Railsaws: Makita SP6000 vs Festool TS55 

Festool is better, but for the prize, you get what you need in a Makita.

I found adding a third grip strip beside the splinter strip aided my work , also the DeWalt's rail clamps are a great help. Great vid, thanks

This has been the best comparison so far and I've been watching at least a dozen comparisons to allow me to decide which saw will suit my needs. Not anyone was as detailed as you. I am now definitely leaning towards the Makita. Since I am merely a hobbyist, it will take many years before I wear out my Makita. I will also buy the corded version since they have dropped in price markedly probably because the battery powered saws are now so much more popular. Good time to buy! Thanks for your efforts in making this review. I've subscribed too.

Love my Makita but horses for courses. I don’t use every day but when trimming door edges it’s brilliant

Just come across your videos in the last few days - these are brilliant - I have a 19th century house full of alcoves crying out for built in storage and youve been a massive help in demystifying some of this stuff - thanks for sharing your experience & knowledge, it really is appreciated. On the downside i now have no excuses given the ever growing collection of expensive tools in my basement...!

Thanks Alistair - great review as was in the market for a track saw and was leaning toward the Makita Cordless and your very detailed and impartial review has definitely helped in making up my mind - so thanks very much buddy!

Hi Alastair. Thanks for taking the time to do this video. I find these kind of tool reviews far more honest than your usual, 'tool guy', ones. Showing tools in their intended environments being used by proper tradesmen after many hours of service gives the kind of real information that guys like me who work in carpentry need when considering new tool purchases. Its interesting that I bought the Makita based on an almost identical comparison of the two from a good friend of mine who noted all the same things as you including the worn guide cams on the Makita and how easy they are to replace. I'm not an every day track saw user, so felt that the cheaper Makita would serve my needs perfectly. Cheers.

Thank you for sharing your experience with both saws. I'm currently hesitating between those two and your video will definitely help me decide.

great review , i just brought the makita after putting my festool in for repairs after 6 hard years on construction sites cutting ply and fibre cement board ! yep i use it to cut 4 to 19mm cement board !

Excellent content! It is a comparison review and an comprehensive user manual at the same time!

I work at a custom furniture manufacturer and have used both the Festool and Makita. I've found the TS 75 takes 2 or 3 passes to get thru 2" material where as the Makita will power thru it on 1 pass with a relatively smooth glue ready cut. I've also noticed the splinter guard as more of hindrance then a help. The Festool feels underpowered in comparison but I do like the extra depth of cut with the TS 75. Great video and comparison, thanks for posting.

19:00 quick tip. If you have a Makita track saw, try Festool tracks, they are 0.1mm wider at that point, so the saw grips better.

Good video. I do cut aluminum profile mats every day. I would say it's hard work for every saw. I have had Festool several years and the quality is the same as the day I bought. It was twice the price of Makita but I think I made best choice. For home usage Makita might be okay. Please remember that it's very important which cutting blade you are using. Choose the right blade for the work. If you cut any kind of materials having glue or plastic, notice that because of the heat, this plastic or glue will easily stick to the blade and make cutting results worse. Buying all the time new blade can cost a lot. You can try cleaning the blade or bring it to special company for sharpening it

Great review - fair, honest and unbiased. Also very "down to earth" and factual, no "smartness" here. Really appreciate your style and content, thanks!

Thank you. Very useful, clearly honest.

Thank you for this well formatted, informational comparison! We were deciding between festool, Maffel, and Makita and we decided to go w/ makita thanks to your comparison. We won’t be putting nearly as many hours on our tool so I don’t think wear and tear is as much of an issue

An honest review and comparison, thank you Alastair, and really enjoying your generously given tips and tricks and time. I can personally recommend the Makita saw in the 36 volt cordless version, but it is the only one I have! It isn't without its issues, and suffers occasionally from jamming on the track as yours does. I find using a light rub of silicon spray on both track and saw baseplate helps greatly, and a rail square is also a fantastic addition to obtain accurate right angles cuts. Hope the new workshop is increasing productivity and efficiency and working out well for your business. Cheers!

You mention that these are both good saws and I agree. First thing I did was sand off the container latches On the Makita and they work fine now (poor Engineering effort on Makita’s part, I agree). I would agree that the Festool may be a better saw in some respects, for professional use, but many would say the price point on the Makita would make it the winner. I have both (just gave my son the Makita) and would be just as happy with either saw. I do like having the riving knife for ripping a straight edge on hardwood. A very decent review though. Cheers!

