Author Topic: Best Kapex review I've seen (Read 8519 times)

MarcV · « **on:** November 30, 2017, 12:27 PM »

I found a real world review of the Kapex on youtube. The guy has abused it for 7 years with zero problems.

Moderator note...... video removed due to safety features missing.

McNally Family · « **Reply #1 on:** November 30, 2017, 01:25 PM »

@MarcV

Thank you for posting this video!

Moderator note...... video removed due to safety features (blade guard) missing.

Naildrivingman · « **Reply #2 on:** November 30, 2017, 09:15 PM »

Where is the video?

EDIT: Musta been something on my end. The video wasn’t available when I posted, but is now. I gotta say, I like the author’s candor and his no holds barred language.

Harry1561 · « **Reply #3 on:** November 30, 2017, 09:46 PM »

Thanks for posting this video. Great to hear a positive review on the Kapex.

antss · « **Reply #4 on:** November 30, 2017, 10:26 PM »

His keeps goin and goin ,

but the reason I might not want one is that there are waaaaaay too many reports of saws that are younger and more cared for that blow smoke after year 2 & 3 & 4 that make risking $1500 too great for a gee wiz bevel system.

I have miter saws that I can get just as accurate cuts with widely available blades and they're 20+ years old. And I can re set the compound miter knocked out by the yahoo just as fast because I use a dialed in piece for the test fit as a template. It's unlikely that you need a 5.5 deg. bevel for the next cut anyway. I will concede, mine won't get there a easy or stylishly as kapex will.

RVHernandez · « **Reply #5 on:** November 30, 2017, 11:50 PM »

You may say "I hear of wayyyy too many bad Kapex problems... but seriously, when was the last time any of us ever posted "Just checking in. My Kapex is just working fine today." My point is, we hear of all the problems and complaints, but hardly anybody posts when things are working fine.

PaulH99 · « **Reply #6 on:** December 01, 2017, 05:24 AM »

If folks want a better idea of how many people on this forum own a Kapex and what their experiences are, then someone really should set up a poll with three options:

1. Own a Kapex 120; Love it.
2. Own a Kapex 120; Smoked it.
3. Don't own a Kapex 120 (list your CMS in the comments)

Thoughts?

Peter Halle · « **Reply #7 on:** December 01, 2017, 06:35 AM »

Polls were disabled in the software years ago due to the fact that spammers were flocking to that feature and because so many polls were poorly developed. Editing a poll after people started posting in the thread became difficult to do and could have been viewed as altering the voting.

Peter

Cheese · « **Reply #8 on:** December 01, 2017, 09:13 AM »

Quote from: Peter Halle on December 01, 2017, 06:35 AM

Polls were disabled in the software years ago due to the fact that spammers were flocking to that feature and because so many polls were poorly developed. Editing a poll after people started posting in the thread became difficult to do and could have been viewed as altering the voting.

Peter

Peter, wasn't there a thread about a year or so ago in which people wrote in and explained how they used their Kapex and whether they had issues with it or not?

The reason I ask you, is because I thought you weighed in on it to keep the discussion in line.

RobWoodCutter · « **Reply #9 on:** December 01, 2017, 09:31 AM »

Having been a moderator on a forum before and tracking all users, when they joined, when they quit, when the posted first, how many posts they made and last post and looking at the trends of there posts and I can tell you from my experience that 95 percent of the folks the own the Kapex probably don't visit this site if it is working properly.

If someone that moderates this site had access to the number of all individuals that own festool products and those that are actually register at this site, you would most likely see a lot missing in action.

We had 9000 register user on the group I helped moderated and polls would only attract about 20-30 even when we offered a give away.

Of the 9000 members that joined less than 400 ever posted and less than 50 were regular posters. When we sent out a forced email to all the register user telling them we were verifying users that wanted to stay as members we got roughly 60 response if I remembered correctly.

People joined before they purchased to asked questions or just browse for peoples experience or joined after they purchased to search for help and if they did find their answer they would post once or twice and would disappear. When an upgrade came along or they wanted to get into the more advance features of the product, they might return, ask a question and then disappeared again for years.

So unless Festool were to send out a questionnaire to all currently known owners of the Kapex, the poll would not tell you a whole lot. You would only be getting a small sampling of happy users and a larger sample of the unhappy users.

PS I have one and use it almost every other day and have no issues with mine. (other than the oil leak issue.)

ChuckM · « **Reply #10 on:** December 01, 2017, 10:09 AM »

Quote from: RobWoodCutter on December 01, 2017, 09:31 AM

So unless Festool were to send out a questionnaire to all currently known owners of the Kapex, the poll would not tell you a whole lot.

Why all the trouble of (another unreliable) poll?

Festool has the data in its repair dept. as well as # of units produced, # of units sold, etc. Living in the digital age, Festool has captured all the vital statistics and it has its reasons why it would not want to share them.

The Kapex problem (real or imaginary) would not go away and people on the opposite side would continue to believe what they believe in the absence of any official hard data available to them.

