Kapex any good or no power

[Scott B.]

I can't walk by a Kapex anymore without either turning myself or it upside down to check the casting weld quality.

Thanks FOG.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Castings aren't welded...

 

[Scott B.]

Castings aren't welded...

No wonder I can't find an offensive one.

 

[Brice Burrell]

.....One can only compare two different saws to determine which is more "powerful" if you use the same blade. It can be brand new blades of the same make and model on both saws, or the same blade moved from one saw to the other for the purpose of testing.....

Fair point.  Here's a counterpoint.  If the blades that are readily available for the Kapex are not adequate to efficiently cut think wood, what conclusion is one left to draw? 

That that wasn't one of the design criteria!

Festool has plenty of promotional pictures and video showing the Kapex used on thick material.  That doesn't necessarily mean that is what it was designed for, but it is clearly implied.  I don't think many people would consider the Kapex with the intention of cutting large framing material on a regular basis.  From my experience the Kapex excels at trim (second fix) and not so much at framing (first fix).  Regardless of the intended design the reality is the Kapex is pretty much a trim saw. 

As Scott already said talking about the Kapex's intended purpose is opening a can of worms....   

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

80t is too many for a 10" blade anyway.  60 or 40 is much better.

 

[Jim Green]

Hello everyone, I will start off by saying I did not read all the replies as I find they can go sideways very fast. I do own a Kapex and have used it extensively for finish carpentry. Compared to other csms it is defiantly under powered you can not cut or push the same as you would with the many other saws I have owned. The saw has some really great features and does some things very well but it is no game changer. I am a big fan of Festool and almost use their tools exclusively. I also will defend how much I have spent on the tools I have to the many other carpenters who have questioned "why would you pay that much for?". I have had many problems with the saw and Festool has been very helpful resolving these problems but would not buy it again if I was looking for a csms. I am sure there are many users that have no problems with the Kapex but I believe Festool has many other tools that are worth  spending that amount on.

 

[Cheese]

Well, as I posted earlier on a different thread, this is the perfect time for a Festool technical service/engineer to get involved. What indeed was the intended purpose of the Kapex? What element of construction was it designed for? If it was designed to cut anything and everything then say so. If it was designed to only cut 4x4's or 2x4's or 1x2's, then say that.

In the Kapex owners manual, Festool advises that the Kapex can be used to cut Hardy board siding, yet they only offer a blade for it in Australia. Not the USA, not Germany and not the EU. That's a major disconnect for Festool. I think a shake-up would be a good thing.

 

[fshanno]

I don't get this underpowered deal.  Mine goes through 2x6's and 2x8's like butter.

Today I broke down a rough cut 6/4 Euro beech board - 9" wide with my Kapex.  A little harder than framing pine by the way and no problems.  Plus the board hadn't been straight lined yet so there was a rough edge against the fence.  You know how spooky that can be.  No problems, the blade just slid through like it didn't even need a fence. 

Then I used the same saw to make the final crosscuts on the milled boards for some stools I'm making for a dinette.

I keep wondering when I'm going to have to do something about the blade.  It's the same blade that came on the saw 5 years ago and it still not in desperate need of a sharpening. In fact I've only cleaned the blade 5 or 6 times.  In fact it's dirty right now, and it still did a fine job on the beech.

And it's not a shop queen.  It gets hauled around.  It's been rained on.  Not a deluge mind, just a shower.  It was one of those showers where the sun is still shining.  I walk out of the customer's house and there it is, sitting on the tailgate getting rained on.  I screamed and threw my body over it.  To late, it got pretty wet.  It was pretty traumatic.  That was a couple of years ago.

One thing I like is that I can set it in the back seat of my Silverado crew cab and not touch any panels.  Don't have to grunt to do it either. 

It's the finest SCMS on the planet.  Nothing else compares. 

 

[Stone Message]

This is a stupid argument - if someone thinks that there is a design weakness or corporate lack of this, that or the other then it cannot be compared to a flat tyre.

If I were given the opportunity to have a Festool expert visit then I would jump at it and I would not mind if Rolls Royce attended to my puncture. In both cases there would be some "value added" and the offer by Festool via Phil Beckley is extremely generous.

