Kapex sawblades
- Thread starter obdoor
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ccarrolladams
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obdoor said:
I own many Kapex. I still use the first one I bought, which had been on pre-order a long time. Several of us stayed up until midnight, waiting outside our Los Angeles dealer. Actually mine was the second delivered that night. The first was bought by the master woodworker who is my face frame/door specialist. Early in 2011 I bought his original Kapex from him, since he had been using it full-time in my shop.
Between us we have tried many non-Festool saw blades for Kapex, but we always return to our Festool blades. In my shop virtually all the cuts made on the Kapex are cross-grain and generally in some form of hard wood. Very rare will an edge cut on the Kapex been seen in the final product. What we need are super accurate glue ready cuts needing no additional processing.
Our experience is that the Festool Fine Tooth Saw Blade cat 495 387 is ideal. They last a long time between sharpenings, and they can be sharpened many times.
The Oshlun blades for the Kapex seem to be getting good reviews. No, they certainly won't be the same quality as Festool/Forrest/Tenryu, but they cost less than half as much and make sense for some folks who want to save their nicer blades for finish cuts.
I don't have a Kapex. The only blades I have used in my ATF 55 have been Festoy blades.
I have used several makes of blades on my table saw (until I retired it) and my old Milwaukee circular saws.
I with the table saw and the Milwaukees, I was using a lot of reused lumber and so hit lots of hardware from form lumber and scaffolding. Hitting a nail almost always chipped atleast one tooth. For cutting form material, i just ignored the dings and used the blade until the blade started to warp.
When I no longer worked in construction and lumber used was much cleaner, I was introduced to Festoys. I still run across some used lumber (my son is in construction and does some demolition work). I am very carefull to examine for nails and other hardare. No matter how careful, I still occasionally run into a burried nail or screw with my saw or router (OF 1000 and 1400). I have yet to find a ding on any of my Festoy blades or router bits from any hardware collision. I am sure the same quality goes into Kapex blades as goes into other Festoy blades and bits.
Tinker
I have used several makes of blades on my table saw (until I retired it) and my old Milwaukee circular saws.
I with the table saw and the Milwaukees, I was using a lot of reused lumber and so hit lots of hardware from form lumber and scaffolding. Hitting a nail almost always chipped atleast one tooth. For cutting form material, i just ignored the dings and used the blade until the blade started to warp.
When I no longer worked in construction and lumber used was much cleaner, I was introduced to Festoys. I still run across some used lumber (my son is in construction and does some demolition work). I am very carefull to examine for nails and other hardare. No matter how careful, I still occasionally run into a burried nail or screw with my saw or router (OF 1000 and 1400). I have yet to find a ding on any of my Festoy blades or router bits from any hardware collision. I am sure the same quality goes into Kapex blades as goes into other Festoy blades and bits.
Tinker
GaryLaroff
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I am a complete bigot in favor of Forrest blades and have used them for over 20 years. Going way back, I've put them on a junky Sears tablesaw, two Shopsmiths, my big 12-inch Inca cabinet saw and a Makita chop saw. I returned a Freud dado set and bought a Forrest 8-inch dado stack for the Shopsmith until I bought the Inca saw and had Forrest bore the dado set out to fit that saw.
That said, I am a woodworking hobbyist and have had the Kapex for almost four years. I run the original Kapex blade and must admit that many members of the FOG probably use their Kapex more in a month than I've used mine in four years. It's a great saw and if I had to replace the blade I would go for another blade from Festool. I've never considered a Forrest blade replacement as it isn't needed.
The best improvement I've made to the Kapex quality of cut was to add a zero clearance insert made from UHMW plastic. The second best improvement was adding a zero clearance backer to the fence.
I can't see improving the quality of cut with a different blade. Your mileage may vary.
Gary
That said, I am a woodworking hobbyist and have had the Kapex for almost four years. I run the original Kapex blade and must admit that many members of the FOG probably use their Kapex more in a month than I've used mine in four years. It's a great saw and if I had to replace the blade I would go for another blade from Festool. I've never considered a Forrest blade replacement as it isn't needed.
The best improvement I've made to the Kapex quality of cut was to add a zero clearance insert made from UHMW plastic. The second best improvement was adding a zero clearance backer to the fence.
I can't see improving the quality of cut with a different blade. Your mileage may vary.
Gary
Whereas this thread is about Kapex saw blades, here in the US anyway there is a package deal on the fine tooth blade combined with the universal blade. The product number is M0102.
Cost for this set is $195. Purchased separately the cost would be $261. Upgrade your saw with a fine tooth blade and get a spare universal for only an additional $60.
Peter
Cost for this set is $195. Purchased separately the cost would be $261. Upgrade your saw with a fine tooth blade and get a spare universal for only an additional $60.
Peter
WarnerConstCo.
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I find that the stock Festool blade sucked. I keep it for junk lumber.
I have a Matsushita, Tenryu and another one my sharpener gave me to use. I can't remember who made it.
I have a Matsushita, Tenryu and another one my sharpener gave me to use. I can't remember who made it.
ghostofhoward
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- May 3, 2009
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I have found the Oshlun blade to be every bit as good as the Festool brand.Some of these festool owners convince themselves that if its a festool product it is automatically better than any other brand.This is not always the case,many times the products are similar in quality but nowhere near the same price.Use your head and think beyond the hype and lame non sequitur stories about how many tools someone owns when purchasing accessories (buy klingspor sandpaper too,its better and cheaper than rubin)
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