Hello, I am new to the forum. I have several Festool items which I am satisfied with. Last Friday I received my newest purchase. The Kapex miter saw. I haven't used it yet so I cannot comment on its performance. The look/ aesthetic appearance however is very poor though in the one I received. I have seen tools made in China that were finished better. If I spend $1400 on an item, I expect it to not only work good but look good as well. That amount of money warrants a certain level of cosmetic appearance. I am very surprised that the festool quality control department would let something like this leave the factory. I will attach pictures so everyone can see what I am referring to. I have a project that starts this week and I will not be able to use it and will have to exchange it and use my 2 yr old DeWalt to complete my work. I promised my customer a dustless project and I.will not be able to fulfill this promise. I would rather pay a little more and have Festool take their time and make sure that whatever leaves their factory not only works excellent but looks good as well. I am not picky but demand a certain level of quality for the amount of money I spend.
kapex craftsmanship/cosmetic appearence
- Thread starter Wojciech
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Birdhunter
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Why would you not let your dealer know your intention to return the Kapex, use it for your project, and then return it?
jonny round boy
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That part is a casting, it's not machined. That is what castings are like. As long as it's structurally sound, I wouldn't worry about it. At the end of the day it's a tool, not an ornament.
I realise you've spent $1400 on it, but if Festool spent extra time making sure every single component looked pretty, then you'd be paying $2800 or more.
I realise you've spent $1400 on it, but if Festool spent extra time making sure every single component looked pretty, then you'd be paying $2800 or more.
I realize that this is a tool but for that much money you should receive a certain level of craftsmanship. Its not like your spending $400 on a tool from Home Depot/etc. In addition it is not only the paint that is finished off poorly, the edges are not even finished off correctly. they are rough and rigid. I just want to know if anyone else has experienced something like this?. When I complete a project I pay attention to the quality of my work as well as the cosmetic appearence and I expect Festool to do the same. If I had caused this damage, I would not even be mentioning this, but coming straight out of the box, a tool should not look like this. In my opinion it is someone half-assing their work. I don't do it and I expect others (especially if I purchase a high end item from them ) not to do it as well. I know you can return it within 30 days, no questions asked, but I shouldn't have to do it. They should get it right the first time. I just wanted to share my opinion and experience. Does anyone else feel like this or is it just me. Am I asking for too much?. I don't think so.
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First, Welcome to the Forum.
If you are not satisfied with the quality of your Kapex you are indeed entitled to return it and either get a refund or another product. I might suggest that you give it a try for the 30 days you have and see if the performance versus the visual works for you.
I read it that you are a professional and based on your purchase and without even trying it have promised your customer a dust free job.
That takes guts and nuts. Hope it all ends up to your satisfaction.
Peter
If you are not satisfied with the quality of your Kapex you are indeed entitled to return it and either get a refund or another product. I might suggest that you give it a try for the 30 days you have and see if the performance versus the visual works for you.
I read it that you are a professional and based on your purchase and without even trying it have promised your customer a dust free job.
That takes guts and nuts. Hope it all ends up to your satisfaction.
Peter
Thanks for not taking my post as a jab or insult.
What you have is not typical in regards to quality. My prediction is that Festool will want that back and will work to make sure that you get a unit that is in tune with their quality. If it wasn't the evening of a National holiday I would venture a guess that you would have already heard from them.
I don't work for Festool, so all the above is an educated guess on my part - not a guarantee of course.
I might only have a hundred or so hairs on my head, but I can still have a bad hair day. Guess they can too.
Peter
What you have is not typical in regards to quality. My prediction is that Festool will want that back and will work to make sure that you get a unit that is in tune with their quality. If it wasn't the evening of a National holiday I would venture a guess that you would have already heard from them.
I don't work for Festool, so all the above is an educated guess on my part - not a guarantee of course.
I might only have a hundred or so hairs on my head, but I can still have a bad hair day. Guess they can too.
Peter
Wojciech said:
I disagree. It does not suck to be you, you have a new Kapex. I just looked at mine and[attachthumb=1]I have the same casting marks. Mine is 5 years old and I have had zero problems with it. I love using it and am very impressed with the quality of cut I still get after this time on job sites. I am more concerned about the quality of the tool then cosmetics, but that is me and you have your own concerns, but if yours is from the same mold as mine, you got a good one. I would suggest to take Peter's advice and try it. I am sure you will be impressed.
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Mine is exactly the same as yours (purchased last October). Since it's strictly cosmetics, I don't care, but that's just me. The dust extraction and beveling mechanism are just superb. I would suggest using it for the 30 days regardless of how you feel about the castings and what festool says. At least evaluate the merits of the saw.
I understand your expectations and for many things I want perfection as well. I purchased a Kapex early this year and visible cast marks aside am very happy with the saw. The saw has performed very well for me and has saved me tons of time, allowing me to concentrate on creating the best product ever. I just completed a very demanding job that had me constantly changing the bevel adjustment. There is no other saw on the market that could have done this better than the Kapex. I guess that I ended up going with functionality over the visual appearance of saw.
