Kapex binding at end of cuts

[Ster1154]

I've owned the Kapex for close to a year and have been overall very happy with it, but I've noticed something recently that's been somewhat troublesome.

When I'm crosscutting a wide plank the Kapex cuts that plank perfectly for around 90% of the cut.  It's the final 10% that the saw seems to "bind".  It still makes the cut, but after inspection there is burning on the wood.  I've used the quick clamp for every piece and the fence seems to be aligned properly, so I'm at a loss for what it might be. 

Any suggestions?  I did a quick search and saw some folks talk about a "binding" issue but not much more than that. 

 

[mwildt]

Sorry to hear about your challenges. The following comes to my mind in regard to your description.

Are the planks s4s or do they have a rough sawn edge ?
How it the plank supported, left and right of the saw ?
How are you cutting ? Chop or pushing the blade from the outside in ?

In either case it could be internal tension that gets released when you cut or it lifts/dips in the cut line thus introducing tension, pinching the blade when cut is close to be done, due to lack of support.

Just some thoughts.

 

[Stoli]

Are you clamping both sides of the cut?

 

[crampedshop]

The two parts of the fence are not coplanar. Contact Service. They might be able to talk you through an adjustment. Otherwise, you will need to send the saw in for repair.

 

[copcarcollector]

"End of cuts" when pushing down or pushing back?

If down, there is an adjustment for that...

 

[Ster1154]

Thanks for the input guys.  Let me see if I can't answer all these questions:

Are the planks s4s or do they have a rough sawn edge ?

Typically these are s4s boards or, at the least, one face and edge have been jointed square

How it the plank supported, left and right of the saw ?

The planks are supported via a miter saw station.  See this

How are you cutting ? Chop or pushing the blade from the outside in ?

This binding only occurs when I'm pushing from the outside in.  I don't have any issues chopping.

Are you clamping both sides of the cut?

No.  Just one side. 

"End of cuts" when pushing down or pushing back?

Pushing back.  Pushing down yields a clean cut.

The two parts of the fence are not coplanar. Contact Service. They might be able to talk you through an adjustment. Otherwise, you will need to send the saw in for repair.

Thanks for the advice.  I'll troubleshoot a bit more before I call service but it's certainly next on the docket.

 

[mwildt]

Nice shop.

Does it also happen for short planks ? Like so short that they are not supported by the right or left side of the cutting station ?

My thinking is that the cabinets are level with the saw length wise but they are not level in the width. Like the front is high than the back thus you only see it with very wide boards.

 

[Gordon Bombay]

I had a similar problem. I think the issue was that my blad was dull. Replaced the blade and haven't had the same issues. Admittedly, you may be far more advanced and know when to replace the blade, but I really had/have no idea tbh.

 

[crampedshop]

I should have added how to check that the two fences are coplanar. Start with a good straight edge; hold tight against one side of the fence. If you can see a gap between the straight edge and the other fence, that is your problem. Festool can walk you through a process that can handle minor adjustments.

 

[Ster1154]

I can't stress how much I appreciate the input.  I think I did figure it out though.

If you look back at the picture you'll see the two wooden fences that extend past the Kapex.  I have a 48" straight edge and thought they lined up with the Kapex fence, but what's happening is that near the ends of these wooden fences they bow inwards and for longer pieces end up turning them a bit.

A much more hyperbolic illustration is as follows:

/------\

If that makes sense.  With the two slashes being the ends of my wooden fence.  Once I disconnected those and just used the Kapex fence the binding stopped.  I'll have to do a better job of aligning the wooden fences with the Kapex, but I'll save that for another day haha.

Again, thanks everyone who chimed in with ideas - they were invaluable in helping me figure this all out!

 

[mwildt]

Great, that's what it's all about.

 

[DrD]

[member=60388]Ster1154[/member]

Had a similar prob with the last inch of push cut with a very similar set up.  I moved fence on each side (mine is a FastCap fence) back from saw about 1/2", used the Kapex clamp and prob disappeared.

I would be interested in finding out more about the construction of your miter bench set up, if you're willing to share.

Thanks,

Don