Home DIY

For a mitre saw metabo have been recommended here. For track I think Titan is your best option.

Thanks given you've that comparison that's a good review

Cheers @rj not sure I can get titan here but seen metabo.

I might get this bosch mitre, seems good value.
https://www.amazon.es/Bosch-GCM-800-Professional-Ingletadora/dp/B00NGTLYQQ

I have the GCM 800 and it's been great. The only feature I think it's misssing is a depth stop, which is annoying because it has the screw hole in the casting, just not the screw. It would be a 10min bodge to add though.
Whatever you do, don't get tempted by the Einhell mitre saw. My friend has one and it is terrifyingly dangerous.

I have the bigger version of that mitre saw, only annoying thing is the laser doesn't line up very well with the cut line. But it's good otherwise

If you can stretch, the Bosch plunge / track saw is licensed from Mafell (all hail king of plunge saws). Less good blade change and some other missing features, but it should still be solid.

Worth noting that Metabo in the UK and abroad are not necessarily the same thing.

In the US Metabo are what sell in the UK as Hikoki (Hitachi) so check what you're getting. Not sure what other countries have.

Lol that's a bit more than annoying!

Thanks @dbr happy to spend a bit on a decent tool, just not crazy money.

Good point!

I just line it up with the blade which is much more accurate. I also have the bosch plunge saw. It's very good.

Rep
Original wiring done by a guy in the 70's who took the place from a derelict farm cottage into a vision of the 1970s, dark wood layered in varnish, sauna, single glazed conservatory that somehow is colder than outside temps in winter etc. He did most of the wiring over years. Current consumer unit fitted in 2016 by a local 'electrician'. Looks tidy on the surface of it. I think he would have done some tests, looked at the hell scape that was behind the thing and decided to do a consumer unit replacement only then scarper (wise!).

Which model? When you can.

GKT 55 GCE - bought as a package with 2 tracks after recommendations here. Felt expensive but we use it all the time.

Track saw - The Titan is now called a McAllister but it’s the same saw. It’s a good saw, and the track is compatible with Makita and Festool if you need longer track.

Millionaire who was paranoid about getting assassinated in the 80s at the peak of his wealth (and maybe gak consumption?). Lol

Will a makita circular saw with 'nice cuts only' blade and a rail guide perform comparably to a dedicated track saw?

Will a makita circular saw with 'nice cuts only' blade and a rail guide perform comparably to a dedicated track saw?

Doesn't this come up time after time and the answer is yes, and it's the route you should go down as a track saw only tracks, whereas a circular saw is useful for other stuff too?

probably depends on the circular saw, but my (few years old) makita is definitely not as easy to use compared to the £80 draper track saw i got for building a shed/doing decking. the ability to plunge into something to a stop point and then pull up without having to life the whole unit when you're finished makes a massive difference. maybe some newer circular saws can do that?

tldr: a crap, cheap plunge saw is still better than my circular saw for use with a track for straight, repeatable cuts.....in my opinion

I've used a circular saw with track to build my garden office / shed.

At a guess, I could have used a track saw for over 95% of the (rip) cuts that I have made, and made them a lot more easily (particularly with the number of awkward stop cuts that I have needed to finish by hand).

If I were to do it again (as if) I would buy a reasonable track saw and a cheap, small, (possibly battery) circular saw.

[Edit] i should add that I have a mitre saw.

I've used my circular saw loads, quick cuts when making raised beds, a frame for concrete shed base etc..

Next set of jobs require a bit more finesse so weighing up options. Might prioritise a nicer mitre saw and just get on without a dedicated plunge saw as circular saw on tracks will probably do for anything that needs it

Forgot to mention that I have a mite saw.

If I only had one piece of kit, it would be a circular saw to do rips & cross cuts. If it were just two bits, I would have a mitre & track saw.

Tbf you shouldn’t really replace a consumer unit if the fixed wiring is fucked. Because when you sign off the consumer unit, you’re signing off the wiring too.

Best one I heard recently, house was sold with new consumer unit fitted. But they’d just mounted a new board and hadn’t connected any of it!

I have a Makita circular saw (DHS 680), an adapter and a track. It is quite fiddly to set up the adapter and to place the blade in exactly the same spot compared to the rubber edge every time. Also, most of the mass of the saw is cantilevered on the adapter rather than sitting directly over the track, this can make it hard to keep the blade vertical.
Finally, having to manually pull the guard up to get the saw sat in the track is a job where I wish I had 3 hands. Caveat: I've never used a proper track saw.

Feels like we need a track vs. circular saw smackdown. Thought I remembered that the pros on here were on the side of the circular, but I could be misremembering.

I've decided to buy a mitre and track.
I had a circular and a rail guide and getting a straight cut was hard work.
A cheap but ok battery circular isn't much, I'll add one third this time if needed.

Huh. I have that stuff but that is not how I set it up! Putting the adapter in from the other side keeps the weight in the right place. I just leave the sled set up and detach from the saw when not in use to avoid having to set it up every time.

Expect that dust extraction would be better with plunge, but I'm not too fussed about that.

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