windmill man
Member
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2007
- Messages
- 671
Hi to you all
I suppose I am the worse sort of FOG member. I have lurked in the back ground for a good while taking knowledge and insight from you all but putting nothing back. After Mathews call for lurkers to become contributors I through I would give it a go.
I have the good fortune to earn my crust in the woodworking trades. I think you could describe me as a cabinet maker come joiner. I take on such works as high end kitchens through to bespoke furniture/cabinets/shop fittings to commercial refurbishments. I find I am doing more and more on site manufacturing. I find the Festool System invaluable in my work; it?s like taking a full shop onto site.
Festool in my opinion make some of the best and highest quality tools available but they are not perfect.
In the next few months this site will be inundated with post with Kapex in the title, it?s started already and you chaps can?t get your hands on them till the 1st of July. Everyone seems to be waiting with great anticipation and high hopes for the Kapex. I hope you are not going to be disappointed. I would like to put back into this site a little and share with you some observations on the Kapex.
I have had the Kapex for some time now; I think I bought one of the first few released in the UK in summer last year. I have just about used it every day since, so I must have hundreds if not thousands of hours using it. I have used it for cutting just about everything from 300mm by 75mm laminated European Beech beams to 6mm softwood quadrant beads. A long the way its cut plastic pipe, aluminium trims, high pressure, laminates, hardwoods, softwoods and acrylics. It has taken every material in its stride and produced fantastic accurate cuts, time after time.
It is the best CMS I have ever used and I would not be parted with for anything but it?s not perfect it has some idiosyncrasies that I think you may like to know about.
Ok let?s get on with it. Your Kapex arrives in its big box with the nice pictures on the side. You unpack it put on the bench and there it is the object of your desire. You stroke it, release the transport tie down. Look at all the green bits; you already know what everything does because you have been on the net for weeks researching it. You go for the first cut. Now reality kicks in.
You will be lucky if the laser is calibrated right. I know a few lads with a Kapex and none were spot on out the box, my dealer has not had one spot on yet either. You can calibrate it yourself by poking holes in the decal on the side of the motor housing and fiddling about till it?s correct. It?s no big deal. I know that the line on the left is correct on mine and the one on the right is off by 1.5 mm with a little practice you can split the line first time.
Next up is the fence; put loads of dry lubricant on it, then drive the small stop screws in the back down so you can slide the top fences of quickly as you will have to do it a lot if you are bevel cutting. Don?t be surprised if after a few weeks, months the fence ?fires? together solid. Mine did Festool replaced the full fence no problem. Unless they have redesigned it or changed the material grade I think some of you may have this problem.
Table inserts have a little quirk as well, they grow! You will get your pride and joy out one morning and find the table inserts have now gone all wavy on you. It?s not a problem. The fix is simple take out the insert pare it down in length a little give it a bit of clearance as well. Then elongate the holes for an aft. Re attach problem solved.
Small mouldings can be a bit of a problem. The Kapex has a habit of smashing them rather than cutting them. It does not happen all the time but on hardwood it can be a bit of a problem. It also is very good at turning the small off cuts into ricochets. It took me some time to work out the cause of this (this is only a guess on my part) and the solution that works for me. Think the cause is this. If you look at the orientation of the saw spindle to the teeth on the blade and then where the teeth cut through the section of the fence right in the bottom corner. You will see that the teeth are going up and back. I think that it is this that lifts the small moulding and if you have not got the thing clamped down, it flips it up and smashes it into the body housing. Hope you understand what I am trying to explain. If you have a convention CMS to compare it to you will see what I mean. The solution is simple either clamp small stuff down or do what I do and use a loose flat fence to bring the small sections forward so that you are under the spindle at 90 degrees and the teeth are going in and not up. This spindle, teeth, fence thing also has a bit more of a serious side.
High Cuts, what I am referring to is the special cutting position. This is a great idea, works great but you have got to take care and be aware of what is going on with the sawing action. Firstly when you engage the latch at the back (to put the saw head into the high cut position) make very, very, very sure that it is fully engaged and locked. The locking mechanism can be a bit temperamental. If it?s not fully locked and secure DONT cut in this position. If it?s not properly locked and you do cut, because of the direction that the saw teeth are travelling (bottom to top in this position). The Kapex will pick up the work piece and smash it into the housing and back at you! The other thing to be careful of is the little quadrant off cut you get from cutting a mitre on the first edge of a square end. This gets picked up and shoots straight into the housing. I now either nibble away the first mitre kerf thickness at a time or cut the mitre further down the board so the off cut cannot lift. I managed to smash the saw head housing because of a faulty locking mechanism that did not fully engage. Replace by Festool under warranty.
After reading the above if you are asking the question do I still spend all that cash and get one?
The answer is YOU BET.
It is a very high quality saw the cut and accuracy is unbelievable the cuts are almost polished. Its well made in quality materials and built to last. If it?s going out to site in a truck or van it needs protection so make a box or get hold of one of Festool`s transport container. It is a precision instrument and needs some protection and looking after.
All the other things it does are brilliant. The trenching mode is a joy to use. Even the plastic clamp that looks iffy is great.
Basically the Kapex is the dogs dangly bits.
Go get one you won?t regret it. Just be aware of the above.
I hope you understand what I mean in some of my descriptions, I am not as eloquent as some of you guys on here. I will do my best to expand on any of the above and try and answer your questions but be patient. I am a computer idiot and type about 4 words a minute.
