Kapex and "Tools of the Trade" Review

R

rmoursund

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Mar 13, 2007
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In the past few days "Tools of the Trade" magazine has released a review of eight sliding compound miter saws (SCMS) which includes the Kapex.  Bosch, Ridgid and Makita placed first, second and third respectively. 
The Kapex received some very complementary comments:  "Superbly made", "some of my favorite features", "nicest lasers" and "best passive dust collection", and they all so wrote "Adjusting the bevel from the front of the tool is the best way, and this bevel scale is the easiest to read and set with its large print and fine adjust knob".  All this and it failed to win, place or show? 
The only negative comments were "I must admit to some sticker shock, and wish it used a standard blade".  Personally, I have to agree with the first part of this statement; it is expensive, but what a saw!  As for the blade, I was looking at not buying this saw because of being restricted to only Festool blades, however, after using the 60 tooth basic blade I have no need for any other blade, even the 80 tooth.  Maybe I will eventually fine something that requires an 80 tooth blade but so far everything I've cut has been far superior to anything that I cut on my older Dewalt with the Forrest 12" Chopmaster blade.  I guess choices would be nice, but I am completely satisfied with the blade supplied and designed to work with the Kapex.
So, even though the Kapex didn't place in this review, I am more than satisfied and have no desired to return to these higher rated saws  ??? even though I shelled out a lot more cash.  I'm going for "superbly made" with the "best" features.
 
I used the Kapex this afternoon, having missed the review. It performed the same as it did yesterday. But that's just in Australia, YMMV
 
If you go to the website for Forrest blades, they are offering blades that were made for the Kapex.  The selection is limited at this point but they may broaden the choices in the future.  We all know how good they are.

Neill
 
I've always thought the blade issues for Festool were specious arguments. As tools become common blade manufacturers will start to go after the new market, and that doesn't take long these days for Festool products. I think it was CMT that introduced cutters for the Domino almost simultaneous to the intro of the tool. Blades are even easier to offer. If you can bore a 5/8 hole you can bore 20mm or 30mm.

Besides, everyone who worries about this usually winds up liking their Festool blades so well that it becomes a non-issue. Certainly, anyone willing to get past the sticker shock of the tool itself should have zero problems buying a spare Festool blade to cycle through the re-sharpening process instead of trying to save 5 bucks buying an aftermarket blade.
 
greg mann said:
I've always thought the blade issues for Festool were specious arguments. As tools become common blade manufacturers will start to go after the new market, and that doesn't take long these days for Festool products. I think it was CMT that introduced cutters for the Domino almost simultaneous to the intro of the tool. Blades are even easier to offer. If you can bore a 5/8 hole you can bore 20mm or 30mm.

Besides, everyone who worries about this usually winds up liking their Festool blades so well that it becomes a non-issue. Certainly, anyone willing to get past the sticker shock of the tool itself should have zero problems buying a spare Festool blade to cycle through the re-sharpening process instead of trying to save 5 bucks buying an aftermarket blade.
Click to expand...

I didn't know that. I would be nice if someone made Domino bits in Imperial diameters so we could make exact fitting custom Domino tenons.

Sorry about the diversion from Kapex...
 
This "tools of the trade" review was for 12" saws, Kapex is a 10", so not sure why they even included it in this review?

Mike
 
MiterMaster said:
This "tools of the trade" review was for 12" saws, Kapex is a 10", so not sure why they even included it in this review?

Mike
Click to expand...

Mike -

They may have included it because Festool has touted the capabilities of the 10" Kapex to rival 12" miter saws without the additional size and weight.

Neill
 
I am not familiar with tools of the trade magazine.

Never mind that the kapex failed to place.

I don't personally, nor if you check around in finish carpenters circles,

agree with first, second, or third.

Ever carry a Bosch 12 inch?

Have you seen the new Milwaukee?

Ridgid? Where did that come from?

Makita  third?

Nah.

I have used all the saws listed above, except the ridgid.

