Apr 13, 2015 10:52:34 GMT -5
I had the Fuel saw, be aware there's no included fence so you'll just have to freehand everything or use clamp on guide.
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Post by skinee on Apr 16, 2015 16:34:26 GMT -5
well I see this saw has been officially announced and it is powered by one 5.2Ah battery,they obviously deem it sufficient for a 55mm cut depth and I agree,hopefully we will get an updated kss300 cordless,come on mafell.
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Post by MrToolJunkie on May 3, 2015 23:50:51 GMT -5
Here is a promo video:
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