Editor’s Note: Andy Engel may not be Instagram-famous or a breaker of YouTube, but he should be. He’s also cool and hilarious, and a remarkable carpenter. Add really good writer and you have the very example of why a life in the trades is a smart, professional choice for young people.
Like a lot of us, my first experience with a track saw was with a Festool TS55. It was a game changer, but Yankee thrift prevented me from buying one, particularly when my good friend Strother owned one I could borrow any time. Nonetheless, I’ve lusted after my own track saw ever since the first time I joined a couple of Strother’s rails together and straight-edged 12-foot lengths of rough-sawn lumber more easily than I’d ever done.
Sadly, Strother moved to Chicago, leaving me missing him and his track saw.
Now, Festool isn’t the only game in town anymore. Most major manufacturers produce a track saw. Still, the Festool is the classic and when I tried out the Bosch GKT13-225, it was my basis for comparison.
At $600, the Bosch is about $60 cheaper than the 6 ½-inch Festool. Not a ton of money, and not enough to make a difference if the Festool was the better tool.
It isn’t.
[Andy also likes Bosch’s cordless drill/hammer drill and makes the case why this tool platform is still relevant in an impact driven world. Read his review here.]
They both work about the same, with soft-start 13-amp motors that deliver plenty of power. In each case, the tools aren’t particularly intuitive, and it helps to read the manual.
With the Bosch, making a cut is a two-step process; to fire up the motor, you first depress a safety switch with your thumb (which also releases the plunge lock on the saw) and then pull the trigger switch. I found it equally easy to perform these operations right- or left-handed.
Depth of cut is quickly set using a sliding detent. The depth scale is in both metric and inches, and the depth indicator rotates to two positions; one for using the saw with the track and one for without the track. Although it’s only a 6 ½-inch blade, the maximum depth of cut is 2 ½ inches. The maximum bevel angle is 47 degrees, with a stop set at 45 degrees to keep you out of trouble.
One thing that threw me was the angle adjustment, and that was mainly because I didn’t read the manual until the saw stymied me. The standard Makita, DeWalt, and Skil saws I use over the course of a normal week have one angle scale and lock at the front of the saw. When I tried to set the Bosch up to bevel a door, releasing the front angle lock did nothing. Five minutes later, I figured out there’s also a bevel scale and lock at the back of the tool, and both need to be loosened to angle the blade. That’s on me.
Blade change is simple. Just forward of the safety switch is a covered detent switch that allows the saw to be plunged and locked at the particular depth that allows access to the arbor through a window in the side guard. Stick in a hex wrench, press the blade detent, turn the hex wrench, and the blade is loosened.
I didn’t perform any measured tests, but with a vac hooked up, dust collection seemed equivalent to that of a Festool saw. In fact, the whole saw pleases me the same way Strother’s Festool used to.
Which brings me to the tracks. Here’s the difference. Festool’s joining plates are small compared with Bosch’s, and in my experience, they don’t always lock two sections of track together as well as I’d like. Bosch’s joining plates are about an inch and a half wide, providing plenty of alignment meat. Hex-wrench-operated cams lock the plates to the tracks, and the resulting joint is bombproof. (I’m told that Bosch’s track is identical to Mafell’s, but I haven’t confirmed that.) The plates have a different profile on each edge and only fit in the tracks one way. Well, that’s not strictly true—they can be forced in the wrong way. Don’t ask how I know.
When used correctly, they slip in and then lock very easily. The rubber zero-clearance splinter guard works well, both for aligning the track and for keeping cuts smooth. Replacements are available for when you inevitably beat yours up.
Tracks are available in lengths of 800mm (31 1/2 inches), 1,000mm (39 3/8 inches). 1,600mm (63 inches), and 2,100mm (82 5/8 inches). Additionally, a mitering track is available, as well as clamps to secure the tracks (not really needed in most cases), a stop that fastens to the track to limit the length of a cut, and oddly, an edge guide should you wish to use the track saw without the track. The generously sized, stackable case holds the saw easily and with plenty of space for track clamps, joining plates, and so forth.
In the end, the sturdy track joints and the slight cost savings tipped the scales for me in favor of the Bosch.