I would take the 30 days to put the saw to use, and make your mind up then.
I would take the 30 days to put the saw to use, and make your mind up then.
I got my Kapex within the last year and I looked just now and saw the same thing as on yours. I had not noticed that before. What I noticed when I got mine is that it cut true right out of the box. It has not given me any trouble at all and I use it daily in a variety of functions, even cutting aluminum. The dust collection is not "dust free" so you might be setting yourself up for disappointment in that area as well. It is much better than my previous high end miter saw, and I've tried to improve it with a larger diameter hose and I'm in the process of making inserts and a backstop as others have done on this site. But back to your main issue:
That's a magnesium alloy casting to make the Kapex rigid yet lightweight and as such it would certainly add to the cost to finish that edge in a way that's uniform. Cast components of some of my other tools such as my hight end drill press or even my precision combination square have the same type of roughness in areas that do not matter functionally. I myself chalk it up to manufacturing methods. Let's think in terms of fine woodworking. Are you the type of person who finishes the underside of a drawer or coffee table to the same level as the visible, touchable top areas? If your answer is "yes" then you better return that tool before it drives you nuts.
That's a magnesium alloy casting to make the Kapex rigid yet lightweight and as such it would certainly add to the cost to finish that edge in a way that's uniform. Cast components of some of my other tools such as my hight end drill press or even my precision combination square have the same type of roughness in areas that do not matter functionally. I myself chalk it up to manufacturing methods. Let's think in terms of fine woodworking. Are you the type of person who finishes the underside of a drawer or coffee table to the same level as the visible, touchable top areas? If your answer is "yes" then you better return that tool before it drives you nuts.
i understand it will do its job. What I don't understand is why one side looks goods and is finished off properly and the other side is done in a half ass fashion. If you take pride in your work and in your brand name, you complete all aspects of the item you make properly. Otherwise who to say that down the line this type of issue won't pop up in other aspects of Festool. If you half ass one thing whose to say you won't half ass some other part the next time if people don't speak up.. Some people I guess are just more detail oriented than others. As they say "the devil is in the details".
Worm Drive
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My new Kapex has the same raggedy edges as yours does. Considering the price, does bother me a little, not enough to return it though. The saws dust collection is very good compared to other saw but, not dustless. Make some cuts and play around with it before making the desicion on returning it.
WarnerConstCo.
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It's from the mold. Back in the day they would fill the casting defects (there were a lot) with a nasty black asphalt based filler.
I suppose they could hit it with a grinder and fill, but IMO that is a pretty good looking casting. Cast parts will always be just a bit different from one to another.
My Kapex is beat up, has blood stains on it, has stain stains on it, scratches, some random paint, the powder coating is worn off lots of it, but that saw still cuts like the day I took it out of it's double box.
I suppose they could hit it with a grinder and fill, but IMO that is a pretty good looking casting. Cast parts will always be just a bit different from one to another.
My Kapex is beat up, has blood stains on it, has stain stains on it, scratches, some random paint, the powder coating is worn off lots of it, but that saw still cuts like the day I took it out of it's double box.
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There are processes for making things and they all have costs.
Castings are one of the most efficient ways to make chunks of metal into various shapes. They are imperfect, which is why it is normal for a shape to be cast and then the critical surfaces machined, thus developing the tolerances required.
If you take a look at the most expensive thing you can find that has any significant amount of metal, it will have most of the mass as castings that are then machined at critical surfaces. It is really inefficient to "hog out" a huge billet/slab on a mill or lathe to become a required shape unless that required shape is totally rectilinear or cylindrical in nature. Even then, you're typically better off starting with a casting.
I had a '75 Mercedes Roadster. The engine was cast. It was also HUGE and WAY COOL. When I bought it, there was about 120K miles on that engine and it still purred at over 110 MPH.
My Kapex works great. Oh, and it looks pretty sexy too...
Tom
Castings are one of the most efficient ways to make chunks of metal into various shapes. They are imperfect, which is why it is normal for a shape to be cast and then the critical surfaces machined, thus developing the tolerances required.
If you take a look at the most expensive thing you can find that has any significant amount of metal, it will have most of the mass as castings that are then machined at critical surfaces. It is really inefficient to "hog out" a huge billet/slab on a mill or lathe to become a required shape unless that required shape is totally rectilinear or cylindrical in nature. Even then, you're typically better off starting with a casting.
I had a '75 Mercedes Roadster. The engine was cast. It was also HUGE and WAY COOL. When I bought it, there was about 120K miles on that engine and it still purred at over 110 MPH.
My Kapex works great. Oh, and it looks pretty sexy too...
Tom
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- 5,133
It just occurred to me that I left out a process that is really common when more strenght/resilience is required in the end product, and that is forging. It involves, essentially, hammering metal between a couple of dies, often hot but not always, because it sort of produces its own heat.
Forges are not that common in the USA any more but I know of one in Houston, related to oil well drill bits. Some things, like wrenches and bits, need more strength.
Tom
Forges are not that common in the USA any more but I know of one in Houston, related to oil well drill bits. Some things, like wrenches and bits, need more strength.
Tom
