redbirdone

I am a Festool guy. Have a lot of their tools. Multiple sanders, drill, lights, jig saw, MFT, TS75, routers, both dominos, and most importantly - dust collectors. All were used in the remodel of my mom's house and when building my brothers house. The Festool system was especially valuable during my mom's house remodel as I could contain the dust to the particular area I was working in. And their systainer system was great. I have a day job so any time I can save cleaning, moving, etc is well worth it. I am keeping all the other Festools as I plan to build a new home in the next year or two, but when it comes to miter saws I don't see the edge it has vs the competition, especially when using it as a single builder or weekend warrior. I'm just wondering what size to get - 10 or 12 and then slider or not. Obviously I don't think a 10" non slider will be sufficient, but what about 10" slider vs 12" non slider? Ridgid and Dewalt have some nice 12" non sliders around the $200-250 range that may be all I need. That's kinda where I'm leaning right now.

I think I'm in the market for a new miter saw. I currently have a Festool Kapex, about 3 years old. Used it to do a lot of trim work in my house, remodel my mom's house and then to help build and trim out my brothers house he/we built, but now we are done with all the big projects and the Kapex is overkill for what I need for the near future so I think selling it now I can maximize its value. It has been a phenomenal saw, can't ask for more other than the arbor size is a pain in the rump as you have to have specific arbor sized blades. It's still in great shape as we took care of it and treated it like a princess. No pressure treated wood, no non wood materials (except some MDF mouldings, but no plastics or metals), cleaned it up almost every day after we used it. So plan is to sell the Kapex for as close to $1K as I can and then pick up either a 12" or 10" saw to use as a weekend warrior. Just not sure if I should go 10" slider, 12" slider or 12" non slider. 12" slider is too big, IMO, but the Bosch glider changes the game there. Whatever I get, I have a Ridgid MSUV to mount it on. I'm not looking to get into a brand war - I'm going to get either Dewalt, Bosch, Makita, Ridgid, Milwaukee. Just want to know if you bought a 12" non slider and wish you had a 10" slider, or have a 12" slider that never gets used to capacity, or whatever. I have never had a 12" saw, just wondering if there is any benefit to it. For the record, use will be homeowner type things. Maybe remodel a room here or there, I do need to put in about 1,500 sq ft of flooring in the next few months, and will be replacing all the exterior trim this fall. I have a 8 1/4" craftsman miter saw that I use for rough work, provided the work is small enough to use it with, if that makes any difference. I'm not leaning one way or the other, just know I have options. In a perfect world I would keep the Kapex, but I don't really see a need for it and think I can come out ahead on cash.

Any insight on if Bosch plans on bringing this over the Atlantic to the US? Price is pretty steep, but I do like the quality and performance from some videos I've watched.

My first thought as well, but if it improves ergonomics and user fatigue I think it will grow on me.

Timely thread. I've got some of the 12v Bosch tools but recently helped my brother plumb his house he is building and he picked up the Milwaukee 12v propex kit to do the job. Very small learning curve, took about 2 hours to do some test runs and then complete the first run, and then about another 4 hours to finish everything. Once we were done and the house was plumbed he gave it to me for my labor cost. I'm building in the next year or two and thinking about between now and then adding some of the other Milwaukee 12v offerings, and maybe selling my Bosch 12v tools to help with the cost. See a lot more 12v Milwaukee tools available than Bosch and they seem committed to the 12v platform. Kinda surprised Dewalt, Bosch and Makita have let Milwaukee have free reign and go pretty much uncontested in wide range of tools they offer in the 12v market. The other three all have solid products, just not a lot of variety. Milwaukee has just about everything they offer in 18v available on the 12v platform. I will say that several times during his build I have started with a 18v drill or impact, but after about 20 minutes I switched to the 12v bosch series and yes, performance was slightly less, but the weight and comfort was way better and made up for the extra few minutes the job took. I find myself reaching for the 12v stuff more and more just because of that.

In tool threads about "which brand" it's basically a "Ford vs. Chevy" question with regards to the major players (Makita, Hitachi, Bosch, Ridgid, Milwaukee, Dewalt). You'll see those who are strong supporters or haters of every one of those brands. Whatever you do stay away from the el cheapos...as someone previously alluded to - buy once, cry once. You can't go wrong with the Dewalt as that is a proven saw, or any of the major players for that matter if it's for DIY work. I will add - if it's only for home use and not going to be moving much, and space is not a premium a 12" is fine (just remember a few more dollars for blades). If mobility and footprint are an issue, find a good 10".

