Makita plunge saw vs festool and mafell

I have had all 3 of those saws and i think the Mafell is not worth the extra. The festool was the best, but i think it is now only 1200w so not as powerful as the Makita. I am currently using the Makita and if i needed to buy another plunge saw it would be the Makita. Good value and does what it needs to. It feels stable and well built.

 

I'll second the Makita,accurate, well made & a bargain,still as good now as when I had one back in 2010.

Bosch GKT 55 GCE is another one worth looking at, like Makita it hasn't change much in design over the years.

 

Haven't tried the Makita but the Festool is very impressive and well worth the money. The Mafell is even better quality but the price is too high to justify for me

 

I have the Makita VC2012L class L dust extractor, find it excellent, used it with my Bosch plane,& Bosch sliding mitre saw, also with several Makita sanders, got no complaints,has a nice long hose,can use it with or without bags, PET cartridge is washable, alo as power take off socket.
Found the Nilfisk Alto 302002404 bags fit,were considerably cheaper than the Makita ones to buy, are several other types of bag available.

Had the Makita plunge saw way back in around 2009, got rid of it 2014,then bought another one last year for a job, which I still haven't done.
Found it superb, but it has no riving knife, some peeps find the lack of one annoying, never had a problem myself.
As for blades only blades I use are Freud lovely clean cutting, no splintering.

Makita 1943685 1400mmrail can be bought on Ebay for £39:99p.

 

One thing with the Makita plunge saw like all plunge saw, there are marks for the start & end of blade on casing, I have painted them orange to make them easier to see.
Have even used the saw to trim the bottom of a door while still hung.

 

If you go for the festool be prepared to become addicted you never want to use makita or dewalt again