Peter

peter I may be wrong but I have not seen you use the wings in any of your videos,i believe you have made a mobile cart for your kapex and use the crown extensions(which although I do not have them,seem to me to mount a little more robustly and are by their length not subjected to the same lateral forces),the bracket/set-up for mounting the wings is not a complicated feat of engineering,a little study and experimentation will soon exhaust all variations of possible 'mis-mounting',at the risk of repeating myself ad nauseam others such as fastcap have reached the same conclusion regarding attachment security,it would therefore seem pretty pointless to have a site visit as no amount of technical expertise  would change what is in my opinion a design flaw.
locks 14, I thank you for your defence,peter halle,i think I have explained my position,on a general note I would echo what others have said here recently,FOG has become a cold place for those who will not zealously tow the party line, criticism can be constructive,if only the 'yes men' and cheerleaders voices are heard there will be no  proper evaluation of the tools which would lead to improvement.

I was certainly not defending Festool, they make mistakes like the rest of us. I was merely pointing out the value of a visit by an expert and how wise it might be to take up such an offer.

Peter

 

[Darren1972]

Jeez louise ive opened a can of worms here ask a simple question get a not so simple answer ha ha by the way ive ordered one anyway

Good for you, I hope your exceptionally pleased with your purchase.

Jack

Hope so i get it today i will use it for a week and post the results

 

[burp110]

Jeez louise ive opened a can of worms here ask a simple question get a not so simple answer ha ha by the way ive ordered one anyway

do give us a review.

 

[Wuffles]

Jeez louise ive opened a can of worms here ask a simple question get a not so simple answer ha ha by the way ive ordered one anyway

do give us a review.

I'll just leave these here: ,,,,,,,,,,,,, & .........

 

[Darren1972]

Used it all day today making a double hip roof from 6x2 treated timber and it absolutely ate them up and spat them out and cut some decorative architraves which it simply laughed at real nice saw i would say more of a second fix tool as its extremely precise the bevel tool is amazing i dont use an extractor as i do most cutting outside but i think the saw is designed to be used  with one as there is a lot off chippings and dust blowback i wear glasses any way so not a problem as for power in my very little experience of the tool i think it has ample power ( mine is 110 v) so to sum up price wise its more expensive than others in its class power wise seems fine to me ( never cut any oak or hard woods yet ) precision its world class all in all its a sweet bit of kit and when you use it you understand where that bit of extra money goes in my opinion its the best ive used yet cutting some hard woods next week so it will test the power out 

 

[Wuffles]

I tried.

 

[Darren1972]

I tried.

Ha ha

 

[CumminsDiesel]

I know what you mean, Brice, and I am somewhat the same way in expectations based on field experience.

In some tool categories, I need one that can just do it all. Other categories, it takes a fleet.

When I run into the problem you describe, the Kapex not being great on 2x12 for example, that is one of the very few times that I will go and look at what the manufacturer seems to intend for the tool...how they describe it, how they, ugh, market it.

I clicked over to festoolusa.com and clicked on the Kapex.

Here is a snip of the very first paragraph...

[attachimg=1]

That description makes me wonder if their intent is for the saw to be more of a trim saw than a framing saw.

I know that opens the whole can of worms about what a user should expect...

Its not something you don't know,carpentry very often means in States as framing work,2x12,4x4,2x4 and etc.,but FINISH carpenter is very different,more details work,more precision,clean and fine.

 

[CumminsDiesel]

I've had my kapex about five years now and I'm fairly happy with the saw itself(used mostly for finish/trim work) what really irritates me is the wings,the attachment is simply rubbish, coming loose at the slightest movement no matter how tight it is secured,its no use having a quick/tool-less attachment method if it simply does not work,i would rather take time to bolt something together and have it secure than the present method,the single leg on the wings is another design flaw in my opinion,its just not stable enough to resist lateral forces,this combined with the poor attachment at the saw means its impossible to keep secure in normal working conditions,how this system ever got past the design/testing phase is beyond me ???

I apologizes,but may be you attach wings on a wrong direction ?

Take a look at this video,start watching at 3:35 

 

[Holmz]

I tried.

Bang on!

 

[jbergeron687]

Has anyone taken off the black plastic piece that is above the rubber dust shroud (directly opposite of the blade safety guard)? I'm wondering what this piece is for (the only thing I can think of is that it is designed to aid in dust collection).  I'm less than impressed with the dust collection, though I'm using the 12' 27mm hose.

 

[nclemmons]

I attached a strip brush similar to what is outlined in this thread - http://festoolownersgroup.com/other-tools-accessories/fastcap-saw-stache/msg380439/#msg380439

It made a significant impact on dust collection effectiveness on my Kapex.

neil