Kapex arbor bolt guard

[festoolviking]

Hi everyone

Got my Kapex the other day and noticed something. On my saw there is no "Arbor bolt guard" and I've seen pictures of the saw with or without this. Is it just the North American versions or older versions that got this? Mine is a 2013 "model"

It's pictured on page 9 here:

http://www.festoolusa.com/media/pdf/Kapex-KS120-Supplemental-Manual.pdf

Here it's not on the saw:

http://www.festool.se/Produkter/Pages/Product-Detail.aspx?pid=561283&name=Kap-gers-g-KAPEX-KS-120-EB

I'm just curious ???

Festoolviking

 

[Frank-Jan]

I think only in North America. Mine's a 2007 model, didn't come with one. (But in the promotional flyers from the around the productlaunch, and in the picture on the box it had one, and a different color rubber dustfunnel (gray))

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Just a guess, but they may be putting it on all Kapexs now to streamline production. But I don't have any information to support that hypothesis.

 

[Frank-Jan]

Funny thing, the picture that's shown on the European festool sites appears to be foto-shopped. The arbor bolt guard is removed, but when the arbor bolt guard is not fitted, there' a screw in the mounting location, but that's gone too (and it has the light-grey dust funnel, which I have never seen on a kapex in the store or at a jobsite)

 

[Birdhunter]

What's an arbor bolt guard? I've got an Kapex and might need to know.

 

[Brice Burrell]

What's an arbor bolt guard? I've got an Kapex and might need to know.

It's the plastic part you loosen a screw and swing out of the way to to get to the arbor bolt.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

What's an arbor bolt guard? I've got an Kapex and might need to know.

It's the plastic part you loosen a screw and swing out of the way to to get to the arbor bolt.

It's a safety feature in the US/Canada. So, I would recommend that users not tamper with it.

 

[tbellemare]

My assumption is that it's designed to prevent the blade mounting bolt from completely disengaging from the arbor and allowing the blade to fly off.

Many airplane propellers have somewhat similar designs, though there are several bolts in a circle but they are all trapped so they can't back out very far unless they are all backed out together.

I think it's a darn good idea to have something like that.

Tom

EDIT:
Added, "My assumption is that" above...

 

[Frank-Jan]

In a previous thread about the subject, someone mentioned that it was to prevent the user to use the saw accidently with the allen key still in the arbor nut.

Luckily the arbor nut on my kapex doesn't have the tendency to loosen itself during use (quite the contrary, sometimes it tightens itself a lot  ). In fact, I miss a reminder on the housing of the saw which direction to turn in order to loosen it when changing blades.

I' won't dissable safety features on my tools, so I wouldn't remove it if one came with my saw, but I won't bother trying to get one to retrofit it.

 

[Birdhunter]

Thanks for the explanation.