Domi dose Dovetails

[Lou Miller]

Still fire away but do remember that we speak a different kind of English as you over the Pond dwellers! Plus we will not enter in to the Imperial/Metric measurement claptrap as we have rulers and tapes with both on and merely use a thick pencil to mark lines.

Indeed we do speak a different kind of English... I'm not bothered by the Imperial/Metric issues at all. While I haven't converted completely over to Metric just yet, I know that system almost as well as I do the Imperial one. So it makes no difference to me whether you call something 1 inch or 25.4mm, I understand them the same.

Anyway... I guess the biggest question I have is about the dust collection. I currently am using a Makita LS1214 hooked up to my vac. It gets maybe 40% of the dust. Just how well did Festool conquer the dust collection issue? DC on a SCMS is certainly a challenge and I don't expect them to have a design that will collect 100%. Being that its Festool we're talking about here though, I'm thinking they got it somewhere in the 80% range... By far and away, dust collection is the most compelling reason for me to have an interest in the tool.

One other concern I have about the Kapex is the size of the table (base). In the pictures and videos I've seen, the table looks awfully small. Very similar to a Hitachi saw. One of the things that I really like about my Makita is the size of the table. Its substantially bigger than most other saws on the market. I guess I'm asking if you find the table to be satisfactory in size?

Being that you have one, most of the members here (especially us Yanks) would be very greatful if you started a thread and did a brief review of it. It might be kind of cool,if you did it after a bout of single malt consumption too.  ;D

 

[ejantny]

break wind at will

Who is Will, poor guy. 

 

[Clachan a Choin]

Will is the poor soul who is usually downwind of the wind.

 

[greg mann]

"Personally, I am not too thrilled about having Aussies joining in the fray around here."

By the way, do you have Google in the USA?  You could have found out the origin of 'Pommie' without having to expose yourself to a torrent of grammatically incorrect replies from the verbose citizens of the Antipodies.

Google? Have you ever seen a Google translation from German to English? I could never trust those guys to give me a good derivative. Besides, it was a whole lot more fun on the Forum. Made those guys feel like they were on a patriotic mission. As far as Wales is concerned, I have a close friend who, when we first met, told me he was from England only later to confide that he really was from Wales. "Wales?" I replied. "Then why on Earth would you say you were from England?" That was actually the true beginning of our friendship. He had never run into anyone here in the states who understood the distinction. (No offense to any Brits out there. )

 

[Clachan a Choin]

Hi Lou

Dust collection was very close to the top of my questions when I went to see the Kapex in action and in a word it is superb. There is a clear plastic chip deflector at the rear of the blade which gathers the majority of the dust and a trench in the central support arm. Both are connected to the extraction outlet. I use either a CT Mini or a Fein vacuum and both provide more than sufficient suction. I cannot comment on percentage effectiveness but the dust left after a cut is minimal. I am just an amateur but were I a professional fitter I would have no qualms about using this saw in a clients house. Closer examination of the base and the vacuum connection point shows that the casting is very smooth minimising any potential dust traps and clearly contributing to an unrestricted dust flow to the outlet. I cannot comment on your Makita but I do have an old Elektra Beckum SCMS and it cannot compare to the dust extraction of the Kapex. As an aside, I bought a Symetric saw three years ago and thought that it was the bees knees in dust extraction. It was, the Kapex truly is.

On the table I suppose that it does look small from photos etc but the engineers have done a remarkable job in providing a stable and very rigid cutting surface which is designed to meet the cutting capacities of the saw at all angles. They obviously had to keep within a weight, footprint and capacity brief and I think that they have produce a stunning piece of kit. If you are concerned that the table is too small you can build your own support table around the saw using small systainers. The table height is exactly the same height and I use one on my MFT to provide additional support. I have the two outriders on order. I suppose the bottom line is that the Kapex will allow you to cut at all angles up to the capacity of the saw whilst maintaining total control over your workpiece. What will amaze you is the accuracy and quality of the cut. It is glass like and I am able to cut to size and go from the Kapex to the Domino without any additional finishing or preparation. Whilst I have not used the laser much it is very accurate and I like the ability to widen the two beams for trenching.

