Makita SP6000J1 6-1/2" Plunge Circular Saw Kit, with Stackable Tool case and 55" Guide Rail, Blue

I purchased the Dewalt and took it back before using it and purchased the Makita instead. My reason for this is that Makita and Fess use the same track design, which means there are more accessories to make this system even better. Dewalt has discontinued many of their accessories, and aftermarket accessories for other track systems in many cases do not work with Dewalt due to their double sided track design. I really wanted a t-square attachment for the track to make setups easier when breaking down sheet goods. You don’t need one, but it is nice to have. Ok, so what about quality? Both the Dewalt and Makita feel like good products. The Dewalt T is heavier, and feels like it is made from some heavier castings. I did not run the Dewalt but I did adjust the saw and check its ability to slide well. The Makita slid across the track much more smoothly than the Dewalt. Adjustments are similar, so I consider them equal here. The Makita has a track retaining latch that keeps the saw from tipping off the track when doing miter cuts. What about accuracy? I had to square up a piece of 3/8” painted furniture grade plywood that arrived in a parallelogram shape from my cabinet company. How a company with huge panel saws and CNC machines cannot cut a square corner is beyond me. This piece was going to skin the back of a peninsula and join to the face frame of a cabinet, so the cut had to be accurate, clean, and straight. The results were absolutely perfect! I think the cabinet company should buy this saw. The quality of the cut was better in every way. I replaced the factory blade with the 56 tooth Makita thin kerf blade before setting up my track. This added some cost, but I think it was worth it. The saw cut very well with this blade. Makita should include this blade standard. It felt like the motor was coasting, which I can in part attribute to the anti friction coating on this blade. I like the plunge movement better on the Makita too. The Dewalt felt a bit unnatural. Makita has a very nice track bag to hold your tracks too. It is extra but I really liked the quality. The box that comes with the saw is also nice, and has a bit of extra room in it to hold a spare balde or two. All I can say is buy this thing. You won’t be disappointed.

Here is my review on the: Makita SP6000J1 6-1/2" Plunge Circular Saw Kit, with Stackable Tool case and 55" Guide Rail I purchased this with my own money. This is the corded model. I don't have a dust collector so I cannot speak to that. In short, I love it and although I have never used Festool I feel this is the tracksaw/railsaw for me. I have no complaints whatsoever with the operation, quality, or overall appearance of this saw. What I love about it is the rail/track is compatible with Festool stuff and unlike DeWalt and many others proprietary in nature. So accessories from Ali Express or Festool or TSO, etc. will all work with this track/rail. I purchased rail clamps but I've never had to use them because the track is grippy! I couldn't believe that when I was considering the purchase of this saw, but keep the back side of the rail and your work blown off with compressed air and you'll have no slipping! I used this Makita system to build kitchen cabinets. And, prior to that, to make a straight edge on 8-foot-long poplar for door and window casings in my cabin. It's a high-quality piece of gear like all Makita stuff is. The track is heavy and nice aluminum. What I did was purchase (2) 55-inch Powertech rails that I keep fastened together for long rips, then I use the 55-inch Makita rail with this set for cross cuts. I bought an inexpensive rail square to help with that which works wonderfully. Very accurate cuts, very easy to accomplish. The hard case is nice to store the saw in. The soft start feature is very nice, the plunge feature works very smoothly. The Makita blade is exceptional. Exceptional. In fact, this blade, along with the rubber strip on the rail prevents tear-out better than some of my very expensive blades used on my Delta 3 h.p. Unisaw. I should have bought this a year or two ago. It's an expensive purchase, yes. But if you use it only 3-4 times (you'll use it much more!) I feel it has paid for itself. I love it. I highly recommend this Makita corded track saw.

