Do I have the Right Kapex Blade?

[Hotwheels]

I have been building a deck for the past few months. One of the tasks to finish is to cut some "bullets" (45 degrees on either side of the boards) to minimize the using butt joints. When I started cutting the bullets (the material is Ipe), I noticed that the cuts were not perfect 45s and it seemed that the blade is deflecting in the course of the cut. My guess is that the blade is dull or maybe I need a thin kerf blade for this heavy material. Anyone have experience with this sort of problem?
Thanks
JR

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

That is some hard wood to get perfect cuts it without a super sharp blade.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

John, I know for a fact that we worked with another customer who was cutting Ipe with his Kapex.  We found that one of our blades in particular (I don't know which right off hand) worked best and the best speed at which to cut.  I would recommend you call our toll-free number and speak to one of our application specialists.  They should be able to provide you with some good recommendations.  If you for some reason they can't assist you, send me a message and I'll hunt down the information.  I think we would all like to see some photos of the end results.

Edit: Your non-perfect 45s could be the result of the material moving rather than the blade deflecting.

 

[Hotwheels]

Hello Shane,
Thanks for the response. I will call the tech support folks and ask. They were hepful in an earlier stage of the project when some other Kapex issues emerged and were solved.  The deck is a project === a combination of IPE and Purpleheart with 1200 sq foot of deck and about 250 square feet of steps (30 feet long and about 1.5 deep). It has been a learning experience. I am finishing off the steps now and I can post some pictures soon.
Thanks
JR

 

[Hotwheels]

Hello,
I did check with Festool tech support and the recommendation was to use the laminate blade to cut Ipe. Fortunately, I had one on hand and when I changed blades, the deflection was no longer a problem. However, the blade I removed was VERY dirty from the Ipe resin or whatever it is that comes off the more green wood. The dirty blade could have caused enough drag on the 45 degree cuts to be a problem, but changing to the laminate blade was helpful.  Here are some pics (I hope) of the deck in progress.....[attachimg=#][attachimg=#]

 

[Hotwheels]

Ummm ... not getting the pic posting, but here is another try ...

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

John, I thought it was the laminate blade but didn't want to tell you wrong. Did they recommend a certain speed setting on the saw as well?  Seems to me that the solution also included using a slightly slower speed.  Thanks for the following up with the blade info, I'm sure it will help others.