The Kapex is a fabulous saw. It is expensive but I do not care. I bought it because I could and because every Festool I have ever bought has done exactly as claimed and as designed. I know that there are those who will dismiss it out of hand for various reasons. Again I do not care and whilst I am happy to answer any questions on the saw and offer my opinions they are just that.

You ask about a review. Well sorry but no. The first (and last) review I did (not here I hasten to add but on a forum not a million mles away and populated by a thicket of Ned Flanders clones) was met by such a barrage of ill-mannered posters that I swore never again. I could not believe that there were so many morons out there who could question a tool without ever seeing or using one. I spent my entire Military career defending the right to free speech but now I am retired I cannot be arsed!

I do however like the idea of a Single Malt or two and hope you will join me in a Highland Park which is my favourite swigging whisky.

With kind regards from the Valley

Pat and Simou

 

[ROb McGilp]

Well!!
First let me say that I too have a Mak LS1214 and I love it. if only it wouldn't rain dust over everything. The Kipax (not Kapex, this was a misspelling by the Germans after seeing Kevin Spacey's film) does appear to be, as some would say, "the ducks guts".
As for all this other banter, I, being a sensitive new age Metrosexual Orstralian male am going to take my bat and ball and go home to consider my social and personal inadequacies.
At least I'm not a KiWi, in which case Clachan's (do they clang?) final comment earlier would have been I want to die in my sheep, like my dad...
Now back to the issue at hand...which was?

Albert Davies
Man of Mystery

 

[Lou Miller]

Well!!
First let me say that I too have a Mak LS1214 and I love it. if only it wouldn't rain dust over everything. The Kipax (not Kapex, this was a misspelling by the Germans after seeing Kevin Spacey's film)

That was K-Pax... Great movie.

What was this thread about originallly???

 

[Tezzer]

You ask about a review. Well sorry but no. The first (and last) review I did (not here I hasten to add but on a forum not a million mles away and populated by a thicket of Ned Flanders clones) was met by such a barrage of ill-mannered posters that I swore never again. I could not believe that there were so many morons out there who could question a tool without ever seeing or using one.

Dont be like that Pat  Their is a different breed who participate on this forum, no garryK`s here

I copped exactly the same on the same forum when i started to post about the Domino, so i dont bother now. Their loss.

I would love to see a pic or 2 of the Kapex and 1 or 2 of Simou for good measure 

 

[Dave Rudy]

Jim

Its Simou not Simon. I know him well and we often meet up to chew the fat on our lot in life. He is a handsome dog with a kind heart but an inordinate skill in befriending loosers. He is of noble birth but, in a cruel twist of fate, landed up with a commoner and international waif who is Irish, served in the British Army, did a tour with the US Army in an attempt to bring couth to them (failed), taught on the evils of drink at the
Australian Police Academy in Cyprus (another failure) and now lives in a far off place called Wales. You couldn't make it up.

His one fault is that at an early age he got bitten by the Festool bug after eating one of the waifs 150mm sanding pads and 180 grit disc (bolt and all). Ever since that day Simou has persuaded the said numpty to purchase every Festool tool he can. Oblivious to the screams of his children who hoped to inherit enough money to bury the dastardly git, he has even gone and purchased a Kapex (complete with a metric (aaargh!!) scale and metric laser beam).

He arranged for his long suffering Chief of Staff to be out of the Valley on a hastily arranged nasal hair removal appointment whilst the man from DHL delivered the new and superbly engineered saw up the path. As I write, Simou has informed me that some serious camouflage work is being undertaken in the shed to hide the Kapex from prying eyes which are now complimented by an acute sense of smell thanks to the aforementioned appointment.

I shall pass your compliments to Simou but I doubt he will pass them on to the numpty as these days he is to be found hard at work on his Masters Degree, " The effects of Islay Single Malt Consumption on the Bewildered" and cannot listen and drink at the same time.

Welcome.  Glad to have you here.

 

[Dave Rudy]

Is there something about the Domino that releases creative hormones, and inspires the right language to direct those hormones to productive purposes?

Unfortunately it probably has little to do with Festool, other than that they have good taste in tools, but unfortunately the Aussies and the Welch (and the Irish, I might add) just have us beat when it comes to the subtle uses of at least their interpretation of the English language.  If we can figure out what they're saying, we'll be glad we read it.

