cutting exact miters on kapex

[MrMac]

Ok, so I install a lot of crown moulding each year, and as such I need to be able to cut odd angles. By that I mean that on corners with round corner bead, I need to be able to cut four times, once each for the long pieces, and twice on the little filler piece.

These corners are pretty much always out of square! nothing new, it's pretty easy if you know how anyway what I do is measure the corner, then divide the number by four, then use the compliment angle to compensate for the degree scale on the saw.

I use a Milwaukee 12" scms, with a digital read out. I use this because I can dial in to 1/10th degree.

But

I wanna kapex specially now that the price has come down $200 bucks.

so I was at the dealers the other day, and he explained how to use the angle finder, wow! that would be nice! if I could see the laser (can't see red, but I digress)

What I don't understand is how would I dial in a kapex to say 26.8 degrees? I know that's pretty exact, but I pride myself on exacting work, it's pretty much the only way I can try to stand out from the "chop and spike" hordes.

I know that you use the kapex angle finder, line it up on the saw, then set the laser to that- cut! but there are many situations where I have get other angles.

The Milwaukee saw is nice for this because I can swing it left or right to the same exact settings.

There's gotta be an easy way to do this on a kapex, darned if I know how though.

thanks!

Laurie.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Laurie,

Even though the Milwaukee has 1/10 degree accuracy on the readout, I don't see how such an amount of accuracy is actually achieved or repeatable at the blade to differentiate what that saw can do compared to the Kapex and I used the Milwaukee.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Laurie,

Even though the Milwaukee has 1/10 degree accuracy on the readout, I don't see how such an amount of accuracy is actually achieved or repeatable at the blade to differentiate what that saw can do compared to the Kapex and I used the Milwaukee.

Now you've done it Ken. [tongue]  I've tried this argument many times and it meets with fierce resistance, almost to the point of absurdity.....

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Laurie,

Even though the Milwaukee has 1/10 degree accuracy on the readout, I don't see how such an amount of accuracy is actually achieved or repeatable at the blade to differentiate what that saw can do compared to the Kapex and I used the Milwaukee.

Now you've done it Ken. [tongue]  I've tried this argument many times and it meets with fierce resistance, almost to the point of absurdity.....

Ok.  Take a break.  Relax and have one of those umbrella drinks.  Watch some DIY tv.  I'll handle the thrown tomatoes for a while.  [big grin]

 

[BobKovacs]

so I was at the dealers the other day, and he explained how to use the angle finder, wow! that would be nice! if I could see the laser (can't see red, but I digress)

Laurie.

If you can't see red, how do you find your Milwaukee saw????  [eek]

 

[Ken Nagrod]

so I was at the dealers the other day, and he explained how to use the angle finder, wow! that would be nice! if I could see the laser (can't see red, but I digress)

Laurie.

If you can't see red, how do you find your Milwaukee saw????  [eek]

[thumbs up]

It's the heaviest thing in the room he keeps bumping into.  [tongue]

 

[peter halle]

Ok, so I install a lot of crown moulding each year, and as such I need to be able to cut odd angles. By that I mean that on corners with round corner bead, I need to be able to cut four times, once each for the long pieces, and twice on the little filler piece.

These corners are pretty much always out of square! nothing new, it's pretty easy if you know how anyway what I do is measure the corner, then divide the number by four, then use the compliment angle to compensate for the degree scale on the saw.

I use a Milwaukee 12" scms, with a digital read out. I use this because I can dial in to 1/10th degree.

But

I wanna kapex specially now that the price has come down $200 bucks.

so I was at the dealers the other day, and he explained how to use the angle finder, wow! that would be nice! if I could see the laser (can't see red, but I digress)

What I don't understand is how would I dial in a kapex to say 26.8 degrees? I know that's pretty exact, but I pride myself on exacting work, it's pretty much the only way I can try to stand out from the "chop and spike" hordes.

I know that you use the kapex angle finder, line it up on the saw, then set the laser to that- cut! but there are many situations where I have get other angles.

The Milwaukee saw is nice for this because I can swing it left or right to the same exact settings.

There's gotta be an easy way to do this on a kapex, darned if I know how though.

thanks!

Laurie.

Laurie,

As others have pointed out - there isn't an easy way to do this.  The only other suggestion that I could add is that you could use the Bosch digital protractor and set it to the digital angles you desire and then line the blade up to that.

Good for you and your desire for ultimate accuracy.  My work and demanding customers don't expect the accuracy that yours do.

Peter

 

[RONWEN]

Laurie,

Even though the Milwaukee has 1/10 degree accuracy on the readout, I don't see how such an amount of accuracy is actually achieved or repeatable at the blade to differentiate what that saw can do compared to the Kapex and I used the Milwaukee.

Now you've done it Ken. [tongue]  I've tried this argument many times and it meets with fierce resistance, almost to the point of absurdity.....

It comes down to simple geometry.  Each 1/10 degree error amounts to a ~.0105 gap in 6".  Being able to set the saw to the nearest 1/10 degree angle doesn't degrade the saw's accuracy, that lose comes from lack of rigidity of the saw and blade flex.  The 12" Milwaukee will have more flex than a 10" Kapex.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

It comes down to simple geometry.  Each 1/10 degree error amounts to a ~.0105 gap in 6".  Being able to set the saw to the nearest 1/10 degree angle doesn't degrade the saw's accuracy, that lose comes from lack of rigidity of the saw and blade flex.  The 12" Milwaukee will have more flex than a 10" Kapex.

That's what I was getting at, but in more detail and then throw into the mix the human factor of adjustment and pushing the blade into the cut and 0.1 degrees just seems a little unrealistic.  If you can pull off 0.25 degrees in a cut, I think that's excellent and most of the time a bit overkill for production trim work, but applaudable for custom.  When you start adding all the factors together, wood, walls/ceilings, saw blade, saw, human factor = a lot to ask for getting such accuracy.

