Can't seem to get Kapex miters calibrated

[thoffman]

I've done everything Festool told me to do to get my new Kapex calibrated, but no luck.  I get the 90 spot on, but then the 45's are out of whack.  The supplemental manual has instructions for the 90 calibration, but not the 45's.  So I called the company several times to ensure I'm doing what they told me to do.  Here's what the said:  The company told me to adjust the miters, move the arm to the right, to loosen the middle and right screws, unlock the miter arm, then pivot the scale in or out (with the left screw still tightened.  I then go to the left and do everything in reverse.  So I get the 45's dialed in, then go back to the 90 and it is out of whack.  Then back to get the 90 dialed in again, then right 45, then left 45, then check the 90.  The 90 always is out when I go back to it.  In six hours of fiddling, I must have repeated this cycle 40 times.  Went through a quarter sheet of mdf doing the 4 cut method for 90s and about 10 lineal feet of 2 inch stock doing the 45s.  I am so frustrated I'm ready to throw this thing in the ocean.  Anyone have a suggestion?

BTW (editorial comment):  I have found the Festool customer service to be somewhat lacking.  It is impossible to get a live person to talk to for this kind of help.  You have to leave a message and then they call you back about 2 hours later.  Meanwhile.  For this kind of money one spends on Festool, you'd think they could hire a few more people so you don't get sent to voice mail every time.

Frustrated in California.

 

[Max Neu]

I can't get mine right either.I got 90 degrees dead nut,but my 45's are off.I feel your pain!

 

[mastercabman]

How much"out of wack" is it?
How do you check the 45*?
If it's that bad then you must have a defected miter scale plate

 

[Trosey]

"If it's that bad then you must have a defected miter scale plate"

Or a miter scale not installed properly.

I had the same problem when my Kapex was new. The service tech walked me through the steps. Did not work on my saw. He agree to send a new miter scale if I thought I could replace it. I said sure. I went to remove the miter plate. Upon taking all the screws out the plate dropped down into the correct position. Within 20 minutes I called him back and said save the plate for someone else. It has been fine.

HTH

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Mr. Hoffman,

My apologies for the frustration in calibrating your miter scale. I've sent you an email so we can coordinate getting someone back in touch with you. If necessary, we can get the saw in to take a look at it.

Just curious... What degree of error are you getting when making your test cuts?

Shane

 

[Rick Christopherson]

I've written about this somewhere in the past, so do a forum search and you might find a more complete answer.

To set the scale for 45, first set the 90 to be accurate. If the 45's are cutting too shallow (less than 45), then you will need to pull the miter scale toward the operator's position. If the 45's are cutting too deep (greater than 45), then you will need to push the miter scale away from the operator's position. Edit: I have these backwards. Sorry.

To move the miter scale, lock the saw in the 0 degree position so the miter detent holds the miter scale from moving side-to-side. Then you can loosen the screws holding the scale and slide it in or out as needed. (If memory serves me, you probably have to loosen the middle screw before locking the saw down at 0.)

 

[thoffman]

Firstly, I want to apologize to Festool and this FOG for my unprofessional rant in my original post.  Let it be known that Festool is bending over backwards to assist me with my issue.

Secondly, I want to thank all who posted.

I am at work now, but when I get home I will try a few things a bit differently.  When I am successful, I will re-post.

Tom Hoffman

 

[mastercabman]

To set the scale for 45, first set the 90 to be accurate. If the 45's are cutting too shallow (less than 45), then you will need to pull the miter scale toward the operator's position. If the 45's are cutting too deep (greater than 45), then you will need to push the miter scale away from the operator's position.

Rick
I don't think what you are saying is true
If you set it accurate 90* then the 45*'s will be accurate
The miter scale has detent that are cut/notched so if you adjust the miter scale for one of the setting then you are adjusting everything else at the same time.
In other words,if you move the miter scale,all the detents move all together.
So if you adjust the 90* and then make adjustment on a 45* then the 90* will be off.
Am I right?Or am I missing some?

 

[builderbob]

To set the scale for 45, first set the 90 to be accurate. If the 45's are cutting too shallow (less than 45), then you will need to pull the miter scale toward the operator's position. If the 45's are cutting too deep (greater than 45), then you will need to push the miter scale away from the operator's position.

Rick
I don't think what you are saying is true
If you set it accurate 90* then the 45*'s will be accurate
The miter scale has detent that are cut/notched so if you adjust the miter scale for one of the setting then you are adjusting everything else at the same time.
In other words,if you move the miter scale,all the detents move all together.
So if you adjust the 90* and then make adjustment on a 45* then the 90* will be off.
Am I right?Or am I missing some?

