Kapex 120 miter saw won't turn off!

[mr_fig]

[eek]

We have had this Kapex miter saw for about 18 months - so still under warranty - and on Friday it just stopped turning off unless unplugged. Really dangerous and unbelievable. I did a lot of digging around online to see if there was something I could clean/fix to no avail. We reached out to Festool and all they say is ok, send it in, that will be $40 for a box...

Now to make matters worse, we had sent in our older Kapex saw for service when we bought this one and had kept it stored upon its return for emergencies and so I pulled it out over the weekend only to find while they had repaired the original motor failure, it now has a host of other issues it didn't leave my shop with. The neck is unbelievably stiff, when you adjust the angle for the miter, it feels like something is dragging and scraping though I can't find it, and if you adjust the bold underneath the whole thing wobbles. It was at least 3 degrees out of tune. I called Festool about it and they basically shrugged and said to send it back.

Our whole shop runs on Festool and this is really disappointing. Have any of you had these issues??

 

[ChuckM]

It pours when it rains, doesn't it?

I was surprised that you didn't do any test on the old saw when it was returned to you by Festool, I wouldn't trust any repair service of any kind (car, furnace, plumbing, laptop and you name it), until I check on the actual outcome of the fix.

I suspect the problem of the non-stopping had something to do with the switch. As for the old saw, did you try any lubrication? Is it [member=44099]Cheese[/member] or some member who showed pictures of the turntable and how tight the bolt should be. I think the bolt needs only tiny adjustments to make the turntable glide. If it was wobbly, you might have loosened the bolt too much.

To fix the degree thing, go check out Gary Katz's video on the Kapex. Edit, here's the link -https://www.thisiscarpentry.com/2010/07/23/miter-saw-tune-up/

 

[Cheese]

Is it [member=44099]Cheese[/member] or some member who showed pictures of the turntable and how tight the bolt should be. I think the bolt needs only tiny adjustments to make the turntable glide. If it was wobbly, you might have loosened the bolt too much.

Good memory Chuck... [big grin]

I also had issues with my turntable and it seemed to be getting worse with use rather than better. I did some investigation, the turntable nut was originally torqued to 185 in/lbs.

I sprayed the offending/rubbing parts with a dry lube, it was either DynaGlide or Starrett M1. They both spray on wet but quickly dry to a lubrication film. You don't want to use WD 40 as it attracts dirt/wood dust.

The lubrication helped somewhat but there was still too much resistance so I loosened up the nut with a 13 mm socket. I played around with different torque settings and finally settled on 60 in/lbs of torque which allows it to move easily but still with a small amount of resistance. That was 2 years ago and it still works well.

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[ChuckM]

Is it [member=44099]Cheese[/member] or some member who showed pictures of the turntable and how tight the bolt should be. I think the bolt needs only tiny adjustments to make the turntable glide. If it was wobbly, you might have loosened the bolt too much.

Good memory Chuck... [big grin]

Thank you!

Now my wife can stop nagging me that I should have my brain checked!

 

[mr_fig]

It pours when it rains, doesn't it?

I was surprised that you didn't do any test on the old saw when it was returned to you by Festool, I wouldn't trust any repair service of any kind (car, furnace, plumbing, laptop and you name it), until I check on the actual outcome of the fix.

I suspect the problem of the non-stopping had something to do with the switch. As for the old saw, did you try any lubrication? Is it [member=44099]Cheese[/member] or some member who showed pictures of the turntable and how tight the bolt should be. I think the bolt needs only tiny adjustments to make the turntable glide. If it was wobbly, you might have loosened the bolt too much.

To fix the degree thing, go check out Gary Katz's video on the Kapex. Edit, here's the link -https://www.thisiscarpentry.com/2010/07/23/miter-saw-tune-up/

Chuck, it's not like me to not check a tool - I had so much going on at the time that it just completely slipped my mind... regret it now 100%. Silly me trusting Festool to repair one problem without causing another.

Thanks for sharing the link though I've done all those adjustments - the work I do is really precise so I'm constantly keeping things calibrated. I'm mostly unhappy at how Festool's customer service responded.

It's a dangerous thing for one of my assistants to be cutting miters and all of a sudden have a tool not turn off; I really don't like the idea of someone having to leave the saw unattended long enough to get around and reach the power cord.

Cheese - thanks for the drylube brand recs! Really glad that solved your issue.

 

[mr_fig]

Well, we sent it in and got it shipped back right away - I just received it today so haven't yet unpacked the box but according to the repair parts list inside there were 16 little parts replaced. I'm happy it didn't take long and will report back if there's any news of note.

 

[mr_fig]

Hi everyone - here's an update on our saw. Unpacked and set up yesterday and discovered that the 0° vertical on the compound gauge is actually 5°. My assistant was helping to unpack and immediately upon opening the box commented "how odd they shipped it at such a slight compound angle." If it was set to 5 and read 5 that would be one thing but to be set to 0 and read 5... that's a problem.

I'm pretty disappointed considering that it was perfectly tuned when it left. I run a high-end framing shop and so miter saws are the name of the game here. Called Festool today and they said to send it back but that it's apparently a QC issue on their side (no kidding!).

Photos below for reference.
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[ChuckM]

Before you send it back, do this first. Release the bevel angle lock/control, tilt the sawhead and then reset it to 90*. Make a test cut and check the angle. If it's 90*, look at the angle scale to see if the pointer needs to be adjusted.

If the cut remains out of square, I hope Festool will cover the shipping and repair costs. As a rule, Festool should make some test cuts after fixing a saw, and ship it back in "fool-proof" packaging.

 

[smorgasbord]

If it was set to 5 and read 5 that would be one thing but to be set to 0 and read 5... that's a problem.

Couldn't you just loosen the screw and slide the green arrow to the 5º mark? I'd make sure that saw cut 45 when set to 45 and that the full range of bevels was still available, but...

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[ChuckM]

It's not about the pointer at this stage. The pointer can be adjusted,  but the cut can still be out of square. The first thing to try is to check if the saw cuts square when the saw is locked at 0*/90* regardless of what the pointer says. If it doesn't cut square, the pointer doesn't matter at all.

 

[mr_fig]

It's not about the pointer at this stage. The pointer can be adjusted,  but the cut can still be out of square. The first thing to try is to check if the saw cuts square when the saw is locked at 0*/90* regardless of what the pointer says. If it doesn't cut square, the pointer doesn't matter at all.

If it was set to 5 and read 5 that would be one thing but to be set to 0 and read 5... that's a problem.

Couldn't you just loosen the screw and slide the green arrow to the 5º mark? I'd make sure that saw cut 45 when set to 45 and that the full range of bevels was still available, but...

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Thanks for your thoughts - unfortunately, chuck, your suggestion to shift all the way and back to reset didn't work. It's a bummer to have to send it back again but here we are. Definitely not cutting square when the marker says it should.

 

[ChuckM]

Sorry to hear that. Let's hope the third time is the charm since you've sent it in two times already!

:'(

 

[peter halle]

By the way there is a way to try and calibrate it if you are so inclined.  It is covered on pages 26 and 27 of the supplemental manual.  The link I am posting is a good link of the original supplemental manual that still has the illustrations.  The Festool version on the Festool website is missing those.  This link leads to the author's website and the document he produced for Festool USA.  Link:  https://www.waterfront-woods.com/festool/Kapex_KS120.pdf

Peter