Kapex snapping moulding

[regulator95]

Ok I have had my kapex now for about 27 days. I have had good luck with it until now. I am trying to install shoe molding / quarter round and am having a problem with the molding snapping every single time i cut. On top of that it feels unsafe when cutting it. Not only have I tried using shorter pieces where the entire piece is against the fence but I have tried different speeds on the machine. I have a cheap miter saw in my garage that has absolutely no problems cutting the molding. Hoping someone can help.

 

[joiner1970]

Have you not tried cutting it against a sacrificial fence ?

 

[builderbob]

Here's what I made for myself when I cut small moldings like 1/4 round or shoe.

 

[Andy B]

try using a cut off piece of scrap scantling or rip strip wide enough and long enough to back up the small moulding and cut into this piece. make sure to leave enough waste on the cut off of the moulding and scrap so as to not get flung off by the blade

 

[tiralie]

Zero clearance insert and additions to the fence as shown in rick's supplemental manual should fix it.
Here is a linkto an old thread discussing the same.
Tim

 

[NERemodeling]

Here's what I made for myself when I cut small moldings like 1/4 round or shoe.

Bob, Stepin up in the world!!!  i like the new Cadillac Escalade  hahaha    is it tough gettin your tools in and out?

John

 

[mouppe]

For stuff that small, I prefer to use a hand saw. Quicker and safer.

 

[builderbob]

Here's what I made for myself when I cut small moldings like 1/4 round or shoe.

Bob, Stepin up in the world!!!  i like the new Cadillac Escalade   hahaha    is it tough gettin your tools in and out?

John

The Escalade is my weekend ride...I only use the CT Midi to clean it!  [tongue]  Wishful thinking...my ProMaster will have to serve as my Caddie for now!

 

[peter halle]

I'm moving to CT.

 

[builderbob]

I'm moving to CT.

C'mon up Peter!  There's plenty of room for you and the pups in this state!

 

[mastercabman]

I'm moving to CT.

Me too!!!!!

 

[builderbob]

I'm moving to CT.

Me too!!!!!

Before you guys head up grab all the warmth you can...I don't like this winter stuff!

 

[regulator95]

Well I made the zero clearance insert and auxiliary fence. Tried cutting another piece of shoe molding and swear i almost lost my hand or at least it seemed that way maybe because it snapped and the force scared the sh** out of me. It was even worse with the auxiliary fence on than without it  [embarassed]

I just don't get it.

 

[wrightwoodwork]

Do you have any pics of you set up or a vid showing your work method. It has to be something simple

 

[regulator95]

Don't have the zero clearance insert in at the moment but here is my fence. I even left the blade down until it stopped still snapped. And its snapping the good side not the cutoff side.

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

This probably sounds redundant, and I don't mean to insult you, but even with 1/4" moulding I assume you're allowing roughly 2ish seconds to perform the cuts, versus "chopping" it in one swift motion? I've seen a lot of trim carpenters treat their miter saw like an axe, and then act surprised when their material explodes.

Beautiful fences! One bit of input, probably best to avoid cutting the miters on your sacrificial fences though, you lose the anti-splinter benefits.

What species of wood are you cutting? Are you making sure that the teeth are not in contact with the material after you've completed the cut, when the blade is spooling down? I assume the blade is nice and sharp, etc....

If it's an ongoing issue, I suggest sending the saw in to Festool for them to evaluate it. If it's only 27 days old, you will of course fall within the warranty period. I sent in my Kapex for service recently, the techs completely tore the saw apart, serviced it, and when I got it back it worked better than it ever had before. From the day I shipped it, Festool had the saw back to me in 9 days.

Best of luck!

 

[regulator95]

Tom

Just maple plywood. I only cut the miters because i was cutting the molding on a 45 and without cutting them the gap was big so i figured that may have allowed a piece to hit the blade. As far as how I cut. I used a nice slow sliding cut. Also tried chop saw cut not fast at all. It isn't really the snapping of the molding that is ticking me off its making me almost crap my pants every time it happens even though i know it may happen  [eek]

As someone mentioned above I may just cut shoe molding with a hand saw. When I cut anything else (Crown, casing, etc) it is fine and i don't fear for my life. I have a beater Ryobi saw in the garage that cuts the shoe fine (why not sure) it just spews dust all over everything including myself. That is why I like the Kapex so much.

 

[regulator95]

Oh and sorry the species of the shoe molding is red oak

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

Hmm, well, my 2 cents would be to send that sucker in and have Festool sort it out. For $1400, you should be able to cut oak shoe moulding all day long without fuss. Or, since you're still within the 30 day return period, just return it, get a nice Makita slider for the shop and another for taking to work sites. At $1400, your Kapex should cut PERFECTLY.

With the sacrificial fences, one trick you can try is to cut a very shallow rebate in the bottom section where it contacts the stationary portion of your fence, should make it easier for you to slide your fences so you're not cutting into your sacrificial fences.

Best of luck!!  [smile]

 

[wrightwoodwork]

Yeah you shouldn't have problems cutting mouldings. The only things is when doing the cut make sure the saw is upto full speed. The other thing I would check is your fences are perfectly in line. To check this simply get a straight piece of wood place it on the left fence, then slide it across to the right fence. It should just slide straight across with no bumps or gaps visible. If the fence on the right hand side is slightly forward of the fence on the left hand side, when you make the cut, the moulding on the left will go closer onto the fence on the left, which in return will cause the kerf to close up and pinch the blade and the saw will kick and you will miss a. Outlet of heart beats and you will be counting your digits. I would also check the fees without the sacrificial fence. If anything shows up send it back