Efficient. mobile. motor burned up. kapex

[WPeters]

So about a 3 years ago i made this video about how we use our Kapex.

Here is a little update...

This week the motor burnt up for the (3rd) time.  This is our trim saw and gets moderate use, but not heavy by any means.  This time one of our men was cutting shoe mold and it start smoking and he felt like it was shocking him.  Scared him pretty good.  Again this is the third time in three years!  I called service and told them the deal and asked for a new saw or a refund, not just another "band aid" fix.  I was told "That is not possible"  While the tech was polite, i was disappointed in the seemingly lack of concern about this issue, especially with the employee getting shocked.  I would think they have a liability issue with that.  He said Kapex's failing isn't that common, which i find surprising after a quick search on the forum.  We are a professional shop which tries to take good care of our tools, (shop video at end of post).  have numerous other Festools, which generally have been well worth it and a real joy to use.  While i like certain features about the Kapex, i'm disappointed to say the least.  i haven't been on the forum in a while.  Has there been any headway with this issue?

In short after a few years of use, When people ask me, i don't recommend people purchasing this saw.  If fact i have to recommend against it based on our experience.

Weston Peters
www.peterscabinetry.com

 

[Paul G]

Thanks for sharing your experience, reinforces my decision to avoid the kapex. Where do you think you'll go from here with that thing?

 

[WPeters]

We will probably keep sending it off to be fixed as long as they will do the warranty.  However they next time i'm looking for a saw i will  take a good look at Bosch and Hitachi.  I can't imagine a scenario where we buy another Kapex.  We have three Hitachis, and while they aren't perfect saws by any means we have had them for 10+ years and haven't had a motor burn up on any of them.  The thing that is frustrating is the saw is such a significant investment, we treat it carefully and it still burns up. (3) times [unsure]  (and should you even have to baby a trim saw???)  None of our other tools need special care....  Ok i'll stop beating the dead horse [dead horse]  [smile] 

Back to work.....

 

[Tyler Ernsberger]

I agree with you completely.  The Kapex should not have any motor issues.  For a saw that cost 3x more than a normal miter saw it should be pretty close to perfect.  Festools response about the saw is making many people distrust the brand.  They stand behind the Kapex and won't address that there's a problem.  I believe that if you buy a Kapex, use it for 3 years and sell it after the warranty is up and start over.  It's a 3 year saw.   

 

[RKA]

Sorry to hear about your issues.  It does sound like the service personnel aren't adequately trained on dealing with potential safety issues (festool wouldn't be unique in this regard if this is true). 

There is another avenue...the CPSC.  You can and should report product safety issues so there is a formal record of it.

https://www.saferproducts.gov/CPSRMSPublic/Incidents/ReportIncident.aspx

 

[antss]

Seems to me service is well trained.

One would never want a Corp. employee to admit publicly that there was/is a problem until risk management and PR weighed in on on a strategy of dealing with it.  Engineering would also need a remedy too.

Keep in mind , near the top of the playbook is : "deny there is a problem" !

I find it telling that Festool has acknowledged that some people think there is a Kapex Problem, especially on this board ; and they have said they would investigate.  That was a year ago or more, and it has been radio silence since.  Nada, nicht, narry a word .

 

[yetihunter]

We will probably keep sending it off to be fixed as long as they will do the warranty.  However they next time i'm looking for a saw i will  take a good look at Bosch and Hitachi.  I can't imagine a scenario where we buy another Kapex.  We have three Hitachis, and while they aren't perfect saws by any means we have had them for 10+ years and haven't had a motor burn up on any of them.  The thing that is frustrating is the saw is such a significant investment, we treat it carefully and it still burns up. (3) times [unsure]  (and should you even have to baby a trim saw???)  None of our other tools need special care....  Ok i'll stop beating the dead horse [dead horse]  [smile] 

Back to work.....

Hitachi just sold their power tools division (which includes recently acquired Metabo) to KKR, so, Bosch is your uncle. 

 

[justinh]

We will probably keep sending it off to be fixed as long as they will do the warranty.  However they next time i'm looking for a saw i will  take a good look at Bosch and Hitachi.  I can't imagine a scenario where we buy another Kapex.  We have three Hitachis, and while they aren't perfect saws by any means we have had them for 10+ years and haven't had a motor burn up on any of them.  The thing that is frustrating is the saw is such a significant investment, we treat it carefully and it still burns up. (3) times [unsure]  (and should you even have to baby a trim saw???)  None of our other tools need special care....  Ok i'll stop beating the dead horse [dead horse]  [smile] 

Back to work.....

Hitachi just sold their power tools division (which includes recently acquired Metabo) to KKR, so, Bosch is your uncle.

At this point that might be an improvement.  Hitachi miter saws and pneumatics used to be fantastic.  Not so much anymore

 

[toolpouchguy]

my kapex just burnt up today ,i have had nothing but problems ,try getting the warranty department to call me today what a joke ,garbage saw

 

[SS Teach]

This is why I opted for a Bosch Glide when I upgraded.

 

[safety1st]

between the posts of many who wholeheartedly recommend the saw, and many of these posts about the saw motor burning up, i really don't know what to think.

anybody has this figured out?

i guess we can't rely on festool to shed a light on this. their silence is deafening, on a forum that is promoted by the company.

 

[AlexThePalex]

between the posts of many who wholeheartedly recommend the saw, and many of these posts about the saw motor burning up, i really don't know what to think.

anybody has this figured out?

i guess we can't rely on festool to shed a light on this. their silence is deafening, on a forum that is promoted by the company.

You just have to look at it like this: most tools of any kind that go into production and end up on the shelf are good tools and will function for a reasonable period of time without troubles. Over time, some of those tools will fail, but most will work as intended.

When they work as intended, people are satisfied about the tool and will give positive reviews.

But when the tool fails, people are not satisfied.

Now, by the sheer amount of people complaining, particularly over the very serious failure of the Kapex' motor burning up, you can only conclude there is a larger than normal problem here.

 

[Gregor]

Now, by the sheer amount of people complaining, particularly over the very serious failure of the Kapex' motor burning up, you can only conclude there is a larger than normal problem here.

How many would that be, does anyone here have a current (and correct) count?

 

[AlexThePalex]

Now, by the sheer amount of people complaining, particularly over the very serious failure of the Kapex' motor burning up, you can only conclude there is a larger than normal problem here.

How many would that be, does anyone here have a current (and correct) count?

Maybe you could oblige us and count them yourself? I think we read two or three reports a month.

In the mean time, have a look at the latest entry:
http://festoolownersgroup.com/festo...in-smoke-53362/msg523142/?topicseen#msg523142

That's 2 new reports in a single day.

 

[toolpouchguy]

its the worst tool purchase i have ever made ,and we have lots of tools ,4 other miter saws that all still work great ,the kapex should be taken out and smashed with a sledge hammer so i don't invest anymore time or aggravation.
its my second one ,and its already been repaired once in 3 years