Yes, the worries (real or imaginary) would affect sales/Festool's reputation and the confidence of some owners (me included; mine is... let me check...almost three years old now with three months left on the warranty). But it is not the end of the world. Of course, if mine became a junk, I would not replace it with another Kapex (small or large).

As for the review, the title (seven years) and the battered look of the saw gave me a sense of hope and to me, that's the most useful piece of info. to take away. (I, however, did not like seeing the guard removed even for the purposes of reviewing.)

Cheese · « **Reply #11 on:** December 01, 2017, 11:17 AM »

I liked the review, just a regular working guy saying what he likes and what he doesn't like.

I also loved the adult language...refreshing for a change in this day and age.

pettyconstruction · « **Reply #12 on:** December 01, 2017, 11:55 AM »

Quote from: Cheese on December 01, 2017, 11:17 AM

I liked the review, just a regular working guy saying what he likes and what he doesn't like. I also loved the adult language...refreshing for a change in this day and age.

My thoughts exactly, and a candid language is nice.
Charlie
P.S I think we need to hear more of the "working fine" posts

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

antss · « **Reply #13 on:** December 01, 2017, 01:46 PM »

I liked the review too, even though I don't like the saw.

Not everyone registers their tools. I've never registered my tools upon purchase in 20 something years. So it's not likely they know what I own. They'll have records of the ones Ive sent in for service but those are very few and I don't even own most those anymore.

Not knowing the difference between a miter and a bevel makes me question the source a bit though.

That more people don't come round to say how great and wonderful their Festool _________ is , isn't surprising. Where do think the term fanboy germinated from
? I like that this isn't a mutual admiration society.

ScotF · « **Reply #14 on:** December 02, 2017, 01:35 AM »

I came across this a few weeks ago. He has a new one on the TS55 that is good too.

scholar · « **Reply #15 on:** December 02, 2017, 10:46 AM »

Hmm, maybe this is a spoof thread, I don’t know.

I didn’t watch the video throughout, but to my mind picturing this machine in its damaged/modified/dangerous state is inappropriate and irresponsible. If I lost the blade guard, I would get it repaired.

(I’m an early Kapex adopter and very happy with the machine).

Sorry

ChuckM · « **Reply #16 on:** December 02, 2017, 11:02 AM »

Quote from: scholar on December 02, 2017, 10:46 AM

Hmm, maybe this is a spoof thread, I don’t know.

I didn’t watch the video throughout, but to my mind picturing this machine in its damaged/modified/dangerous state is inappropriate and irresponsible. If I lost the blade guard, I would get it repaired.

(I’m an early Kapex adopter and very happy with the machine).

Sorry

I recall seeing a discussion (forgot where...here?) in which someone was showing a photo of how he used his mtire saw (a Dewalt, I think) on the job site -- with the guard held up at all times with a bungee cord. His argument was that he could see things clearly and could make hundred of cuts much much quicker.

His photo showing the unsafe way of doing things was removed by a moderator subsequently.

In my province, we still have some people driving (in the farming area) not wearing their seatbelts out of poor habits.

Cheese · « **Reply #17 on:** December 02, 2017, 11:21 AM »

Quote from: scholar on December 02, 2017, 10:46 AM

If I lost the blade guard, I would get it repaired.

I believe in the video, he said he'd already gone through 2 of them.

ChuckM · « **Reply #18 on:** December 02, 2017, 11:37 AM »

At 7:23ish, he said he normally wouldn't have put the guard on, but..."they made me."

So I suppose the guard is on when he uses this Kapex on the job (as a contractor or an employee).

SRSemenza · « **Reply #19 on:** December 02, 2017, 11:51 AM »

Had to remove the video. I am sure people can find it if they want to.

Seth

Gregor · « **Reply #20 on:** December 02, 2017, 09:23 PM »

Quote from: SRSemenza on December 02, 2017, 11:51 AM

Had to remove the video. I am sure people can find it if they want to.

Could you please share the reasoning for that decision?

Peter Halle · « **Reply #21 on:** December 02, 2017, 10:15 PM »

I know that Seth has some other things going on and might not be able to visit and answer but I strongly suspect that the removal is because of modifications to the saw shown in the video including the removal of the manufacturer supplied blade guard as mentioned by others here in this thread.

Peter

MarcV · « **Reply #22 on:** December 02, 2017, 11:13 PM »

I don't understand the reasoning of deleting the video. I posted it to show that not all Kapex burn up prematurely. If I violated some forum rule I apologize. Personally I think that the Kapex problems are not as bad as they appear. I think there is a certain number of all tools that fail prematurely, and those are the people that post about it. Its not a accurate depiction of the tools reliability. If you google any saw such as "dewalt miter saw burn up" you will find complaints. Every saw has people posting about problems. Kapex problems seem worse though because its a $1500 saw and for that money you don't think that should happen. If I had to guess the problems are due to people using extensions cords, not using good outlets, running the saw through the vacuums, and depriving the saw of the amps that it needs, which could lead to premature motor problems. Just my personal guess and I don't have any evidence to back that up.