Regards to you all
John
Ps
you soon get used to the saw grip
I suppose I am the worse sort of FOG member. I have lurked in the back ground for a good while taking knowledge and insight from you all but putting nothing back. After Mathews call for lurkers to become contributors I through I would give it a go.
I have the good fortune to earn my crust in the woodworking trades. I think you could describe me as a cabinet maker come joiner. I take on such works as high end kitchens through to bespoke furniture/cabinets/shop fittings to commercial refurbishments. I find I am doing more and more on site manufacturing. I find the Festool System invaluable in my work; it?s like taking a full shop onto site.
Festool in my opinion make some of the best and highest quality tools available but they are not perfect.
In the next few months this site will be inundated with post with Kapex in the title, it?s started already and you chaps can?t get your hands on them till the 1st of July. Everyone seems to be waiting with great anticipation and high hopes for the Kapex. I hope you are not going to be disappointed. I would like to put back into this site a little and share with you some observations on the Kapex.
I have had the Kapex for some time now; I think I bought one of the first few released in the UK in summer last year. I have just about used it every day since, so I must have hundreds if not thousands of hours using it. I have used it for cutting just about everything from 300mm by 75mm laminated European Beech beams to 6mm softwood quadrant beads. A long the way its cut plastic pipe, aluminium trims, high pressure, laminates, hardwoods, softwoods and acrylics. It has taken every material in its stride and produced fantastic accurate cuts, time after time.
It is the best CMS I have ever used and I would not be parted with for anything but it?s not perfect it has some idiosyncrasies that I think you may like to know about.
Ok let?s get on with it. Your Kapex arrives in its big box with the nice pictures on the side. You unpack it put on the bench and there it is the object of your desire. You stroke it, release the transport tie down. Look at all the green bits; you already know what everything does because you have been on the net for weeks researching it. You go for the first cut. Now reality kicks in.
You will be lucky if the laser is calibrated right. I know a few lads with a Kapex and none were spot on out the box, my dealer has not had one spot on yet either. You can calibrate it yourself by poking holes in the decal on the side of the motor housing and fiddling about till it?s correct. It?s no big deal. I know that the line on the left is correct on mine and the one on the right is off by 1.5 mm with a little practice you can split the line first time.
Next up is the fence; put loads of dry lubricant on it, then drive the small stop screws in the back down so you can slide the top fences of quickly as you will have to do it a lot if you are bevel cutting. Don?t be surprised if after a few weeks, months the fence ?fires? together solid. Mine did Festool replaced the full fence no problem. Unless they have redesigned it or changed the material grade I think some of you may have this problem.
Table inserts have a little quirk as well, they grow! You will get your pride and joy out one morning and find the table inserts have now gone all wavy on you. It?s not a problem. The fix is simple take out the insert pare it down in length a little give it a bit of clearance as well. Then elongate the holes for an aft. Re attach problem solved.
Small mouldings can be a bit of a problem. The Kapex has a habit of smashing them rather than cutting them. It does not happen all the time but on hardwood it can be a bit of a problem. It also is very good at turning the small off cuts into ricochets. It took me some time to work out the cause of this (this is only a guess on my part) and the solution that works for me. Think the cause is this. If you look at the orientation of the saw spindle to the teeth on the blade and then where the teeth cut through the section of the fence right in the bottom corner. You will see that the teeth are going up and back. I think that it is this that lifts the small moulding and if you have not got the thing clamped down, it flips it up and smashes it into the body housing. Hope you understand what I am trying to explain. If you have a convention CMS to compare it to you will see what I mean. The solution is simple either clamp small stuff down or do what I do and use a loose flat fence to bring the small sections forward so that you are under the spindle at 90 degrees and the teeth are going in and not up. This spindle, teeth, fence thing also has a bit more of a serious side.
High Cuts, what I am referring to is the special cutting position. This is a great idea, works great but you have got to take care and be aware of what is going on with the sawing action. Firstly when you engage the latch at the back (to put the saw head into the high cut position) make very, very, very sure that it is fully engaged and locked. The locking mechanism can be a bit temperamental. If it?s not fully locked and secure DONT cut in this position. If it?s not properly locked and you do cut, because of the direction that the saw teeth are travelling (bottom to top in this position). The Kapex will pick up the work piece and smash it into the housing and back at you! The other thing to be careful of is the little quadrant off cut you get from cutting a mitre on the first edge of a square end. This gets picked up and shoots straight into the housing. I now either nibble away the first mitre kerf thickness at a time or cut the mitre further down the board so the off cut cannot lift. I managed to smash the saw head housing because of a faulty locking mechanism that did not fully engage. Replace by Festool under warranty.
After reading the above if you are asking the question do I still spend all that cash and get one?
The answer is YOU BET.
It is a very high quality saw the cut and accuracy is unbelievable the cuts are almost polished. Its well made in quality materials and built to last. If it?s going out to site in a truck or van it needs protection so make a box or get hold of one of Festool`s transport container. It is a precision instrument and needs some protection and looking after.
All the other things it does are brilliant. The trenching mode is a joy to use. Even the plastic clamp that looks iffy is great.
Basically the Kapex is the dogs dangly bits.
Go get one you won?t regret it. Just be aware of the above.
I hope you understand what I mean in some of my descriptions, I am not as eloquent as some of you guys on here. I will do my best to expand on any of the above and try and answer your questions but be patient. I am a computer idiot and type about 4 words a minute.
Regards to you all
John
Ps
you soon get used to the saw grip
Now I know what I'm missing on my DeWalt, to think I could have paid more to have all this. 
(OK, I was hovering over them though). I think I'll keep it.