One of my friends who's a retired carpenter, has a saying.  Paint and putty, a carpenter's buddy.  That's for production work, obviously.  Most guys I've seen just cut to the degree and fill it or burnish it over for an outside miter.

 

[MrMac]

Ok, thanks for all that LOL

I can see some red! honest! pastel's are a bit of an issue though, and there's glasses that compensate.

I know that 1/10th degree is overkill, but it's so easy to do with the bosch miter finder and the milwaukee. Unfortunately the Milwaukee is as heavy as a boat anchor, and it's freakin huge.

Ok, well I guess it's a situation of "just do it" I see that the kapex has a little plastic thing over the scale with some lines on it, so I'm guessing that's a simple type of vernier scale. I can probably wing it, I know from experince with other tools over the years that a bit of trying and I figure it out.

saving my pennies

 

[vwdave]

I use my kapex almost every weekday. The a accuracy from the kapex is amazing. You can get many saws that could cut accurately but the beauty of the kapex is it stay a accurate. My kapex is in and out of the van constantly and I've never had to adjust anything but the lasers. Another great thing about the kapex is the miter gauge at first I had a hard time seeing it because of the green dashes are lighter than other saws but in no time I was loving it as well as the 1/2 degree lines. You can fine tune the saw and keep putting it back in the same spot with ease. And don't get me started on the bevel gauge. You can fine tune the bevels like no other.  Some people think it's over priced as well as I did until I used it. But like I said I use it alot so it's more than paid for itself and using it is a real pleasure.

 

[deepcreek]

I wanna kapex specially now that the price has come down $200 bucks.

Did I miss something???

 

[Electric Trim]

I wanna kapex specially now that the price has come down $200 bucks.

Did I miss something???

Unfortunately no.  [sad] I got excited about buying another one if they did indeed drop to $1100, but I just checked... nothing has changed.  [crying] I have a feeling the price won't be going in the downward direction...

 

[Ken Nagrod]

He's Canadian.  He might be referring to crossing the border to pick it up cheaper.

I have a feeling the price won't be going in the downward direction...

Not unless you declare German citizenship and move.  [smile]

 

[Electric Trim]

Also, interesting outlook on cutting your crown angles.  I realize you "pride yourself on exacting work" but I've found that I get better results if I add a quarter degree for outside corners and subtract a quarter degree on inside corners so that the face always touches.  I don't see how you make any money as a trim carpenter always cutting to the 1/10th degree.  Seems awfully time consuming and unnecessary.

OKAY, just so no one busts on me for my comments.  I'm sure there are those times when you're cutting custom hand made African Zebra Wood 6" crown moulding that was carved by ancient tribal craftsmen and takes 9 months to receive via Fed Ex and costs $125 a ft.

In that situation, I won't bust on you for cutting to 26.8 degrees just so you could say so for the novelty factor.

Side note... I pride myself on being able to switch gears depending on which contractor I'm working for while many guys in my area are not able to do so.  Therefore, I steal work from trim carpenters left and right.  Some builders want absolute perfection whether they're painting it or not.  I have one builder that would get pissed if I spent more than a day trimming out a 500 sq. ft. addition.  I have a point where I'm not willing to lower my quality past, but you can't make any decent money in trim carpentry by insisting on exacting work and not being willing to give your customer what they want whether it's Biltmore quality or blow and go.

Props to you if you have a customer base that hires you for the perfection work every time!

 

[Electric Trim]

He's Canadian.  He might be referring to crossing the border to pick it up cheaper.

I have a feeling the price won't be going in the downward direction...

Not unless you declare German citizenship and move.  [smile]

Why you gonna tempt me like that.  You know you're playing on my weaknesses! [mad]

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Also, interesting outlook on cutting your crown angles.  I realize you "pride yourself on exacting work" but I've found that I get better results if I add a quarter degree for outside corners and subtract a quarter degree on inside corners so that the face always touches.  I don't see how you make any money as a trim carpenter always cutting to the 1/10th degree.  Seems awfully time consuming and unnecessary.

OKAY, just so no one busts on me for my comments.  I'm sure there are those times when you're cutting custom hand made African Zebra Wood 6" crown moulding that was carved by ancient tribal craftsmen and takes 9 months to receive via Fed Ex and costs $125 a ft.
In that situation, I won't bust on you for cutting to 26.8 degrees just so you could say so for the novelty factor.

Side note... I pride myself on being able to switch gears depending on which contractor I'm working for while many guys in my area are not able to do so.  Therefore, I steal work from trim carpenters left and right.  Some builders want absolute perfection whether they're painting it or not.  I have one builder that would get pissed if I spent more than a day trimming out a 500 sq. ft. addition.  I have a point where I'm not willing to lower my quality past, but you can't make any decent money in trim carpentry by insisting on exacting work and not being willing to give your customer what they want whether it's Biltmore quality or blow and go.

Props to you if you have a customer base that hires you for the perfection work every time!

Just so you know, I spotted that in Lowes the other day for $4.29 / LF. if you're looking to save a little.  The guy swore it was ancient tribesman too.

 

[Electric Trim]

Just so you know, I spotted that in Lowes the other day for $4.29 / LF. if you're looking to save a little.  The guy swore it was ancient tribesman too.

Was it inside or on the side of the building on a pallet with all the squirrelly wood?

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Inside.  This is the guy that gave me the info.  I also saw the DeWalt rep there.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

I wanna kapex specially now that the price has come down $200 bucks.

Did I miss something???

There was an adjustment to Canadian pricing with the introduction of the new catalog in April to adjust for exchange rates. I suspect that's the reason for the comment about the price coming down.