BoschTools Track Saw - GKT13-225L 6-1/2 In. Precision Saw with Plunge Action & Carrying Case

Obviously you're considering purchasing a track saw, stop now and buy it!! It's easy to set up, very powerful for it's size, amazingly accurate, great dust extraction and excellent quality! There's plenty of room in the sustainer box for extra blades and hold down clamps for the track (which I highly recommend). I've cut 100's of feet of plywood for built-in cabinets and storage units, ripped softwoods and hardwoods so far with table saw accuracy and finish.The track extrusions are the Mafel design and works very well, especially the track connection method, quick, rock solid and straight. Some have complained about an uneven base plate, no issues with that, dead flat! Once it's on the track and you've adjusted the guide cams, very solid. From time to time I apply a little paste wax to the sole of the base plate and the track and it's smooth as silk. At the time of purchase Amazon had some great special pricing and couldn't pass it up. This saw will also work on Festool's track so you can take advantage of their large accessory catalog.

The SawBefore I buy any tool, I usually research the tool for a solid 4-6 months. I watch a YouTube reviews, read online reviews, and try to get my hands on a tool in person. This saw wasn’t carried by any local retailers, so I could only look at the comparable track saws (Festool, Dewalt, Makita, etc.).This saw lives up to the hype. It is basically a blue Mafell (YouTube the ToolboxBuzz track saw reviews - they do a comparison and the Mafell wins). I was deciding between this saw and the Festool. Festool is great, but the accessories are more expensive and the reviews on this saw were better than the Festool. The Bosch track connections are far superior than any other track saw on the market (there are a lot of comparisons on YouTube, the Bosch/Mafell has the smoothest connections). I’ve only cut a few things with it and it did an excellent job - by far the best saw I’ve ever used. It cut plywood with zero chips and a laser smooth edge. To respond to the guy who returned it and bought the Festool - if you read the directions (he might have), this saw can cut to -1 degree to 47 degrees. There are two buttons on the angle gauge that allow you to reach these settings. Out of the box, mine was a little under -1 degree. I disengaged the -1 button and the saw was .5 degrees off. At the back of the saw, there is a little set screw that controls the angle of the stops (see pictures). It’s not listed in the directions, but it seems to adjust the angle. I used it to dial in a perfect 90 degree cut.The Track & First CutI’ve never owned/used a track saw, so cutting on a track was a new experience. I wish I would have bought one years ago. Setting up the track is super easy. The saw sits firmly on the track (after you turn the adjustment dials to snug the fit). Your first cut is made to clear the overhang of the rubber gasket on the edge of the track. I’m used to a conventional circular saw, so the plunge motion was weird, but after my first cut, I understood the motion. I used a dust collector and this saw left maybe 1-2% of what is left by a traditional circular saw (while using the same dust collector).Overall, this saw is without a doubt the best saw I’ve purchased. After months of research, I purchased it because I wanted to take my wood working to a new level. This saw will definitely help my journey.

[UPDATE] I used the saw to build an 8ft x 41in red oak table top today and it worked flawlessly! I even used the stock plywood crosscut blade that comes in it and it ripped the red oak boards (which are 1.25 inches thick) with ease. It never bogged down, and never overheated. I mention overheating because my Festool TS55's would stop working when doing rips because it would get too hot. This is easily the best track saw I've ever used. Pretty much everything about this TS system beats Festool. IMO it is not even close. If you have the money for the complete system which runs about $900, buy it! You won't regret it. My original review is below.---------------This is just a first impressions review. I just got the saw yesterday and haven't even cut anything with it yet. It may seem strange to review something I haven't used but my experience is enough to allow me to give my initial thoughts after spending an hour going over the saw, tracks, clamps, and overall system.I've owned the Festool TS75, two different TS55's, and Makita. I like the Festool offerings but do not like the Makita at all. I don't know how and why it gets such great reviews as it's just simply not a great saw. I've owned 3 Makita's and they all had the same issues. The last one I owned was the worst by far as it appeared the saw blade was not perfectly inline with the track and therefore caused serious stress during the cut and would easily burn the wood. All the Makita's I owned also had to have the spring installed properly as they were not installed correctly from the manufacturer. The spring system on the Makita's is also very cheaply and poorly executed. This isn't a review about those other saws though; I mentioned them to give some background on my experience with using Track Saws over the past 7 years.I've been wanting to try the Bosch TS for years now but could never find a seller in the US. I even thought about buying one from the UK via eBay a couple years ago but decided against it. The Bosch so far has lived up to all my expectations. The connecting system far exceeds that of Festool and Makita (which are the same). Not only is it stronger and doesn't have the chance of denting the track if over tightened—it is also faster—much faster. I also like the clamps more. The rubber on the bottom of the tracks seem to grip better as well. The edge material of the track seems better quality. The tracks aren't as wide and therefore should work better for ripping lumber, which is my main use for it. The saw has both metric and imperial measurements which none of the others do. The saw deck screams of quality, and overall the saw just looks and feels nicer than the Makita and Festool. The dust collection port on the saw is far better than the Festool and Makita. On all 6 of those the dust port was loose and would never stay in position. All 3 of the Festools I owned were awful in this regard; the Makita's had some friction but would still move pretty easily. This might not seem like a big deal but if you've used a TS with a vacuum you will know that it's actually pretty annoying. The Bosch dust port is very ridged and doesn't move easily once put where you want it. It actually has steps and feels notched so once in place it locks in.So far I'm very impressed with this TS system. I also like how the tracks come with a carrying bag to store them in. It also has an extra side pouch to store the connector and clamps in.The only thing I noticed that I can say is worse than the Festool and Makita is the saw has more friction when sliding on the track. It's not terrible, but it's not a silky smooth feeling. Even when the saw is slightly loose on the rail it still has a bit more friction than the Festool and Makita. I think this can be easily resolved with some Teflon spray.P.S. My saw container did come with some damage. Nothing major, and I thought about sending it back, but since the saw is fine and the container still works fine with no major defects, I decided to keep it. I think this damage happened in shipping. I may take some pictures and upload them later. I'm not going to rate the saw based on Amazon's horrible shipping practices. I've been using Amazon since 2006, and they've always been terrible about packing things well.