Hi all,
I have been waiting to purchase the Kapex until the air has cleared and the "bad" saws have either been Festool repaired, sold and field repaired, or destroyed. I thought I had waited long enough and just bought a Kapex last week from a local dealer. I brought it home and played with the miter right out of the box to see if I was clear...a little stiff but smooth emough. Still grinning. The next day with the saw sitting in the same place on the living room floor I played with it again and immediately (on the second swing) noticed the dreaded grinding. Really it was far worse than I thought it might be from reading about it. At times almost to the point of fusing. It is mostly from 90 all the way to the far left stop, however, it has occurred to some degree all the way accross the miter range (interesting that it is by far worse on the left side of the guage). In looking underneath the saw at the spring plate/miter guage junction there are obvious metal filings and markings on the guage. Also, separately, on the left bevel between about 35 and the end of 47 the bevel action is not overly smooth and feels as though something is rubbing (but not specifically grinding...yet). BTW, I live in northern Utah where humidity is generally quite low and the high temps for the past week have ranged from the low 70's to the low 80's. I have turned the saw on but have not cut anything yet as I am trying to decide what I want to do with it. I still have three weeks for return. I am just a hobbyist/weekender (i.e. - hack) but love woodworking and working with high quality tools.
Any thoughts? I was sincerely hoping that the problems had already flushed through the system. Needless to say I am disappointed and am not sure that I want to deal with the field-fixes or even a "fixed" unit from the factory. Is there a range of serial numbers that are affected? If so, where do the "good" serial numbers start? Could I have received an "old stock' saw? When is Festool going to fix the problem in earnest? Will there be a Kapex v.2 and, if so, when? Should I trust the "fixes"?
I own 6 other Festool tools and various accessories and am quite pleased with all of them. I so want to love the Kapex and feel comfortable keeping it, but...
Now that Festool owns FOG I hope to hear from them as well. I have not contacted them yet, however, as I was hoping for some input from you gurus first.
Thanks for llistening and indulging me,
Doug
I have been waiting to purchase the Kapex until the air has cleared and the "bad" saws have either been Festool repaired, sold and field repaired, or destroyed. I thought I had waited long enough and just bought a Kapex last week from a local dealer. I brought it home and played with the miter right out of the box to see if I was clear...a little stiff but smooth emough. Still grinning. The next day with the saw sitting in the same place on the living room floor I played with it again and immediately (on the second swing) noticed the dreaded grinding. Really it was far worse than I thought it might be from reading about it. At times almost to the point of fusing. It is mostly from 90 all the way to the far left stop, however, it has occurred to some degree all the way accross the miter range (interesting that it is by far worse on the left side of the guage). In looking underneath the saw at the spring plate/miter guage junction there are obvious metal filings and markings on the guage. Also, separately, on the left bevel between about 35 and the end of 47 the bevel action is not overly smooth and feels as though something is rubbing (but not specifically grinding...yet). BTW, I live in northern Utah where humidity is generally quite low and the high temps for the past week have ranged from the low 70's to the low 80's. I have turned the saw on but have not cut anything yet as I am trying to decide what I want to do with it. I still have three weeks for return. I am just a hobbyist/weekender (i.e. - hack) but love woodworking and working with high quality tools.
Any thoughts? I was sincerely hoping that the problems had already flushed through the system. Needless to say I am disappointed and am not sure that I want to deal with the field-fixes or even a "fixed" unit from the factory. Is there a range of serial numbers that are affected? If so, where do the "good" serial numbers start? Could I have received an "old stock' saw? When is Festool going to fix the problem in earnest? Will there be a Kapex v.2 and, if so, when? Should I trust the "fixes"?
I own 6 other Festool tools and various accessories and am quite pleased with all of them. I so want to love the Kapex and feel comfortable keeping it, but...
Now that Festool owns FOG I hope to hear from them as well. I have not contacted them yet, however, as I was hoping for some input from you gurus first.
Thanks for llistening and indulging me,
Doug