Excellent review style! No BS, right into the content. Thank you.

Thank you for the excellent, detailed review! Interestingly, I have the Makita and just yesterday I did a 90 degree, end grain cut through 7/8" white oak with no difficulty. I did take care to tighten the cam clamps, clamp the rail at both ends, clean dust from the saw base and rail, and steadily guide the saw through the cut. There were no problems with the saw jamming on the rail or burning the cut edge. I will say that my saw is relatively new with not a lot of use so that might be a factor accounting for my relatively trouble free end grain cut as compared to what you experienced. The take away I got from your review is that the Festool may do better with heavy use but the Makita is just fine for the more occasional hobbyist.

A very fair review. I recently replaced those blue cam inserts as I was having similar issues with my makita. It did improve it a lot more IMO. I also use a PTFE spray lubricant on the rail now and then, this also can help. The Makita certainly hasn't been perfect but after 8 years of kitchen fitting abuse it has fared pretty well. Seriously looking at the cordless version now. All the best.👍

Alastair, I’m a new subscriber to your channel. I’m enjoying watching your videos. You have some wonderful content. Thank you

Way too many variables to call this a comparison in my opinion. I appreciate the time and effort that went into this quality video. Thanks

Nice overview of the saws I’ve had my Festool for over 15 years, ( closer to 20) and it still cuts like new. Only had to Chang’s the strips on my rail twice

I have had the makita saw for abut 4 years now, and had been hesitating about getting the festool, until a couple of months ago when a finally got it, in my opinion makita has nothing to envy from festool, actually to me it felt like the festool bogged while cutting 1 3/4 solid doors, which's never happen with my makita, also the blade got dull really fast on the festool. And to be honest the festool seems to be more precise, anyway both of them are great saws, not much different from one another in my opinion, except for the price of course.

Many thanks for your review of the track saws. It has convinced me that the Makita is the one for me. I do not anticipate heavy use and the additional cost for the festool could be better spent. Keep up the good work 👍🏻

Really great no-nonsense comparison. Thanks. I have a gift card as a present so probably will go with the Festool

Excellent review and thank you for putting in the effort to make the video

Absolutely top review and comparison of both saws. My understanding is the 36v 2 x 18v Makita track saw is a newer model with improvements of the sp6000. Thanks for the supreme effort needed to gather your thoughts on both and then record and edit it all. The festool is a wonderful tool I have used it a few times. The only things I didn't like you mentioned yourself the over resistant spring and also the button to bring the blade down was a bit heavy. Subbed and thumbs up.

Great review Alistair. I've owned both of these saws but in the battery versions. After recently being relieved of the ownership of my Festool, with 4 batteries and 2 chargers I opted to replace it with the makita - purely for financial reasons. Imho the festool is hands down better. In particular the depth stop and the dust collection capability with the dust bag means the festool is great. The makita out of the box with thin kerf blade is actually very good but the big problem with the thin kerf blade is it has terrible blade deflection. If you can spare the extra money I would recommend the festool (I'm no festool fan boy btw) but the makita is still very good.

Great video, thank you so much. That was a problem for me to choose, now it is much easier to pick.

Great review Alastair, I currently run a Bosch GKT55 which uses the Mafel designed Tracks which don't require any cam mechanism, although it does have a set of cams for when used on other manufactures rails such as the Festool. You may want to take a look at one when it's time to retire one of your old war horses. All the best👍

How you all doing? Nice to you see you in the workshop. Makita I bought as a package and is fine but I don’t do the volumes you do and I agree it could be smoother on the rail. On the MFT it works fine. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

good video .. I been looking to purchase a rail saw , think I'm definitely going with the festool

I have both saws and have some experiences not mentioned here. Now the Festool that I have is probably the first edition they made. It's a little under powered but works well with a sharp blade. Festool may have made improvements since I purchased my saw. I have recently bought the Makita and am not at all disappointed with its performance. Very similar to the Festool at a much more affordable price. The one issue I had with Festool that I'd like to mention is with brush replacement. Festool uses a special brush cartridge that is positioned by a slot in the saw's cheap plastic housing. It's not easy to get at the brushes. The plastic, unfortunately melts at low temperatures and the brush on my saw heated up enough to fuse itself into the plastic housing. I was ultimately successful in extracting the cartridge but there was damage that could have rendered the saw unrepairable. If it happens again, the saw will be made useless for simple want of brush replacement. Makita uses standard brushes making brush replacement painless and easy.