Dave

 

[Lou Miller]

You ask about a review. Well sorry but no. The first (and last) review I did (not here I hasten to add but on a forum not a million mles away and populated by a thicket of Ned Flanders clones) was met by such a barrage of ill-mannered posters that I swore never again. I could not believe that there were so many morons out there who could question a tool without ever seeing or using one.

Dont be like that Pat  Their is a different breed who participate on this forum, no garryK`s here

I copped exactly the same on the same forum when i started to post about the Domino, so i dont bother now. Their loss.

I would love to see a pic or 2 of the Kapex and 1 or 2 of Simou for good measure 

I do agree that there's probably a much different breed here than there is on other boards. Just the mention of Festool on mainstream boards gets people all fired up. Never will understand that, but it doesn't happen here. Anyway, I seriously doubt you'll have any issues here. Well, there was this one time when this guy had a problem because I got my Domino before him...  ;D

BTW, there is a "Garry K" here. I have no idea if its the same person that you're talking about though Tezzer.

 

[Dan Clark]

...the refined and succinct tone of this forum...

First, welcome to the forum. 

Now, regarding your ill-considered statement above, it's obvious that you haven't read some of my posts!  Refined?  Maybe once in a great while.  Succinct?  Hmmm...  I think most here would agree that "succinct" is not the sine qua non of my literary efforts.  But then again, we Yanks are a rough and uncultured lot! 

Regarding your literary efforts...  We do enjoy the textual component, but when it comes to Festool and especially the Kapex, please remember your audience.  We are simple, humble people who respond more to visual stimuli!  Therefore, to paraphrase dialog from that great American movie masterpiece ("Jerry Maguire")...  "Show me the PICTURES!  Show me the PICTURES!  Show me...".  Please feel very, VERY free to post pics. 

Best regards,

Dan.

p.s., Please note I am the forum's picture cop.  I'm just doin' my job. 

 

[Mike_Chrest]

This forum just got way better. Wobbly angle grinder thingy, thick pencils, I love it. We will need translations on occasion.

Anyone want to translate llap goch?

 

[John Stevens]

...but unfortunately the Aussies and the Welch (and the Irish, I might add) just have us beat when it comes to the subtle uses of at least their interpretation of the English language.  If we can figure out what they're saying, we'll be glad we read it.

Try this--go to Google and type "how to speak strine" into the box.  Should get you some useful hits.

Before I traveled to Sydney (only once, unfortunately), a buddy of mine loaned me a book by the same title.  I don't think it's in print any more, but it was hilarious.

Regards,

John

 

[Dave Ronyak]

break wind at will

Who is Will, poor guy.   

Wil is me brother-in-law, and ye best be not breaking any foul wind near him, unless yer providin' him some beer, too!  (Wil is active USAF, and former all-state football (American style) guard and tackle.  He has been stationed in England, and in Germany.)

Dave R.

 

[ejantny]

Sure hope Will doesn't git wind of this thread.  lol

 

[Tezzer]

Here is the rest of the Dovetail being cut. I know their are machines to do this, but im just quickly bandsawing it and the end result is a reasonable "hand made" looking DomiDovie ;D

 

[Les]

Tezzer,

Never would have thunk a person could bandsaw a dovetail that precise. Very nice work. Gives me another skill to work on. Thanks for sharing. ;D

 

[ROb McGilp]

Hi all,

Tezzer's system makes perfect sense, albeit he's a master of the band saw. I use a Leigh D4R for doveys and am now starting to use spiral upcuts to remove most of the stock (which is what the Domi does) before using the dovetail bit. Puts less strain on the final cut and reduces the chance of tear out due to stress. Incidentally, I believe the DOmi could be used to produce good finger joints and wooden hinges as well!

Albert

 

[Ted Miller]

I would have to say reading all the posts by Lignum over at WWF I would probably not have purchased the Domi right away. He has helped me more than he knows.

Its tough on WWF to udnerstand everything said, but I figure all wood no matter what part of the world makes the same sawdust so I love that forum.

Still trying to figure out why everyone dates Shelia, she gets around in the land of oz...