kapex compound lever

[fairlaner]

Hi everyone, i'm new here. I bought my saw in late Sept, and received it in Oct. It sat until late Nov. while i finished up other jobs before diving into this machine on a new job. We did 3 weeks of flooring before starting the trim work(I'm a finish carpenter). Spent about a week doing base and crown, which i prefer to lay down on its flat and then use the compound action on the saw. The first time I lifted the lever to adjust the compound angle and heard the screech of plastic on plastic it scared me a little but I put my faith in the engineering and went on. Took some time for the holidays, Christmas and the new year, and then back to trim(this is a large house 2600' of crown), spent about 3 weeks mainly on the crown constantly using the compound mitre and also feeling more comfortable with this saw as I've spent about 25 yrs using the Makita saws. Last week as I'm finishing the day with more crown I notice the lever feels different and the saw is not compounding as smoothly, dragging a bit so I go to the back and look as I'm lifting the lever(what Festool calls the "clamping lever") where i notice the "holder" is pulling out thus not allowing the lever to press and release to compound. I removed the screw and looked at this holder which is where for the first time i really noticed the engineering behind this, which to me is poor and weak. If you take the time to look, remove the screw and the holder the clamping lever comes right out and you will notice that there is a cam on the inside of the lever that activates a metal bar with a heavy spring. In my eyes, and keep in mind I'm just a carpenter and don't have a university degree and use a cad program, having the cam so close to a flimsy plastic "holder" is a huge mistake, all the stress is put right on the "holder" which is a cheap piece of plastic with a little ribbing far from the screw. A simple fix would be to have the "holder" on the opposite side of the cam and lever, or design the whole setup out of aluminum? Anyways I called as is suggested above this forum topic and spoke to someone who I laid out my problems and concerns. He advised me that its not a problem and they've only had a "few" of these. I'm being sent a new piece which is great but it will fail as well i'm sure, I took it into my own hands and applied a formed steel piece bolted thru the plastic and it feels way better and i'm sure i won't have a problem until maybe the cheap plastic handle breaks or the pivots on it wear. For the record I'm very careful and respectful of my tools as they are my livelihood. I just wish tool manufacturers would listen to the trades that use them and not to the individual with the cad program that the only tool they use is a mouse. I was just thinking before this happened that I would consider buying a second one for my shop but I've since decided against that and will continue with the Makita. Also unfortunately for Festool this machine has been getting a lot of attention on the jobsite by fellow tradesman who will probably not buy now that I can show them the value for the dollar simply isn't there.

 

[TylerC]

Thanks for your thoughtful feedback and taking the time to send this along. We take these kinds of things very seriously, and I'm making sure that posts like yours are seen by the right people. Thank you.

 

[mwildt]

Interesting observation. Wonder if that design is why the saw tends to droop a little when stored in the Kapex UG cart. Just thinking out loud without having the saw in front of me to check.

 

[Ross 71]

I just wish tool manufacturers would listen to the trades that use them and not to the individual with the cad program that the only tool they use is a mouse.

It does beggar belief when manufacturers refuse to listen to their customers. When there's hundreds of guys using tools day in, day out on site, in the real world, all saying the same thing, all encountering the same problems, but our opinion doesn't count. Back in the old days tool companies, Stanley in particular, welcomed suggestions for improvements and innovations from real world users.

 

[joiner1970]

I just wish tool manufacturers would listen to the trades that use them and not to the individual with the cad program that the only tool they use is a mouse.

It does beggar belief when manufacturers refuse to listen to their customers. When there's hundreds of guys using tools day in, day out on site, in the real world, all saying the same thing, all encountering the same problems, but our opinion doesn't count. Back in the old days tool companies, Stanley in particular, welcomed suggestions for improvements and innovations from real world users.

How do you know they don't. I've had a visit from Festool Germany to discuss stuff before. I know others have too.

 

[Ross 71]

How do you know they don't. I've had a visit from Festool Germany to discuss stuff before. I know others have too.

You're right. I don't know-as far as Festool is concerned. I could give examples of other companies, one of which I worked for,  that are truly unwilling to hear from customers. Frankly I am dazzled by the innovation that Festool keep offering. I can't imagine what I could suggest that their clever clogs couldn't come up with on their own.

 

[jmbfestool]

Not to started another kapex thread.

I agree with the original poster.  I have mentioned this to my dealer a while ago.  I also funny enough mentioned this to festool in an email last night.

My little plastic piece broke after about 5years.  It took my dealer ages to get me a new little piece.

Weeks I didnt have the piece and you soon come to know how important that little piece is for the lever!  Nightmare! Everytime I wanted to bevel my kapex I had to walk round to the back of the kapex and using my palm push the lever into the kapex to unlock the bevel and while doing that hang over to see what angle to set it at.  What a pain.  I was super happy when I got the little plastic piece.

Mine did last a while but I always felt the lever was going to break at some point because you can hear the plastic creeking and see it flexing all the time.

 

[Laminator]

When I first got the Kapex the bevel release was very stiff and made that strained creaking sound which seems to say "I'm going to break under this load".  I immediately disassembled it and found where the friction was and added teflon grease to it and the pivot points and it has been smooth, effortless, and silent ever since.