kapex KA-UG-R/L/F wings " is this normal" please help

[springhoffs]

hello,
    i am having a difficult time with the Festool wings, it should be perfectly in line with my Kapax but from the center of the blade out  to about 45" i have a gap of 1/4 of an inch brand new out the box. i bought it from Beaver Tools they have always been fantastic, they just called Festool and said that this is "Normal"  not to mention that it had a dent out the box.  looking for some input from you guys. thanks angel

 

 

[Frank-Jan]

I do not have the UG-wings, but I do have the old style EB wings.
If I understand the problem correctly, there is not enough room in the mounting points to adjust it so the fence of the wing is in line with the fence of the Kapex?

It is better to have the fence of the wing a bit back, because otherwise, if the material you're cutting has a slight bow to it, you have to push it really hard to have it touch the fence of the kapex when you cut.

I have plenty of play in the mounting points when setting up my oldstyle wings, but I deliberately put it a bit back most of the time. (The only reason for me to have them set up flush, is when I'm cutting crown moulding, and I'm using the crown supports)

 

[kevinculle]

The long lever arm of the wing and the single foot can allow for slight angles if not setup carefully.  I first level the wing over its length by adjusting the angle of the leg with the built in adjusters. Then I use a 6' level to align the back face of the wing with the saw fence and tighten the wing clamp securely.  Then do the other side the same way & then check across both wings with the level to assure its square.

 

[springhoffs]

Frank, yes you are right there's no room to adjust it. i do see that setting it a hair back to the fence i just feel for the price it should work as described. i have a pal that is using the fastcap system with his kapex and loves it. i will spend more time to see if i can figure out why. thanks

 

[tjbnwi]

I set mine back from the fence. Always have with any wing system.

Mount the wing to the Kapex. There are 4 nuts that secure the bracket to the wing. Possibly loosen them slightly and adjust the fence to a known straight edge, tighten nuts?

Tom

 

[Naildrivingman]

I seem to recall adjusting my wings because the scale wasn’t reading correctly...bad idea!  I managed to take a really parallel set of wings and make them not so much.  I did not succeed at tuning the scales and achieving parallel wings, so I settled for parallel. In hindsight, I regret touching the wings at all.  Because my saw is mobile, there is greater opportunity that the calibration can get wonky.

Instead of relying on the scale, I simply cut a board to length I desire and register the stop off of that.

I too set my wings back from the fences. Generally about 1/4”. I do this to account for crooked boards as stated above.

 

[springhoffs]

Tom,
  thanks for your reply,  i did try loosening the bolts on the wing bracket and gained a hair over .625 of an inch. i will be going to a dealer 60 miles from my house over the weekend to see how they have it setup.
 
Guys having paid a lot of money for this set and hoping that it would be accurate "Or am i expecting to much" thanks angel

 

[Gregor]

I seem to recall adjusting my wings because the scale wasn’t reading correctly...bad idea!  I managed to take a really parallel set of wings and make them not so much.  I did not succeed at tuning the scales and achieving parallel wings, so I settled for parallel. In hindsight, I regret touching the wings at all.

Alignment of them is quite easy, only thing you need is one (reasonably straight) strip of thin plywood, some cm wide, about as long as the distance from wing end to blade and less thick (the thinner the better) than the back fence on the wing.

Now take the wing you want to adjust, untighten the screws that hold the v-groove mounting thing at the bottom a little (without taking it off) and slide it out a bit (a little more than your ruler is currently off), then mount the wing and level it to the kapex table.

Cut one end of the ply to 90° and turn it around so the fresh end is at the outer side of the wing, some cm short of it so the flag stop will work (but you still need at least some mm of material to cut off now under the blade).

Now put the other wing upside down (rotated not along the long axis, the fence needs to be at the back) ontop, register the top wing (with enough clearance to the blade) and the ply to the Kapex back fence and clamp both down together with the Kapex clamp. A small block to shim the front (toward you, fence-less) part of the wing on the Kapex table (so the now front dosn't fall down) helps, a does to use a quick clamp to clamp the top wing against the back fence to make true contact.

Now do the cut (only the plywood, not the other wing). Then, with everything as-is do not release the clamps.

Measure the current length of your ply exactly and set the flag stop to that length on the ruler, tighten it.
Release the v-groove mounting of the wing (without taking it off) so it can slide front/back on the kapex v-groove.

Now you're ready for the adjustment: register the fence of the bottom wing against the fence of the top one (clamped aligned against the back fence of the Kapex, careful to not twist it out of alignment). Tighten the v-groove holder. Then register the flag stop (without releasing it from the to-be-aligned wing) against the end pf the ply by gently tapping at the wing end (while keeping the two wing fences in true contact), then tighten the screws holding the v-groove holder onto the wing.

Done. Wing is now calibrated to be in line with the Kapex fence and the tape measure should be true to the blade.

Because my saw is mobile, there is greater opportunity that the calibration can get wonky.

In case you tightened the screws of the v-groove connector and keep the groove on the kapex clean when mounting the wing: should stay as-is, unless you drop the wing onto the connector.