Great comparison! I just bought the Makita. Luckily, I don't do bevel cuts very often.

Great comparison. I have mostly festool tools however just bought the Makita track saw.

I've used both, I ended up buying the Festool, had it about 5 years and it's an absolute joy to use. The Makita can do the job but the Festool just feels so much nicer and thats just getting it out of the sustainer !!!

Very complete review. Thank you for you help in my choise!

Thanks for this awesome video! Does the Makita also pivot around the edge at the 45° cut??? Best wishes from Germany 👋

You sir deserve every view you've got and more. Exactly the review I needed... Cheers !

Top comparison! I've got the Makita - both corded and cordless - simply on the grounds of cost. My original corded Makita came in a bundle with two tracks in a bag with clamps and a spare blade. And all for around the same price as the Festool alone. Like others, I often work on busy construction sites, where it can be difficult to keep a constant vigil on your gear. It's horrible to read the stories of people having their tools pinched. And, yes, I've had gear go missing too. On a multi-story project, it's not always practical to run up and down 12 flights looking for fixings and material with all your clobber in tow. The spring on my corded Makita started playing up a while back, transforming it into a plunge-only saw. That was after rather a lot of mileage, and it has since been rectified. I've seen quite a few reviews of these saws now, and notice how often people use the various saws and tracks interchangeably. I'm surprised by this, as even with the two Makita saws, with exactly the same blades, if I use the wrong track, I don't get accurate cuts. Anyway, thanks again for sharing. 👍

Makita for me too. I’m actually an electrician, but for some reason have been involved in fitting kitchens now for 5 years or so. The makita has always done everything i’ve needed it to perfectly. Looked at bosch and festool at the start but couldn’t see the extra cost justifying itself for what i needed it for. My only grip is the depth stop, must remember to add 6mm when used in the rail

This is a great review and help me to buy my saw (Makita). Thanks for this video....

Great content just as a verbal instruction manual. Just being a hobby user, It took me a while to figure out that the Makita as 0.5 deg toe in front to back (maybe all saws do?) and the problems I thought I had were just user error. Will look out for cam wear. Thanks

Todo muy bien explicado, gracias por tu video!!!

Good review. I hv been using makita sp6000 for many yrs,sometimes use festool if i didn't bring makita and festool is the only one on-site. I am not a fan of festool rail saw as i need to bring the saw from job to job and i hv other boys work for me and use the saw. The rule is simple if you are not always working in the workshop-the simpler the better. festool hv to many small parts which are good for joinery works. However,you hv to be more careful to maintaince it and fewer ppl Can use festool properly. It is just like if you are a Uber driver only service general clients,u will choose a Japan car-maybe Toyota camery,but if you only want to serve high-end client,you need a Germany car- BENZ.

Hey Alistair.... I've recently upgraded my plunge saw and I was between exactly these 2 contenders. With fortune circumstances of a promotion price AND access to somebody's staff discount I was able to get the Festool for £280 brand new.... so that was the winner.... and I love it.

Fantastic comparison. Thank you very much for this.

Eu tenho a SP6000 da Makita e é uma serra muito boa, principalmente no corte em MDF.

Thanks for the honest video and I appreciate the time and effort you put in. It would be great if you could replace those guide bits on the makita rail connection and follow up with your experience at that point. For me (and many others I would guess) I would be fine with replacing small wear parts every few years and saving the hundreds on the purchase price

Very good Alastair, enjoyed that! I think the anti-tipping lip on the Makita is only there to stop the saw tipping over at the end of the cut, not to keep it on track during a bevel cut - my understanding, anyway. 👍

165MM is within 0.004" of 6.5", so more options for saw blades in the US. I just buy 6.5" blades at a local big box store. So that is one Makita advantage. Also good to use sharp blades to eliminate burning, so the ability to buy cheaper blades locally is nice.

My 36v Makita is a year old now. Easily my favourite tool. Ive found the depth gauge a little off on the makita and never thought to exclude the track height.

I concur with everything you said in this video. An only mildly connected tip- buy some cmt orange to clean the resin from your blades (don’t be tempted by other more readily available brands). It will reduce how often you’re sending your blades to sharpen and reduce burn even on predominately mdf useage.

not boring as most of the videos... very informative...

I think you covered it quite well. Great review

What I'd expect. Good video.