SRSemenza · « **Reply #23 on:** December 02, 2017, 11:32 PM »

Quote from: MarcV on December 02, 2017, 11:13 PM

I don't understand the reasoning of deleting the video. I posted it to show that not all Kapex burn up prematurely. If I violated some forum rule I apologize. Personally I think that the Kapex problems are not as bad as they appear. I think there is a certain number of all tools that fail prematurely, and those are the people that post about it. Its not a accurate depiction of the tools reliability. If you google any saw such as "dewalt miter saw burn up" you will find complaints. Every saw has people posting about problems. Kapex problems seem worse though because its a $1500 saw and for that money you don't think that should happen. If I had to guess the problems are due to people using extensions cords, not using good outlets, running the saw through the vacuums, and depriving the saw of the amps that it needs, which could lead to premature motor problems. Just my personal guess and I don't have any evidence to back that up.

Yes, as Peter said and as noted in the posts that the video was removed from, it was taken out for showing and condoning operating the saw without the blade guard.

Otherwise though it is an awesome real life , real use video. And as you say demonstrates that not all Kapex burn up, and that they don't need to be babied, and that they will cut more than just trim. And that Kapex clearly gets really used ................. a lot.

Wish it could left for easy viewing. Thanks for posting it regardless of it's removal.

Seth

ChuckM · « **Reply #24 on:** December 03, 2017, 01:01 AM »

Quote from: MarcV on December 02, 2017, 11:13 PM

If I had to guess the problems are due to people using extensions cords, not using good outlets, running the saw through the vacuums, and depriving the saw of the amps that it needs, which could lead to premature motor problems.

I hope none of these speculated reasons were what caused the Kapex problems we have seen in this Forum. Many mitre saws, not just Kapex, are used under such conditions in real life. I could not remember not using my Dewalt with an extension cord which was sold after I got the Kapex. That saw was at least 6 or 7 years old.

Is there a warning in the manual that says we should not use the Kapex with an extension cord? I have been using mine with an extension cord and will stop the practice if indeed the saw must be plugged directly into a wall socket.

Gregor · « **Reply #25 on:** December 03, 2017, 05:53 AM »

Quote from: Peter Halle on December 02, 2017, 10:15 PM

I know that Seth has some other things going on and might not be able to visit and answer but I strongly suspect that the removal is because of modifications to the saw shown in the video including the removal of the manufacturer supplied blade guard as mentioned by others here in this thread.

Along the same reasoning videos that show CMS-TS or CMS-OF (with something else that 1010) in use would also need to be removed as they show use that is not supported by festool.

I question that stance.

Wouldn't it be better to edit the post in question with some big(ger) letter red text warning about the practice in question - preferably with the reasoning about why this is a bad idea? That would IMHO give a better learning result to others than trying to hide the ugly truth of what's going on in the real world.

It can be a good idea to show how things are not to be done: you might concur should you know the
Best ever work security educational for operating forklifts
(WARNING: depicts quite some accidents quite graphicly, splatter movie style)

I'm sure that any forklift driver that saw it will keep the shown do-nots better in memory than what they should have learned from some dry flyer...

SRSemenza · « **Reply #26 on:** December 03, 2017, 09:18 AM »

Maybe it would be good to show unsafe practices with warnings, maybe not. Festool has chosen to avoid showing them as much as possible.

In North America Festool only sells and supports the use of the router CMS and their course of action in that case is to add a warning / disclaimer for usage in NA, if a NA source posts the use of other tools in that unit.

Seth

Gregor · « **Reply #27 on:** December 03, 2017, 10:33 AM »

Quote from: SRSemenza on December 03, 2017, 09:18 AM

Maybe it would be good to show unsafe practices with warnings, maybe not. Festool has chosen to avoid showing them as much as possible.

Maybe it would be good to rethink that policy and instead add a warning (citing possibly existing regulations) and a reminder that the Festool Service Department is there for the user to fix such problems quickly and for a reasonable cost.

SRSemenza · « **Reply #28 on:** December 03, 2017, 11:22 AM »

Quote from: Gregor on December 03, 2017, 10:33 AM

Quote from: SRSemenza on December 03, 2017, 09:18 AM
Maybe it would be good to show unsafe practices with warnings, maybe not. Festool has chosen to avoid showing them as much as possible.
Maybe it would be good to rethink that policy and instead add a warning (citing possibly existing regulations) and a reminder that the Festool Service Department is there for the user to fix such problems quickly and for a reasonable cost.

Yes, maybe, it's not up to me or Peter. But we can pass it on and make sure Festool knows about the idea.

Seth

ChuckM · « **Reply #29 on:** December 03, 2017, 11:42 AM »

Festool moderators are the last kind of job (paid or unpaid) on earth I would ever take on.