Bosch is coming out with a new 18v multi tool...will have to check it out and see how long the run time is. I was disappointed with the 12v version as run time was about 5 minutes.

I made the mistake of buying a Dremel multimax (I think that's what their oscillating tool is called). It was awful. Weak on power, pricey on attachments and blades. And that thing would get hot quick. As someone who does a lot of hardwood installs this tool is used a lot to cut jambs and it just didn't work out. I now own the Bosch version and should have from the start. It's a lesson I have learned several times but yet keep forgetting due to the "low price" lure...pay more, buy once, cry once, vs pay a little and cry a lot when you are continuously disappointed or replacing it.

I was anti-Festool for a long time until I saw the track saw in action. The demo was ripping a piece of plywood with the vac attached for the first cut. I remember thinking "yeah, okay..a straight cut, what's so special about that? I can do that with a straight edge, some clamps and my circular saw." Then he did the same cut without the vac hose attached and there was dust everywhere. And then it took him about 5 seconds to re-position the guide rail for another cut that was smooth and accurate. About a month later I had one in my garage. As someone who does a lot of interior work you can't beat Festool's dust control. I have the track saw, a few sanders and router. When hooked up to a CT26 it is night and day between Festool and any other setup. I'm thinking long and hard about the Kapex as well. I have a Bosch 10" SCMS that is pushing 8-10 years old and even when hooked up to a vac it is a total mess. I do not use their drills. They provide zero advantage over my current arsenal (all Bosch - 18v and 12v). I tried them and just don't see why. Some people claim they are tanks - go to youtube and type "Festool Cordless Drill Myth" and watch what this guy does to his $400 drill. There's no way I'm doing that to my Bosch and expecting it to run. I guess if you are really bad to your tools maybe they are worth it??? The systainer system they use is wonderful, and I would have gone that route had Bosch not gotten into the game allowed me to convert my tool storage to their system for about half of the cost of the Festool system. I don't think Festool is the greatest thing in all the categories they compete in, such as drills, jig saws and handheld planers. But the sanders, track saw and routers are tough to beat in pure head-to-head. And most people who use the Kapex are kicking themselves for waiting so long (like me). Some people buy autographed jerseys worn by pro athletes to hang on the wall, other spend thousands to restore a car only to have it sit in the garage because they don't want to put any miles on it. I buy Festools because they make working with power tools easier and more enjoyable.

For any small engine at the house I use 100% gas. This was advice I received from friend who runs a small two man lawn mowing service. We've got one station left that is nearby that sells it. All of the other gas stations are selling gas/ethanol blends. Look around and you should be able to find someone selling 100% gas. It will probably be 10% more or so in price, but for your small engines it is worth it.

I have the Bosch and one thing you have to keep in mind is don't expect 18v results. If your looking to do something small like cutting a 2x4 stud or notching something or similar, then it's great. If your having to cut for several feet or for more than a few minutes, you will be disappointed. I had to cut out an existing door and it took me all of 5 seconds to realize that I had the wrong tool for the job. I broke out my 8 year old Hitachi 18v and proceeded to cut it out in about 3 minutes. It's ugly and dated, but effective.

Well I will say that at full retail the Bosch's aren't too much of a deal...but...I managed to get about $500 worth of l-boxxes for about $300 using various promotions and sales. That same $300 would have bought me 4-5 Festool Systainers, vs the 12 L-boxxes I was able to get. Although now I'm adding $90 for foam... Can't wait until the long holiday weekend so I can get everything organized.

I agree. Bosch is completely missing the boat on this. Also, they do not sell the trays for their own tools separate. I have quite a few 12v and 18v Bosch and a few corded ones that I bought before they introduced the l-boxx. It would be nice if I could but a tray to fit them in my new l-boxxes, but the trays only come with new tools...frustrating... And another thing about the foam - Festool charges $25 for a superior foam package that includes bottom foam, "shapable foam" to customize for a tool, and a top lid foam.

Thanks for the link on the foam! I am converting my tool storage over to the Bosch L-Boxx system, but the boxes come without any foam. The Bosch foam is $25 a pop. I was able to pick up 15 pieces of this other foam for less than $100. The sizing is a bit different but a few dabs of adhesive on the bottom should keep everything in place. 15 gives me enough for all my L-Boxxes and will let me go a few layers deep for some of tools. I'll let you know how it works out.