Thanks for the honest review. Just looking to get my 1st tracksaw. One design issue I see with all the models is they are made for left handed people....to trim a small section from a board you stand at the left end and move the saw to the right and this involves an awkward grip on the saw with your right hand. Still at least left handers got a good deal on this one. Also nobody seems to mention the variable speed control on the saw - do people just have it on the higher speed all the time ?

👍 I also liked the r2d2 cup.

..by the way fantastic video !! and I like the table you work on there

Hi, I have had the makita for 5 or 6 years now, I use a lubricant wax on the track and base plate of the saw, it does help a lot. The adjustable cams are cheap and easy to replace.

Damnit. I didn't really know I needed a tracked saw until now. Those cuts are *so* precise it's almost as if you're on a table saw. Real eye-opener.

I’m a Festool fan. I’ve had both sizes of the Festool track saw and ended up liking cordless Makita best.

Excellent review. Very nicely presented. I can only commend you for spending your time in creating this upload. I could almost smell the burning on the makita at the end of the video. I noticed when you clamped the work piece with the ratchet the fence seemed to twist ever so slightly. Whether that makes any difference will be perhaps not critical. The mafel has a fence with clamps closer to the cut than festool, Makita, dewalt, metabo. The Bosch plunge saw has the same system fence as mafel. Now what is interesting metabo will come out with a mafel style plunge saw which I'm hoping has the mafel fence. Metabo have a fence almost the same as festool although the clamps don't fit. I made some clamps to fit on both fences. There is a pre cut on mafel which provides a total chip free cut on Melamine. The only thing is it's a fraction in to the rest of the cut. If you were really fussy you could then follow up with a router correctly set up. People not having time may not consider this. Although I think of you spend the time once making a jig or setting up it will only equate to an extra pass on each cut. Often cuts are cleaned up on hard woods anyway. I no longer work with melamine. I prefer ply wood. It's a lot nicer and can always be cleaned, sanded etc.

Thanks for an excellent review of two excellent tools. It means a lot that you have experience, and the review was quite balanced. Id try replacing the cams on the Makita, those are likely to be consumables. I was about to buy the Makita but found a used TS75 on ebay for less than the Makita, and am quite happy.

Saw on skill builder that the Makita cut better when the power was turned down to number 4, think it was cutting MDF not hardwood though.

Excellent review btw🔨👍

I’ve had my makita about three years and it’s working great, you obviously do more cutting then I do. I’ve checked mine for wear and at the moment it shows no signs of any. Good unbiased comparison video, ps locking casters on that workbench would be a good addition 👍🏻

Good review. I'm in the market for a track saw, and am leaning toward the Makita 36v unit. The cord just causes issues, as it did for both saws here. I already have lots of Makita batteries as well. I've heard the Festool is probably the best saw but have heard their motors don't hold up over time from other reviewers. Not sure if that holds for the cordless models though. The price difference is also a factor for me. I think your Makita needs an adjustment. I haven't seen anyone struggle cutting even full width doors with them before this. You were fair and honest. Can't ask for more than that. Except for new blades perhaps. Well done. Thanks.

Thanks very much for your review. Very helpfull

When the Makita doesn't go smoothly and easy thru thicker plates it can have three reasons: A) worn saw blade. B) worn/not adjusted rail knobs. C) the base plate is not 100% in paralell with the saw blade. This can be adjusted with the 4 screws that mount the base plate to the upper frame.

very efficient explanation.

Honestly the scoring drop stop is nice. But you don't need it you can do the same thing using the depth stop. Its just more stuff to go wrong with the tool.

Interesting to see the wear on your Makita's track clearance adjusters. I've just invested in one and the first time I used it across the joint in the guide rails the adjusters caught on a slight burr and were turned out of adjustment; a gentle file to smooth the track's joint solved this but it is a weak point in the design compared with Festool. Having said that, as DIY user this is not a big enough issue for me to justify the extra cost of the Festool. I find the anti-tilt device very reassuring when cutting a bevel.

I recently replaced my old festool with the newest model. A better saw but I hate the new ratchet on the hose, it just keeps poping of every cut. It got so annoying I hot glued the ratchet in a fixed position. On the old saw I drilled a 3mm hole through the saw casing and through the rotating nozzle so that I could pop a short screw in to hold the nozzle in my prefered position.

as someone else mentioned, use the festool track on the makita saw, best combination. we have both in company for years and i prefer the makita over the festool you will get a very good saw with the festool, but its just not worth the upcost in my opinion as a dayli user for 15y

A very helpful review! Thank you.