I assume the title about covers it : I've owned this saw since 2018 and have made countless hundreds of cuts with it. I've replaced the rubber pads on the bottom of the track but I'm still on the same track. It's done fine and still makes straight cuts. I'm a few blades in now and I don't actually remember if the factory blade was great, though I don't remember it being conspicuously bad either. I just cut through 1 1/2" red oak yesterday. It wasn't super speedy but it got the job done. Maybe the motor has lost some power over the years but not a lot. It was about a hundred dollars cheaper when I bought it (with inflation probably about the same price) but I consider it one of the best woodworking purchases I've ever made. I use this twice as much as my table saw. Even the case has more or less lasted, though some latches have cracked a little.

I'm a DIY'er who's working on our first house, built in 1916. I'm not paid to write this review. I was seriously considering a Rigid 4512 table saw to build my kitchen cabinets. I'm building simple face frame cabinets out of 3/4" birch ply. It was a hard decision, but watching all the reviews throughout the web, I decided on the Mikita. I HAVE NOT CUT ANY CABINET GRADE PLYWOOD YET, but I did cut up a piece of scrap chipboard or multi stranded ply, what ever they call it. I am amazed at how well it cut CHIP BOARD, off all things, without any noticeable splintering. I've used good cabinet saws at one of my previous jobs building blood mobiles, and yes, they are nice to have, but we had infeed and outfeed tables for cutting up 3/4 ply. I would have had to build those tables if I had bought a small table saw, and being in a two car garage with one side taken up, that wasn't an option. I didn't want the cheap feeling and unsteadiness of a portable table saw. I researched this and mulled on it for two weeks and am glad I chose a track saw, and the Mikita is awesome. It's smooth, powerful yet doesn't try to kick out like a sidewinder circular saw (mainly because it's on a track, but the soft start prevents it the most). It cuts just as good as any of the table saws I've ever used. The only cons I give it, is when I first cut with it to shave the rubber edge down to size, on the end I started it cut it a little close, and on the end where I finished the cut, it's a little far out. Miniscule, and probably operator error, but none the less. Just be careful on that first cut, and the rest are gravy. I'm cutting on a sheet of 1" insulating foam I split in half and made a duct tape hinge for keeping under my work bench. If your a DIY'er on a budget, and only plan to build cabinets and cut sheet goods for your house, BUY THIS ONE!

I love this saw! I don't know how I managed without it for so many decades. An absolute must have if you work with sheet woods! It is so nice to have perfect and clean cuts come out exactly as you expected!

I don't use it every day but when I have, I love it. Cuts super clean and straight with plenty of power. I went corded route as I normally have a close by power source. I also don't have any other Makita cordless tools and didn't want to deal with another battery.

I was in the "I have a good straight edge and a circular saw" camp for the last 20 years. Simply put, I was a fool. This tool allowed me to break down 3 full sheets of 3/4" ply, on my own, in under an hr. Simply mark your line, lay down the track, and cut away. No more, mark your line, measure back from the edge of the shoe to the, (was it inside or outside?) edge of the blade, hold it tight against the fence, etc. While the Makita and the Festool are very close in features (at the time of this purchase), the price difference was the breaker. The quality is still top notch. It's easy to use, setup and breakdown time is peanuts compared to the old method. The manual is laid out well and easy to read/understand (I'm a tech writer, gotta read someone else's work/validate their job!), though the tool is intuitive enough you hardly need to use it. Changing blades is quite easy too (get a seperate blade for MDF, leave the one it comes with for your ply). I was also fortunate to try the saw before purchasing. My father had just bought one when he came to visit (lives a couple hrs away, otherwise I would have borrowed his). The smooth soft start, plunge action, and accuracy with the track, not to mention no chip out one what is becoming thinner and thinner veneered plywood, sold me. TL;DR - Great saw, worth the price of admission. Go get it.

Makita customer service said that the bases are supposed to be flat. I got 3 of these from 2 different vendors (amazon and home depot) via return/replacement process. All 3 units had bases that were bowed., anf I did not kleep any of them. I got a (one) Festool and I am very happy with it.