I was wondering if anyone could tell me how there Kapex is holding up?
I am seriously considering buying the Kapex because I'm getting tired of the inconsistencies with my  hitachi 10” slider that I had for long time and Dewalt 12” slider which isn’t too bad but big and on the heavy side of about 52lb.

Everything I find about the Kepex talks about how perfect the cuts are and the great dust control which as far as I’m concerned should be a given at $1300.
I need to know how it will last in the real world and not in a nice controlled environment at someones home cutting crown or snuggled up on a shop bench.
How it is in the real world.
How does it handle with light framing, although most of our is done with a worm drive it is helpfully to have miter on site for the repetitive cuts and small blocking and so on.
How does it handle they day to day set up and breakdown from truck to job, job to truck along with the bumps and potholes in between.
Do you find yourself regularly adjusting and checking for accuracy?
Is it a high maintenance,  temperamental or fussy?
 
Let me explain further.
The saw would used primarily by me and not the crew.
My business consist of about 70% decks mostly roof top which we use more IPE then anything else, composite and cedar. I really need better dust control especially for the IPE. Our tools are left out side under a tarp overnight where it rains, hot humid and let's not forget the cold.  
Our business consists of:  
15% residential renovations which covers framing to finish work.  
15% light commercial which is similar to residential except not willing to leave tools on site over night due the high traffic and fear of walking off.

I would also buy the UG cart which looks perfect, wondering how much modifying it would need for another miter incase the Kapex is not for my scope of work.
BTW I do the wings are a little wimpie. I would like to be able to consolidate some of my efforts by using 1-miter saw that’s lighter, more compact to move through customers homes especially when your going up/down 3-4 flights of steps.

Again feel free give me your thoughts.

I have had mine for over 2 years.  It sees duty in the shop and the job site.  I have built several SA hardwood decks with it.

It rides in my trailer, my suburban, in the 4runner, back of the moped.....

Mine is dirty, I have spilled stain on it, paint and some blood.

I have yet to have to do any adjustments to it, besides play with the lasers a time or two.

I took it to festool after a year to have something I broke is a freak occurrence repaired.

When they brought it out to me the service tech said they always check them for accuracy and adjust if needed.  He said mine was still spot on.

 

Hello City Properties Inc ...

 

I'm not a commercial user and I treat my tools with respect - recently I've been using my Kapex + UG set for 200x100m framing, cutting down 4m+ lengths. Everything is solid as long as you're not throwing the timber at the saw. There is slight movement, but what's important does stay perfectly square.

I regard the KAPEX as robust compared to my Hitachi ... accuracy has been perfect out of the box and remains so.

I've got no idea how robust tolerances for things like the laser would be if it was continually bounced up and down several flights of stairs on a trolley - but personally I wouldn't do that. Even though bumps in a vehicle can seem severe - shock transfer on a trolley could be much greater without the vehicle's suspension softening the blows ... Anyone had experience in this space?

Mine is from 2007, only problem i have had is a broken circuit board at the end of it's fourth year. As mine is one of the oldest ones i don't exclude that this may be the illness of the kapex and that it may eventually happen to all models. Even though i replaced it myself it wasn't cheap around $100

I do get poor DC when coupled to my 2hp dust collector, the problem may be that the short piece of 36mm hose connecting it to my DC system is too small and takes away too much pressure.
Mine rarely leaves the shop and the accuracy is great and so are the features, i do have a friend who uses it on jobsites daily with the UG stand and he has problems with the saw frequently going out of square.

Thank you all very much for the time taken the time to reply. I greatly appreciate the feedback. It appears that Kapex could handle the vigorous day to day work and for the most part maintain accuracy. As far as the laser goes if it needs tweaking then it needs tweaking. Although I must give Dewalt compliment on the led light which never needs adjustment. It just lights up both sides of the blade and the shadow line becomes your cut line. It’s very nice feature.
I think for the portability, weight, accuracy, and dust collection it’s hands down on the Kapex.  Looks like I’ll be paying my local Kapex Dealer a visit.
 
Thanks again,
Yanni
City Properties Inc.
City Decks Inc.
Philadelphia, PA

That contrasts so thoroughly with all the other responses that I just have to ask…

Could there be something wrong with his particular saw? Or could it be getting severely abused?

Please note that I removed the poll attached to this thread.  The poll did not contain questions that could be answered.  The thread has more substance.

Peter

I looked at everything local (Sydney) ... I was initially looking to replace my dying little Hitachi with a bigger one ... I looked at all the brands and none seemed to have the precision and features of the KAPEX. The investment in the KAPEX (and generally Festool) for me is about accuracy and minimal mess. Specifically for me the KAPEX is a rapid setup and takedown in UG + extensions format.

"Twice as good" is an interesting benchmark ... I'd look at "worth the additional cost" - I may seem to be splitting hairs, but the fact that I can wheel mine out of the garage and be cutting accurately within 5 minutes ... then packed away and clean in another 5 minutes means that I use it in time constraints I would never have used it before!

If you you leave your mitre saw set up, you don't care about very high precision cutting and mess isn't a major concern - the KAPEX is probably overkill ...

Kev.

the milwaukee has the digital readout which is accurate to 0.1º and it still is spot on after 2 years of constant loading and unloading. milwaukee states that the saw has up to 75% dust collection. but i dont think its as much as that. possibly 60%.

The reason i would choose the Kapex over milwaukee next time is its superior light weight (its almost 10kg lighter) and the DC. i just wonder if it would stand up to the same heavy treatment.

If it will work, I definitely need them

Darcy, I often find myself using the philosophy/justification of "the alternatives are more expensive"!

Bob

Noooo

Good thing too. I can't imagine what it'd be like if I didn't even have to think first (as much as I'd like it).

I have no stiffness, lasers are perfect out of the box and I also don't have issues with the cart ... the last is probably a technique related problem, the the two priors don't sound very Festool like at all! Send it in - get it perfect.

I tried and returned the makita ls1016. I think some of its users do not know how a saw should feel. Because after 1 cut on 2 different 10" makitas i knew they were both junk.
I bought the highly regarded ls0714 by Makita. Its DC is as good if not better then the Kapex and its a buttload cheaper. Periodic adjustments are needed but I cut millions of cuts on it a year! Great saw.