I have the Makita SP6000 and I'm onto my second blade, with no issues of free play on the track. It is still smooth and true, even when crossing the join between 2 tracks fixed together. If you are burning wood on a track saw, I would be looking at the blade, timber or operator. Cross cuts on birch ply first using a scoring pass gives great results, hard to beat with a table saw sled without a scoring blade or scoring pass. The Festool would need to be significantly better to warrant the price difference.

Bought the Festool today! Thanks for the advice!!

Absolutely fantastic review! - i'm going with Makita

Good review so thank you. When I was buying a track saw I just couldn’t see how the significant extra cost of the Festool was going to pay me back with extra quality or productivity hence I went Makita. Every tool I’ve ever bought had niggles and I learned that if I changed tool I just changed niggle. Nothing has ever changed my view tbh so I’m happy to stick with Makita but I was interested by your views. Cheers 🍻

Very nice and useful video. Many thanks.

Great review. I'm just about to buy the Makita (I think). Cheaper to buy and cheaper saw blades and rails.

Makita sp6000 has a known issue with the plunge pivot shaft being jammed. On the bottom of that shaft there is an allen screw. That needs undoing and the hole be filled with grease. Then wind in the screw. Do it 3-4 times. This will press grease into the shaft and loosen up the jam.

Great video . Thanks

Great review. Just looking into these now. What applications would you benefit from a minus 1 degree setting and similarly 48 degrees?

Your channel is really good.

I bought the makita about a year ago. As soon as I set it up out of the box I knew the cams were badly designed. If they're tightened to the track, they wear out quickly and if they're loose the saw wobbles about. That blade is a bad one also. I got the same one with my saw and it always had a bad cut and struggled doing mitres. I changed the blade for a different brand one and it's like a new machine.

I have the festool , I've had it for 3 years but previously had the dewalt and a guy I work with sometimes has the makita and in my opinion the festool is hands down a better built and quality tool, the after sales and service from festool is worth the extra in my opinion also. Great video Alistair 👍

Really thanks for the video it was completely helpful.

A word on those Makita boxes. I’ve got a bunch of them and I sanded down the nubs on the little latches. They open and close much easier.

The riving knife is probably only useful in solid wood with non-straight grain that might cause binding. In sheet goods it's probably not necessary at all.

I have mostly Makita power tools, however for the track saw it has to be the Festool every time.

Great real world comparison aside from maybe the blades. Thank you.

Got the makita with a festool blade in it when i had to replaced the dull one. Good saw, also for a good price. If i would upgrade it would be the Mafell. Not the Festool.

I use the cordless makita track saw on the mft3 table but can not do angle cuts on the festool track as the blade would co e in contact with the track. However its great for doing 90 degree cuts. The makita does grip better in the festool track but i would always use the makita tracks for angle cuts. Oh by the way if anyone is wondering what the cordless version of the makita saw is like then i have no issues with it what so ever i can cut seasoned slabs without any issues and no excessive pressure just make sure you have a sharp blade and a set of fully charged batteries :)

ive owned a Makita sp6000 for about ten years I changed the blade to a freud blade which I do with all tools festool are overpriced and never send them back for repair they replace everything Makita in my view are light in weight and offer good quality

Great and fair video

Fantastic review Alastair, really appreciate the depth you go into and it is obvious you know both these machines inside out and not just an ‘unboxing and I know everything’ review. I’ve been using my Workzone tracksaw for a year or so now and an upgrade is potentially top of my list in terms of tools. I’ve been lucky enough to upgrade my orbital sander and mitre saw to Festool products in the last six months, plus I also invested in a Domino DF 500. I have to say maybe my criteria for purchasing is slightly unique just using the one hand. I spent months researching mitre saws from all brands and kept going back to the Kapex KS 60 as it just felt ‘right’ if that makes sense? I’ve watched this video and also Peter Millard’s Festool / Mafell video the last day or so and it is very interesting viewing. The Mafell tracks look a lot easier for someone like me, the Festool could be described as the ‘industry standard’ as they were the pioneers of the technology and I’ve been really impressed with their products that I’ve bought. The Makita I know nothing about but I believe is a bit cheaper. Won’t be just yet but a difficult choice ahead. Thanks for taking the time provide such depth to the review. Cheers, Leo 😀