Kapex right hand laser line bent!

[Rosco]

I noticed my right hand laser needed adjusting.

I tried to sort it by turning the allen key/hex key but nothing was happening.

Then suddenly the laser line being projected actually bent!
I'm now left with a bent laser line and no way of adjusting it  [blink]

Anyone help? Or is it off to festool for repair?

Cheers

 

[peter halle]

Well, there is no way you bent the laser beam.  It's just light.  The adjusting screws require tiny turns.

The best thing I can suggest is that you take a look at the supplemental manual for the Kapex and go thru the procedure slowly and deliberately.  Here is the link to the page.  Scroll down and find it:  https://www.festoolusa.com/service/owners-manuals#Saws

Peter

 

[grobkuschelig]

...maybe move the saw away from the Large Hadron Collider.

Other than that, I have no wisdom.
So: What Peter said!

 

[Rosco]

Yup it must be the flux capacitor hitting 1. 21 gigsawatts.

Either that or something is putting pressure on the right hand laser lens. I can't adjust  it any further.

Will post a pic of it later.

 

[tjbnwi]

Pull the lens and clean it before you touch an adjustment screw. Most times the only issue is a dirty lens.

Tom

 

[Rosco]

Yes, I actually did that before trying to adjust.

 

[#Tee]

just go away from it. i know it looks cool and all but nothing beats dropping the blade on the cut line.

 

[Rosco]

Sometimes you can't put the blade in the cut line. That's why the laser is handy.

If anyone has some actual tips or experience on this fault recommendations are appreciated

 

[Gregor]

Possibly you just misaligned the laser (by twisting the hex key, as you wrote) so much that it dosn't fall through the lens where it should be but through the differently formed side (which is still clear but has different optical fraction properties).

The laser mechanic is sensible to external forces so you might have failed to notice (when aligning it's a good idea to turn a little, remove the hex key, then check - repeat) that you actually moved it but as you applied force with the hex key you didn't see it move that much as it did in reality.

Another thing could be that you didn't insert the lens correctly.

Another thing is that you pushed in the hex key that hard that you misaligned/deformed the metal holder for the laser (~2€ part), worst case is you overturned the screw or broke the mechanic through excessive force, which would set you back around 50€ (for a full new laser unit) in case you do the replacement yourself.

A picture might help, along with a detailed description about which screw you turned in what direction and how much, as there is a good chance that this isn't a fatal error that needs replacement parts.

 

[Rosco]

[attachimg=1]

Here is a pic of the "bent" laser line

 

[mwildt]

It's not bent it's a miter laser  [eek]

 

[Rosco]

vid of laser adjustment fault

I had a look at the laser adjustment. It turns out the spring loaded adjustment seems seized.

The spring loaded white plastic section does not move when adjusted.

I am trying to adjust the laser that moves like the blade turntable ie swinging in degrees left to right.

The fault on closer inspection is happening to both the left hand and right hand lasers (both pairs of lasers)

Adjustment seems fine to change the laser line parallel to the blade kerf.

I have never over tightened the laser adjusters or made any alterations without due care. I treat all my tools with care.

My saw is still under warranty. Is this something I can persue with Festool?

I love in Cornwall, UK.

Help appreciated

Thanks

 

[peter halle]

You don't have a bent line.  You have crossing lasers.  I took your image and super imposed lines in different colors to show you what is happening.

[attachimg=1]

Hope this helps in combination with the supplemental manual.

Peter

 

[Rosco]

It's not bent it's a miter laser  [eek]

Trust me mate. Seriously. It was. Odd as it sounds

I've since managed  to get the line out of distortion.

 

[Rosco]

You don't have a bent line.  You have crossing lasers.  I took your image and super imposed lines in different colors to show you what is happening.

[attachimg=1]

Hope this helps in combination with the supplemental manual.

Peter

Many thanks for your time to do that. Unfortunately, doofus here has posted wrong pic.  [embarassed]

That pic is after freeing the lasers' white plastic section held by a spring.

Long story short... If you're interested, please see the link to the vid I posted.

It shows the adjustment screw to the laser. It's not affecting the spring and plastic housing required to move the laser line in one direction.

Basically, it seems it's almost seized.

Initially, when I tried to adjust the laser, it became distorted. Creating a slight curve. I've got around that now.

Im still left with lasers that won't adjust however.

 

[peter halle]

You have a better service all inclusive program with Festool than we do in the States if I remember correctly.  My advice would be to send it in and see what happens.

Peter

 

[Rosco]

I'm going to make enquiries to Festool this week.

I just thought I'd check if anyone else experienced this fault.

I'll post details of the outcome.

Thanks

 

[Gregor]

Setting the lasers on the Kapex is tricky as of the geometry involved, I needed quite a while to wrap my head around it when I set mine. Also you can bring the laser into a configuration that is unintuitive (while possible) to recover from.

In case I interprete the video correctly: The screw you're turning (which isn't in contact with the mechanic) seems to be the right side Yaw one, you'll most likely need to turn it in to make contact and 'yaw' the line to be parallel with the kerf.

I suggest the following (basically cut&paste from the supplemental manual):

Securely clamp a sheet (big enough to cover the full bottom insert, but not that thick) that gives good laser visibility (like white melamine coated particle board) and do a shallow sliding cut over the whole length.

Then do all adjustments without haste and always remove the hex key when checking!

Always work only on one side at a time (to not get confused), go through Yaw, Lateral and Tilt (and in that order), always changing only one setting and checking before doing the next step:

1) Adjust the Yaw till the the line is parallel to the kerf, check by doing the sliding motion without changing the head height (the line shouldn't move toward/from the kerf). It helps to initially rough set of the Yaw with the head lowered at the start to not get confused by which line is which (as the blade will block the other side laser with the head down). It might also be needed to move the lines a bit outward for this (by using the lateral adjustment) so they're on the corrsponding right side of the kerf.

2) Lower the head into the cut and adjust the Lateral so the line is onto the kerf edge.

3) Raise the head and adust the Tilt so the line is onto the kerf edge.

4) Repeat (with smaller incremental changes) till satisfied.

Don't try to be perfect the first time but take an iterative approach.
In case the line vanishes while setting Lateral or Tile (as it gets blocked by the blade) use the corresponding other (Tilt or Lateral) to move it outward a bit (and vice versa).

 

[Frank-Jan]

I have experienced something similar. In my case I had backed out one of the setscrews.
Months later, when I particially dissassembled my kapex, to clean the bladeguard; the screw fell out of the housing (it wasn't nearly as tiny as I thought it would be) and I could put it back.