I would also assume you're correct mastercabman. The settings of 0 & 45 are not independent of each other. If you don't have a 90 degree cut at zero you shouldn't have a 45 at that setting. If you have 90 at zero and not at 45, then something else is going on.

 

[dicktill]

To set the scale for 45, first set the 90 to be accurate. If the 45's are cutting too shallow (less than 45), then you will need to pull the miter scale toward the operator's position. If the 45's are cutting too deep (greater than 45), then you will need to push the miter scale away from the operator's position.

Rick
I don't think what you are saying is true
If you set it accurate 90* then the 45*'s will be accurate
The miter scale has detent that are cut/notched so if you adjust the miter scale for one of the setting then you are adjusting everything else at the same time.
In other words,if you move the miter scale,all the detents move all together.
So if you adjust the 90* and then make adjustment on a 45* then the 90* will be off.
Am I right?Or am I missing some?

I would also assume you're correct mastercabman. The settings of 0 & 45 are not independent of each other. If you don't have a 90 degree cut at zero you shouldn't have a 45 at that setting. If you have 90 at zero and not at 45, then something else is going on.

Rick is right; think of it this way: you're "fudging" the radius, hence changing the angle ...

 

[Rick Christopherson]

Instead of trying to explain, which is difficult to do in words, I slapped together a SolidWorks drawing of the interaction of the detent positions as they relate to the distance back to the fence. (Oh, while I was uploading this new picture, I discovered the old one I created previously. So I am positive I described this here some time in the past.)

Note that when adjusting the 45 stops, you slide the scale in or out along the 90 degree line. (Actually, where I say "Move Back", this should really say "Move Forward" because it is referring to the position of the Scale relative to the fence.)

[attachimg=#]

 

[Max Neu]

That makes perfect sense Rick,by moving the plate forward and backward,you arent affecting your 90 degree position,just the angles.Thank you for the help!

 

[Max Neu]

While we are on the topic,what size torx wrench fits the angle plate screws?I bought a set of metric torx wrenches,and none of them fit.I ended up using a straight screwdriver,which I wasn't crazy about.

 

[mastercabman]

I did not realize that you can move the miter scale forward/backward
Only slide left/right

 

[Laminator]

The hardest part for me was getting the scale to move in a perfectly straight line in or out. (Think of a piston)  If it moves a little further on one side or the other you will not get a true 45 on both sides.  A lot of patience will finally pay off.

 

[festoolviking]

While we are on the topic,what size torx wrench fits the angle plate screws?I bought a set of metric torx wrenches,and none of them fit.I ended up using a straight screwdriver,which I wasn't crazy about.

I gave it a try and though it's not a tight fit it's got to be the TX20. The TX25 is too big and to my knowledge there is no size in between.  [smile]

Take a look here for sizes:

http://www.wihatools.com/Marketing/torxspec.htm

Festoolviking

 

[Max Neu]

festoolviking,
I guess it's suppose to be a T20,because the T25 doesn't fit like you said,but the T20 is pretty sloppy.I might just change them out with some allen head screws.

 

[festoolviking]

I wouldn't change them until I had to. It's not like you should have to adjust this often, right?

???

Festoolviking

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

I'm not saying that it's true in this particular case, but I think it's a mistake to go tinkering with adjustments on a tool right out of the box. Our tools come very well calibrated right from the factory. So, I would recommend making some cuts and checking it with a precise square before considering messing with any adjustments.

I know mine, for my purposes at least, was dead on right out of the box. But, each person has their own level of expectation when it comes to what precise means. Tenths, hundreds, thousandths, tens of thousandths, ...

 

[Max Neu]

I am not planning on messing with it once I get it adjusted,but I can't see working on it with the wrench fitting this sloppy,I'm sure they would be stripped out before I get done.
I agree if it's close,people probably shouldn't tinker with it,I don't have the expectations of a machinist,but my 90 degree was off too much to be acceptable out of the box.Once I got the 90 degree dialed in,I just assumed the 45's were good too,until I went and made a four sided frame with 45 degree miters.I had close to 1/16" gap on the outside corners.I then cut a piece of plywood with my sliding table saw,that cut's within .010" in 8' using the 5 cut method.I used the square corner cut from my saw to check the 45 degree accuracy of the Kapex,and it showed me the same thing as the frame I tried to put together.Holding the 2- 4" pieces with 45 degree miters at the corner left a heavy 1/32" gap at the top of the miter.I re-checked my 90 degree cut on the Kapex,and it is still good.So hopefully I can get it fixed by sliding the plate forward or backward.