Homemade Kapex Wings--My Retrofit

[skids]

So here is the humble beginnings to my new rig..I retrofit my Ryobi stand with some wings. Got the fastening design primarily from NeiC here on FOG. Thanks Neil! I took it a step further in order to properly retrofit to my Ryobi stand, blending some ideas I saw from the Best Fence and some of my own, and whamo this is what I came up with.

The wings are attached to the saw via the Festool crown stop extension accessory (494369). Search NeilC wings and thats how I attached..I didn't find the need to countersink the head in the crown stop accessory though. Found screws that fit perfectly flush to the surface. Both wings are made of Birch Ply and measure about 11 inches deep, and 60 inches long, and banded with 1/2 inch Walnut I had laying around. The edging of Walnut serves a functional purpose to hold it to the outriggers of the Ryobi Stand. It works flawlessly holds them super steady, fist picture illustrates this. I just put the first coat of Poly on it, a floor grade semigloss (Poloplaz) that should hold up nicely to the abuse I plan for it. Finishing touch is the Kreg Precision stop system with integrated Tape measures.

I have to say, this is my first set of table-type extensions and I feel like I don't know myself when I use them. It's so nice to have a work surface to work from. My future plan might be to add the Kreg Bench clamp plate that surface mounts. Would be great for pocket hole screwing and clamping wood for cutting copes. Overall happy with the rig so far and how the Kapex fits into it. I will post better pics once I get the poly done and precision stop system installed.

 

[Guilliaume woodworks]

Looks good & you saved a boat load of $...have you seen the price of the BestFence! Show more pics when you put the kreg goodies on it.

 

[skids]

Looks good & you saved a boat load of $...have you seen the price of the BestFence! Show more pics when you put the kreg goodies on it.

Will do! Yes the BF is a little pricey and made little sense to buy it when I owned a stand. I only spent about $50 for the wood (maybe a little more if you count the scrap Walnut), maybe $10 for the screws, about $100 for the stop system, so yes saved several hundred $$! I don't love the Ryobi, but's it's a strong stand, and like it ALOT more now. I also felt like the BF was limited to keeping the wings attached. Since once you took off the wings you wouldn't want to slam anything heavy on those micro adjusters, and there isn't an auxiliary support for the outriggers I found. This set up allows me to simply remove the wings for rougher less precise work. Making it more universal for my needs. 

The Kreg extrusions are fantastic, and the stop is nicely made. I really like their products, and highly recommend.

 

[skids]

Pretty much done..Poly dried, Kreg top track and tapes and stops added. I don't know how I used a miter saw without this system. It's incredible.

 

[builderbob]

Wow, that looks so pretty I'd be afraid to use it!  Just kidding...scratch away....the more you have, the more work you can prove you've done!  Looks great!

Bob

 

[builderbob]

I was kidding about being afraid to use it!

 

[erock]

Skid,

  How many coats of poly do you have on that??  [poke]

This makes me want to find the Kreg system I bought about 2 months ago and put it to use.

Man,  I wanted to build the same set up you have about 2 months ago, but other project have pushed it to the side.

And with the up coming Festool price increase makes me want to build my own extensions even more!

Great job and congrats on saving a bunch of money on building your own.

Eric

 

[duburban]

your lucky you can attach these wings securely to the saw. my makita saw has no such attachment points so i would have to attach the wings to a platform which the saw sets on. then the saw would have to be secured to that platform. i may work on a custom bracket to adapt wings directly to saw but they would need to be able to level the wings to the saw base.

 

[skids]

Wow, that looks so pretty I'd be afraid to use it!  Just kidding...scratch away....the more you have, the more work you can prove you've done!  Looks great!

Bob

Haha! Yep, my wife was just making fun of me too! The Poly is dry but actually still curing, so the shine should settle down a bit..I think I took it one coat too far to be honest. Woopsy.. But I plan on putting some battle scars on it in the AM. Got some casing to do and I will be sure to be extra rough!

 

[skids]

Skid,

  How many coats of poly do you have on that??  [poke]

This makes me want to find the Kreg system I bought about 2 months ago and put it to use.

Man,  I wanted to build the same set up you have about 2 months ago, but other project have pushed it to the side.

And with the up coming Festool price increase makes me want to build my own extensions even more!

Great job and congrats on saving a bunch of money on building your own.

Eric

Thanks! Yeah the savings is nice, and it just feels better when you build it yourself.

I removed the wings a bunch of time and then hooked them back up to see if it messed with the stop system and it didn't. Gotta love those v grooves.

So you have a Kreg stop system? You gotta put on your rig! I love it, and I have it dialed in tight, which for the work I am doing now is SOOO helpful. I am a huge fan of thier products now after seeing how nice these extrusions are.

 

[skids]

your lucky you can attach these wings securely to the saw. my makita saw has no such attachment points so i would have to attach the wings to a platform which the saw sets on. then the saw would have to be secured to that platform. i may work on a custom bracket to adapt wings directly to saw but they would need to be able to level the wings to the saw base.

You can do that with washers. Put all your thoughts into how to interface with the saw. Or look at the best fence for the Makita.

I looked at the Makita, almost bought it, but among other things, this is one of the reasons I went for the Kapex.

Good luck!

 

[duburban]

kapex is only a matter of time. the best fence... meh... i bought a laser recently and they threw in fast cap's previous third hand laser mount for $10. that thing is such a piece of junk its an offensive product, even at $10 i feel abused. i'll build a set for the makita good for on sight use.

 

[skids]

kapex is only a matter of time. the best fence... meh... i bought a laser recently and they threw in fast cap's previous third hand laser mount for $10. that thing is such a piece of junk its an offensive product, even at $10 i feel abused. i'll build a set for the makita good for on sight use.

Some of their products are questionable I agree. I have their reveal guage and it's kind of cloodgy. Would have been better off making a homemade gauge block.

I know someone, who knows someone, who owns a best fence and they love it. What I didn't like about it for me personally, is the fact you can't really use the stand without the wings. This is what I like about retrofitting my Ryobi stand. I can pull those wings off and use the stand to do deck work or something. If you did that with the best fence you would ruin the most costly part of that system, the micro adjustment blocks. Either way, it's a cool system and if you weren't happy they are a great service company, they would take care of you.

My thought process was, if I got the Makita, would have had to get the best fence. In the end same total price as the Kapex. Instead went with the Kapex used thier crown extensions ($95 ea) and used my existing stand and built my own wings.