Kapex question

[bevans]

I am writing this hoping to get some advice from our knowledgable members. I was cutting a small piece of walnut this morning holding the piece up against the fence and the blade ripped the wood from my hand and it got caught behind the blade up into the guard. I was able to remove the piece of wood but when I restarted the saw it seemed to have very little power. The setting was on 4 and I moved it to 6 and attempted to cut a piece of 3/4 inch oak. The blade slowed to a stop as i started to push it across the board. Is there something else I should reset? It does not look like there are any remains of the first piece of wood that was caught the blade. Not sure what else to try so any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Bruce

 

[epicxt]

I would remove the blade to make certain there isn't a chunk trapped in there.

 

[Kevin D.]

I would remove the blade to make certain there isn't a chunk trapped in there.

And if that proves fruitless, call Festool repair. They may be able to solve it over the phone with you.

 

[bevans]

After taking a closer look up into the blade guard assembly there is no wood still in the assembly it was all stuck on the blade. It looks like there is a pice of the guard with metal pushed up against the blade. I called the repair number to see if there was anything I could do to repair/fee up the blade and was told to send it infor repair. Still waiting for a box. I am surprised that a piece of wood about 2" x41/2 inches could break the guard but I know there is a lot of force behind a spinning blade.

Bruce

 

[Floorman70]

Look on the bright side,at least it wasn`t a finger  [smile]

 

[Tinker]

Look on the bright side,at least it wasn`t a finger  [smile]

Ditto

 

[Stephen B]

[size=12pt]

I once had a 4x2 CCA pine jamb and it cracked the fence on my Makita. Gave me a hell of a fright and thus renewed my respect when operating any powered saw. [eek]

 

[bevans]

You guys are right. I have always respected the equipment and know what can happen. An accident can occur in a moment and many of us have cuts and bruises to show for it. I am searching now for a device to use that I can cut small pieces of stock (3") on a 45 degree angle. A power tool does not seem to be the best choice for me.

 

[Harvey]

The October Fine Woodworking has an article on using miter saws that would help. It shows a few accessory zero-clearance inserts, fences and hold downs for miter saws.  
If you're not comfortable doing your small piece work on the Kapex, Bridge City has the jointmaker setups for hand powered, guided cutting. Pieces can be 1 3/4" thick and 6 inches wide.  I haven't used them but they're definitely an interesting take on fine cutting!

There's a FOG thread on the Jointmaker here:
http://festoolownersgroup.com/other-tool-reviews/the-complete-'jointmaker-pro'-review-a-paradigm-shift-in-woodworking/

 

[Birdhunter]

I trick I use often to cut small pieces is to use double sided tape to affix the small piece to a "carrier" large piece of wood. This keeps my fingers well away from the ouch area.

 

[bevans]

Not sure what you mean by affixing tape to a carrier. Can you explain a little more? You still have to hold the wood against he fence as you either chop or push the blade through the wood don't you?

 

[Floorman70]

You guys are right. I have always respected the equipment and know what can happen. An accident can occur in a moment and many of us have cuts and bruises to show for it. I am searching now for a device to use that I can cut small pieces of stock (3") on a 45 degree angle. A power tool does not seem to be the best choice for me.

Maybe a bandsaw with a sliding table you can clamp your workpiece to

 

[SMJoinery]

You can use a Ts55 plunge to cut your small pieces.
Make a jig of the same thickness and width, sit your pieces into said jig and plunge cut on the track saw.
Bevel cuts etc no problem.
If you have a few you can set them all together, clamp them or held in place with cleats front and back, lay on track and plunge cut.

 

[wrightwoodwork]

Push pull saw like the erika or the cs70 and if you are still reply nervous about you can make a jig and clamp it down

 

[ccmviking]

Just bevel that really small stuff instead of mitering. 

 

[bevans]

I am not clear on my issue and apologize. I have already ripped a bevel on the wood by using a table saw. I also ran one side through a router for an ornamental top. Now I have to cut the wood into small pieces that will become the crown or finials for a bed post. The pieces need to be mitered at 45 and be glued together to wrap around the post as an ornamental top. It is the small 3" pieces that are the problem I have with the saw grabbing them out of my hand and shooting them as a projectile or catching I n the blade guard.

Bruce

 

[bionicus]

You can try double-stick tape on the base or fence to catch the piece from firing off the blade. Or if you can get away with it, don't cut all the way through; leave yourself a tiny bit of the cut to finish by hand. 

 

[wrightwoodwork]

Push pull saw some the mafell erika Os festool cs70 are much safer for cutting small pieces. In fact I've seen myself cut a scribe on a piece of skirting then have to cut an external corner on the same piece and the distance to the short point on the back is 12mm. So cutting pieces of 75mm would be a doddle, as long as your fingers are behind the fence you are safe and when doing a beval like that the blade tilts away from your fingers or use a gulitine