Exakt Saw product reviews

When I first heard about this saw, I didn't know what to expect, so I was quite intrigued when one arrived for me to experiment with. I am one of those typical, annoying males who likes to get elbow-deep in picking and poking a tool until I understand it, before I even *consider* unsealing the bag containing the manual or user guide. If I can't get a handle on it myself, it's probably going to be too tough to use much anyways. That's my policy.

So, out of the box it came, all the bits arrayed neatly on the floor in front of me. A close inspection of the trigger, safety catch and guard, blades and tools all revealed a most interesting powertool, so I decided to 'give it a spin' and see what happened.

Alas, the only project I had on the books required the use of 15mm customwood... 3mm thicker than the maximum depth this was designed to cut. Strangely though, despite much effort, the deepest cut *I* could get was only 10.5mm... so only about 2/3rds the depth needed for this project. However, because of the lightness and handy guides on the safety casing, it was easy enough to flip the board over and cut the same groove from the other side, completing a full cut with none of the splintering I sometimes get when I handsaw... you know, when the teeth push *out* from the bottom of the board?

A couple of things caught my attention... first off was how difficult it was to hold the power button back with my thumb while still retaining a firm grip, especially as I had to first press a release lever to unlock the depth guide and allow it to retract, exposing the blade as I pushed down. It's a tricky maneuver to say the least. In the end I found that a strong grip was the secret... which meant that with my old RSI injury, this became problematic after about 5 minutes. Thankfully, this saw is so easy to put aside and restart the cut later without trouble, I could work in small bursts easily.

The other thing I noticed was how effective the dust extraction system is. As long as your vacuum cleaner has a good suction, this works a real treat, taking a good 95% of the dust away from the work area instantly.

I also tried the metal cutting blade on some old 4mm sheet aluminium, with great results, and the ceramic blade on some old left-over kitchen tiles I had lying about, with moderately good results. I wouldn't say it was spectacular, but it sure beats the cost of hiring a tilecutter for a day, and you can cut some very small tiles with this, far smaller than an industrial unit would allow.

Overall, I was very impressed, though I must admit that due to the small size of the blade, and the far larger size of the blade guard, knowing where the leading edge of the cut is becomes a bit of a mission until you have done a few cuts and learned 'The Way of the Blades'. None the less, be sure you DO read the manual, as there are a couple of points to note, and a few surprises when it comes to cleaning the unit.

When this tool arrived we ripped the outside packing off it and opened up the box. The carry case is rather solid and well suited to the saw and the other must-have bits. I don't normally bother with instructions but thought I had better read them before we did anything with it. Mean while, my partner had it all out and was fitting the blade by the time I had a chance to finish reading.

Like most males, he wanted to try it out straight away, hence why my solid kauri chopping board is now in pieces. The most difficult part of operating the saw is trying to hold it, while pulling back the power switch, holding the guard safety and pushing down. It is something that will take time to get used to but isn't overly bad. With my partner having arthritis in his hands, it means that he can't use the tool for long periods at a time and has to put it down frequently. Because of the design of it, you can start and stop at your own ease with minimal kick back. With the all timbers we tried, we got professional quality and clean cuts. We managed to get a full 12mm cut and were impressed with this.

We decided to test this a bit more and tried it on a fiber glass roofing sheet and this stuff is normally a pain to cut and requires the use of a grinder. The saw sliced through it with ease using the fine tooth blade provided. This stuff normally has a rough edge that can cut you on the finished product and with the saw, we just wiped the dust away and had no catches on the cloth.

The next test for this was a piece of carbon steel 3mm thick. While this tool isn't recommend for this, it did cut slowly through it, blunting the blade as it went. We have not yet tried it on ceramics but will be looking forward to trying it. This tool has ample power to do what it is designed, for which is hobby work. This tool is cleaner to use than a skill saw, even without the extract on it. With the dust extraction on, we tested it over our carpet. Amazingly, there was no sawdust at all on it. One flaw we did notice with it is that there is no safety switch for when the blade guard is off. Although when changing blades, your tool should always be turned off and unplugged at the wall. The blades are extremely easy to change and store. After seeing it being used and the quality of the work, my mother wants one and it will be a great addition to any tool kit.