Review - Bosch Pro GKT55 GCE

[synapseza]

Hi Guys,


I got the Bosch GKT55 GCE track saw/plunge saw a few months ago. Thought I'd write up a review of my experiences. I am not affiliated in any way with Bosch or the stockist where I bought my saw.


Background - How I ended up with the GKT55 GCE
===============================================
I originally bought the Bosch GKS65 GCE. This machine is still a conventional circular saw, but with a more substantial base to be used with the Bosch FSN guide rail system. It has a 1600W motor and 65mm cutting depth at 0 degrees. The problem was that I could not get the saw set to 0 degrees - the saw body hit the base before reaching 0 degrees. It bottomed out around 2 degrees which prevented me from making square cuts.
After contacting Bosch South Africa, I was told that it is not a part that they can fix and they didn't have replacement stock. I returned the saw.


But that left me with cash in my hand and no saw. I don't have a table saw and planned to use my circular/track saw with a jig similar to the Eurakazone EZ One.
I started looking at reviews/comments for higher precision/quality track saws: Festool TS55, Bosch GKT55 GCE and the Makita SP6000K. At the time these were the only models that I could easily find in South Africa.
Reviews and comments about the Festool are plentiful, but the system is quite a pricey one to get into (especially for the weekend warrior). The Bosch and Makita are similarly priced over here (at around 600USD). The majority of my tools are Bosch Pro (Blue) or Makita and I have been very happy with both brands. So I decided to look at both in more detail.


Specification comparison - for the Bosch:
1. Slightly more power (1400W vs 1300W)
2. Slightly deeper depth of cut at 0 degrees (57mm vs 56mm)
3. Uses the FSN (Mafell developed) guide rails, but the saw can be used on the Festool (Makita) guide rails as well. The FSN rails are much easier to join.
4. Based on the Mafell MT55.


For the Makita:
1. Slightly lighter (4.4kg vs 4.7kg).
2. Scoring cut depth stop to reduce chip-out.
3. Lock to prevent the saw from tipping.


Given this comparison I was leaning towards the Bosch due to the fact that it has more power and uses a slightly better (in my opinion) guide rail system and has the flexibility that I can use the Festool/Makita tracks.


I found a YouTube video review/test done by GereedschapPro.nl (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFcBOT2UTfU). It is in Dutch without proper subtitles, but fortunately my native tongue (Afrikaans) is fairly close to Dutch so I was able to understand most of it. Some of the tests they did are not that useful for what I want to do: such as the time it takes to cut through hardwood and how easily the blades are changed. The Makita struggled a bit with the hardwood cut (the apparent lack of power concerned me more than the speed of the cut) and had worse dust collection when compared to the Bosch. It was also noisier than the Bosch. The Mafell MT55 came out on top (with the Festool TS55R EBQ) in second and the Bosch GKT55 GCE in third. Given that the Bosch is very closely related to the Mafell it is not surprising that it performed very well.


I was pretty much decided on the Bosch and then got it for a very good deal compared to the Makita (about a 100USD cheaper after figuring in the track clamps that are included with the Makita).


What I got:
===========
Bosch GKT55 GCE saw
165mm Top Precision blade (made by Freud, part of the Bosch group of companies) - 48 teeth and 1.8mm kerf.
L-BOXX 374 (the largest one - plenty of space for accessories and other tools)
Tool inlay for the L-BOXX
1.6m FSN guide rail


Initial Impressions - the good:
===============================
1. The machine is made in Germany - so build quality is what you would expect.
2. The base is very solid and the saw cut true right out of the box. The blade can be bevelled between -1 and 47 degrees with positive stops at 0 degrees and 45 degrees.
3. Very clean cuts in cabinet grade pine ply - even with the 48T blade.
4. Extremely efficient dust collection. When the sliding extraction window (small plastic tab at the front of the blade) is push down onto the workpiece the dust extraction is improved even further.
5. The side of the motor unit is flat and the spindle can be locked allowing both hands to be used for the blade change. Unlike the Mafell MT55 (on which this saw is based), the side panel of the saw cannot open to simplify the blade change and it has to be done through a small slot in the side panel. It is not very difficult to do and takes less than a minute.
6. The saw is very stable on the guide rail. Adjustment knobs are provided on the base to adjust the fit on the rail if there is play.
7. Speed adjustment is provided on the back of the motor unit, but I have not had the opportunity to use this. The electronic speed control works well throughout the cut.
8. The depth stop has a neat feature where the height of the guide rail can be taken into consideration.


The bad:
========
1. No riving knife. The Festool and Mafell have a riving knife, while the Makita and the Bosch does not. I would have preferred to have this, but the Eurakazone-like system I planned to use would make the cuts a lot safer and reduce the chance of binding. (I knew before purchasing that the tool does not have a riving knife, but my budget did not allow me to do anything about it)
2. When cutting 45 degree bevels the saw could tip over. My technique might also be at fault (still new to the tool) but the Makita has locks onto the guide rail to prevent this.
3. The guide rail is able to move around slightly on plywood when not clamped down. Especially when the plywood is slightly bowed/cupped. Very subtle - but it is enough for me to rather clamp it down when working with sheet goods.


Conclusion:
===========
Clearly the good aspects outweigh the negative aspects. It is a quality tool and I am extremely happy with the accuracy it delivers. Without a table saw in my shop, I use it to do the final cuts for my projects and it works very well.

I hope this review is useful to someone considering the saw. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

[P.W.H.]

I've had the same saw for quite a while now - maybe a year or so.
I do not miss the riving knife in any way. I've ripped through 50mm purpleheart with this saw and had no problems (running the saw on a 2x1.6m rail).
The rails are very good and, generally, do not slip at all, particularly on coated mdf and clean ply - my friend who has a festool was completely
boggled by this and said he wished he'd known of the Bosch when he bought the Festool; because of the track.
Having said that, yes, on dusty or rough sheets of ply it can move, so I went and shelled out for the little clamps that are an extra accessory.
I rarely use them, except when things get precarious with cutting short runs on materials that want to slither around on the bench.
As it were, it helps to flip the track over every so often and wipe the rubber beads with a clean cloth - makes all the difference.

Now I have a problem: suddenly the saw stopped cutting square. The mitre gauge/stop is inacurate all of a sudden, aqnd seems floppy around the 0 degree mark;
and I have not found any information on how to get that fixed.
The user handbook seems to not have any info beyond 'set the mitre you want and away you go'.
Not even a troubleshooting guide in the manual.

[Kiwibrucee]

I know this was a couple of years ago now but I’m posting in case any one else is having the same problem, there is and adjustment screw for the zero degree stop. It’s a 2.5mm grub screw in the side of the rear bevel block