Kapex-Single MFT Cutting Station With Guide Rail?

[munchcolo]

With all the buzz about Kapex, I began to wonder about its possible usefulness to what I like to do.  I know a lot of you are interested in the Kapex because you do onsite trim work.  Myself, I'm a hobbyist who likes to build furniture.  Portability is not a concern; all my work is done in my shop.  I have a table saw (mainly used for breaking down lumber and ripping) and a TS55/MFT 1080/guide rail.  I like the accuracy and repeatability of the TS55/MFT; however, it's anything but quick (at least for me).  A large percentage of my crosscuts are within the range of the Kapex.

So I started thinking:  Is it possible (or even feasible or desirable) to combine the Kapex and the Festool guide rail system on a single MFT 1080 cutting station?  From my novice level experience with the guide rail on the MFT, combined with my severely limited knowledge of the Kapex, it seems that the fence systems of the two would be at cross-purposes.  I'm having a hard time conceptualizing this, but then again, I'm often conceptually challenged.  Has anyone else wondered the same thing?

 

[Eli]

I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish. The way I see it, the Kapex is for cutting sub 200mm wide pieces. MFT and rail for wider than that. The Kapex feet fit into the holes in the MFT field, that makes the 'cutting surface' about 100-150mm above the surface of the MFT. Mine is part of a set including the MFT800, so the saw typically sits above the MFT surface. There are outriggers available for this saw to support the long workpiece. I have bought them but have not picked them up yet.

 

[ROb McGilp]

Eli,
The Kapex is more than comfortable with 305mm. But I too don't understand the question, though I don't have a MFT.

Regards,

Rob

 

[munchcolo]

I'm not trying to combine the operations for which the Kapex is used (cutting) with those for which the guide rail is used (cutting, routing).  I'm not trying to use the Kapex in conjunction with the guide rail.  I understand that when the Kapex is mounted on an MFT, its fence and cutting surface are several inches above the MFT table.  Let me rephrase the question:  Can the two (Kapex and guide rail) be mounted on the same MFT in a manner such that one does not interfere with the other?

 

[Mark]

Simple answer is "no". I can't see how the MFT would retain its cross cutting capability with the Kapex mounted on the same surface. Going back to functionality overlaps, the one thing would be is speed. If you are cutting material that is of different depths using the Kapex or any other SCMS would be much faster as you don't have to read just the guide rail's distance above the table. To me a SMCS or simple miter saw is good for chopping wood. Put the material down, bring the blade into the material and cut. To do the same operation with the MFT + TS55 you have to fiddle with the guide rail's fore and aft clamps before you can cut material of differing thicknesses. Maybe the simple way to look at the MFT is that it is optimized for cutting sheet material rather than 2x4 type stock. I can see the need for both but I'm not sure the capabilities of the Kapex distance it from offerings from Makita, Bosch or Dewalt. Crosscutting is killer on both systems but it is the ability to rip that is still Festools weakness vs. tablesaw + SCMS. Dunno if this helps any, but even with a TS55 I still contemplate a benchtop tablesaw and miter saw.

 

[Eli]

Another way to think about it is that the Kapex fits nicely on the 800 MFT. Not much spare room, but a little. The 1080 and the 800 are so named for their size, so that would give you a pretty good visual of how much room you'd have left on the 1080 if you put the Kapex on top.