I own a Makita and a Milwaukee and recently sold the Bosch.

Trust me I have no sellers remorse.

Per
 
Where exactly is the Tools of the Trade review? I went to their site and even searched "Kapex"...nothing.
 
rmoursund said:
".  Personally, I have to agree with the first part of this statement; it is expensive, but what a saw!  As for the blade, I was looking at not buying this saw because of being restricted to only Festool blades, however, after using the 60 tooth basic blade I have no need for any other blade, even the 80 tooth.  Maybe I will eventually fine something that requires an 80 tooth blade but so far everything I've cut has been far superior to anything that I cut on my older Dewalt with the Forrest 12" Chopmaster blade.  I guess choices would be nice, but I am completely satisfied with the blade supplied and designed to work with the Kapex.
So, even though the Kapex didn't place in this review, I am more than satisfied and have no desired to return to these higher rated saws  ??? even though I shelled out a lot more cash.  I'm going for "superbly made" with the "best" features.
Click to expand...

call forrest they have a blade for the kapex, call them directly and they can send you one.  I agree the forrest blades are the best.
 
Apparently it did poorly because it was too expensive?  Seemed to have the best review, so it is hard to know what the criteria were.
 
sorry to say but as a regular contributing author myself, the review is pathetic.  If i was actually in the market for information I would not be able to garner anything from that.
 
Good Morning,
I just read the review, and I have to agree with Victor and others.  My pet peeve with reviews is when they try to second-guess what I would want to spend.  I've seen this happen in Consumer Reports a number of times: one product is better but appears to be ranked lower because of price.  It always leaves you wondering, "so is this one the best, or are you saying a less espensive one is really better?"

My feeling is, just tell me which item did the best in your tests, regardless of price.  Let me decide whether to spend the money or not.

I don't own a Kapex, so my comments are purely about the nature of the review!

Thanks,
Matthew
 
I do have a Kapex and I wouldnt trade it for 3, no make that 4 Bosch saws. No way. On the Kapex the cut is so smooth, The bevel controls are so comfortable and accurate,  and zero deflection in the rails. It is simply unbeatable. Are there things on the Kapex I would like different? Sure but that doesn't change the fact that you simply cannot achieve as accurate cuts on any other sliding miter saw.

I dont know about you guys but when cutting picture frame( that's four miters)casing in solid wood stock 3 1/2" and over with my previous slider I always had some fine tuning to do with a block plane. Not so with the Kapex. Cut, Clamp, and install. It could not get any better in the cutting.

To sum up, I could care less what Tools of the Trade has to say. I know what's what.

Eiji Fuller
 
I have been reading the online Tools of the Trade tool reviews for several years now, and yes you definitely have to take some of their advice with a grain of salt. One thing to keep in mind is who is doing their reviews. It sounds like the most recent contributor was a boat builder, so he approached the review more from a shop-based standpoint. Some saws seem much better suited to a fixed, shop location (Bosch, Hitachi, Ridgid), whereas others (Makita) are better suited to on-site work. Previous miter saw reviews on Tools of the Trade reviewing the very same saws have ranked them in different order. Overall, Makita and Bosch seem to be perpetually be jostling for first place amongst these reviews, more than anything else it seems to have more to do with which side of the bed the reviewer happened to wake up that morning.

Although I disagree with many conclusions reached in this particular Tools of the Trade article, I have found many of their articles very handy. TOTT seems to review many of the same tool categories as Fine Homebuilding (trim routers, dust extractors, miter saws, etc...), but they also test more construction-oriented tools as well (jackhammers, rotary hammers, portable band saws, etc...) that I don't seem to see reviewed in other publications. And as always, I just use these reviews as a jumping off point, rather than the definitive, last word on the subject.

http://www.toolsofthetrade.net/industry-news-channel.asp?sectionID=1489
 
Tom,

I believe you hit it on the proverbial head.... ANY review should just be a jumping off point for more more research.  (unless it's mine, then everybody should just jump-to and do as I say) ;D

Dan
 
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