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Festool has announced a new cordless miter saw, KSC 60, a 36V saw that’s powered by dual 18V batteries.
The Festool KSC 60 is part of the Kapex miter saw family, which in the USA includes the corded AC-powered KS 120.
The Festool Kapex KSC 60 has a 216mm blade size (8-1/2″), and works with blades with a 30mm (1-3/16″) arbor hole diameter.
Festool is also launching a line of 216mm blades suited for different applications, ranging in price from $115 to $150.
- Universal Wood-Cutting (576927) – $115
- Fine Wood Cutting (576928) – $135
- Aluminum and Plastics (576929) – $140
- Laminates (576930) – $150
The cordless sliding miter saw has a maximum cutting capacity of 12″ for boards and panels up to 2-3/8″ thick.
Additional features include a 60° miter angle (left and right), and bevel angles up to 46° (right) and 47° (left).
Festool describes the saw as being suited for right or left-handed users, with a centrally-positioned handle and switch.
The saw comes with attachable “elevation feet” that bring its support table up to the same height as the included Systainer tool box. This allows the Systainer to be used as outfeed support when both it and the tool are placed on the floor.
The saw ships with a dust collection bag, saw blade, hold-down clamp, angle gauge, dual-port charger, 2x 18V 5.0Ah batteries, plus a Systainer tool box to hold all of the loose items.
It weighs 38.14 lbs, presumably tool-only, as the same figure is given for the two kits that come with and without batteries.
Price: $1298 for the kit (KAPEX KSC 60 EB 5,0 I-Plus), $999 for the tool-only kit (KSC 60 EB-Basic) which leaves out the batteries and charger.
Discussion
Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita, Bosch, Metabo HPT, and other professional tool brands all offer cordless miter saws with competitive cutting capacity and great runtime while being powered by a single Li-ion battery.
I suppose that an 18V x2 dual-battery 36V cordless miter saw is better than Festool not being able to offer their users any miter saw at all.
While I strongly prefer single battery handheld cordless power tools, dual batteries are more acceptable on benchtop tools and similar types of equipment.
The new Festool 216mm blades have a 30mm (1-3/16″) arbor hole, which implies that the saw has a 30mm motor shaft.
What this means is that you’re not going to be able to use off-the-shelf 8-1/2″ sliding miter saw blades with this saw.
Diablo’s 60T 8-1/2″ fine finish blade is priced at $46 at Amazon, and the Freud 48T fine finish 8-1/2″ sliding miter saw blade is $54 at Amazon. Festool’s 60T 8-1/2″ fine finish blade will be priced at $135.
I mention this because Festool advertises the saw as having a 8-1/2″ blade in some places, which I tend to interpret as 8-1/2″ x 5/8″. Freud and Diablo’s 8-1/2″ saw blades have a 5/8′ arbor hole.
Makita’s XGT cordless 8-1/2″ sliding miter saw works with blades that have a 5/8″ arbor hole.
Other brands do make 216 x 30mm blades, but the ones I’ve found only ship from Europe.
This is just something to take into account. Festool makes decent consumables, you’ll just have to stick with their blades or find another source for 216mm x 30mm sliding miter saw blades.
Blade compatibility and selection is always a concern with tools from European toolmakers. My first (and only) corded Festool track saw only has a metric cutting depth gauge. It’s something you get used to.
Here’s what Festool says about their new cordless miter saw’s dust collection:
Chip collection bag for dust-free work, even without a mobile dust extractor.
They also advertise it as being “healthier.”
From Festool’s promotional videos, the Kapex KSC 60 cordless miter saw still sprays fine sawdust around and behind the saw, just like other brands’ sliding miter saws.
This shouldn’t be surprising – dust bags usually collect some dust, but I’ve never seen any miter saw chip collection bags ever deliver “dust-free work.”
The saw also has a Festool-standard vacuum port.
Festool mentions the saw’s precision no less than 27 times on their product page. The big question is if the cordless Kapex KSC 60 is a better choice than other brands’ cordless and sliding miter saws, and how?
From what I can tell, you have to deal with 2 batteries instead of 1, the saw doesn’t work with widely available blades, and the dust collection doesn’t appear to be any better than other brands’ cordless miter saws.
In other Festool News:
