Not seen this thread before, and after reading through it and reading some of the comments I thought I might be able to put a few things to rest.
Many, many years ago I took on a contract in Germany. It was an eye opener to say the least. My guys and me were shocked at how organised and efficient German building sites were.
We made a lot of friends there, and it was often a very close scenario to a British comedy TV series about British trades working in Germany.
Even back then, we had a lot of Makita tools, and a fair bit of Elu, and the Germans were using mainly Maffel and Festo tools and a few cheaper brands. I already knew how good Maffel was but, just didn’t like the look of the Festo stuff.
Our German friends were very interested and complimentary of Makita and more so Elu but, suggested we should try the Festo tools as they were respected greatly by tradesman.
I argued that they might be fine in a workshop environment but, not durable for site work.
I told them Maffel would be my choice if it were not so expensive.
So it was a bit of friendly rivalry between the tool brands.
A few years later, I was seeing more Festo in the UK but, my opinion was the same, this stuff was not designed for professional use although admittedly I was seeing more and more trades using it without complaint.
Then when Fest became Festool, there was like an explosion of their tools showing up in the UK, mainly kitchen and bedroom fitters, and second fix carpenters.
When friends were buying it and telling me how great it was, including the price, I thought they’d gone nuts. The quality didn’t look anywhere as good as Festo, and so much plastic.
The tools looked an awkward shape and some did feel uncomfortable to me, so I dismissed them as a gimmick.
I was wrong about the majority of my opinions, and although it took quite some time, the penny finally dropped regarding what Festool were all about.
I spoke to some German guys working over here, they were completely kitted out with just about every tool Festool made at the time, and seeing all of their modular tools set up and in use really was an eye opener at how efficient the Festool system really is, and even more so nowadays.
“Herman The German” or “H” as he was sometimes known, would happily let anybody demo his kit, and he’d give a salesman like explanation of set up and use. He’d often come in with a new tool and show us all, and again we could try it out if we wanted.
He told us all of the Festool tool were designed for professional use, to give precision, accuracy and durability. Let’s face it, most of the time it does all of that and some.
He also said, most DIY users would see the brand as too expensive. I suppose that’s debatable, as you may for example have a brain surgeon, or film star that is seriously into woodwork or DIY. They would probably buy the whole range!
Anyway, just like Maffel, the Festool stuff is designed for professional use.
It’s also not meant to be baby’d or wrapped in cotton wool, treated with care and respect, definitely, not used with kid gloves though as many seem to do. These are expensive power tools not puppy dogs.
The Kapex, as we now know has been an exception to the Festool durability, or to be fair, some of the Kapex’s.
We also now know, that a percentage of the saws, because of a batch of faulty parts, have the potential to fail with motor issues.
The problem is real, and well covered here and other sites too. There have been issues with a few other tools but, nothing like the percentage of Kapex’s.
Being fair, it’s only motor issues too, the Kapex is otherwise as tough and durable as any other make of mitre saw out there.
Mine certainly earns it’s keep, cutting thick and hard timber, down to detailed trim work.
I have been a Festool convert for quite a few years now, and I really like my Kapex. The variable speed is welcomed for me. I had this function on my old Elu saws but, not on any saws since, so it was nice to have.
There are a couple of things, I would change on the Kapex, nothing of any real importance though.
It would be nice not to see any more Kapex failure posts but, at the same time, it would be nice to know that owners off failed saws are looked after. Reports on this site fortunately seem to be dwindling, let’s hope it continues.
So, don’t baby your saw, if it’s going to check out on you, it will, regardless of what you are using it for, the failures are random, no pattern at all, if it’s going to fail, it will.
It’s a power tool designed for full professional use, with an expensive price tag. Use it with care but, use it!
Is it tough?
In my opinion, it’s as tough as anything else out there, so yes!
