Kapex station advice

H

Holzhacker

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Mar 31, 2009
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Ok, so as I posted not long ago I bought a Kapex, much to my dismay over the price. I know I'll stop whining.
Anyway I'm trying to figure out a cart / stand set-up and am looking for input from you guys. Overall I've always hated miter saw stands and never actually bought one. In the past, I either set-up the chop saw on a sheet of plywood on horses or a scaffold section. However, I don't spend weeks or months on jobsites anymore so that isn't an option. I need something more mobile.
- I really don't like the idea of spending the money on the Kapex stand. Too much for what it is. It only seems like a decent deal with the wings. Someone else mentioned recently on another thread that the wheels are a disappointment for him. I've looked at the wheels at my dealer and think the wheels probably aren't so good.
- The Bosch stand looks good and is a lot less money. But of course being Bosch it weighs a ton. Not what I want.
- I'm leaning towards getting a Kapex MFT. Each piece would be easy to carry in and store, the MFT would serve multiple purposes. I already have an MFT/3
Thoughts?
 
I have the UG stand and extensions and I think it's great. I don't see a problem with the wheels - but even if there is, they have a three year warranty!

If you're not getting the "wings" for the UG it is just an OK trolley for your KAPEX - the KAPEX MFT would be better and ultimately more stable.

I wheel my KAPEX out every time I use it, so the UG suits my needs.
 
Holzhacker said:
Ok, so as I posted not long ago I bought a Kapex, much to my dismay over the price. I know I'll stop whining.
Anyway I'm trying to figure out a cart / stand set-up and am looking for input from you guys. Overall I've always hated miter saw stands and never actually bought one. In the past, I either set-up the chop saw on a sheet of plywood on horses or a scaffold section. However, I don't spend weeks or months on jobsites anymore so that isn't an option. I need something more mobile.
- I really don't like the idea of spending the money on the Kapex stand. Too much for what it is. It only seems like a decent deal with the wings. Someone else mentioned recently on another thread that the wheels are a disappointment for him. I've looked at the wheels at my dealer and think the wheels probably aren't so good.
- The Bosch stand looks good and is a lot less money. But of course being Bosch it weighs a ton. Not what I want.
- I'm leaning towards getting a Kapex MFT. Each piece would be easy to carry in and store, the MFT would serve multiple purposes. I already have an MFT/3
Thoughts?
Click to expand...

The Kapex we only take on sites has an UG stand with the wings. So far the Festool wheels have not been a problem for us.

In my shop 2 of my Kapex are mounted on stands we built which are part of an assembly of cabinets the tops of which are appropriate to serve as in and out-feed for the Kapex. Those sets of cabinets are permanently in place along the East and West walls of my shop. Both of those assemblies have 16' in-feed. The one on the West wall has 16+' outfeed. The Kapex on the East wall has 12' outfeed.

Two other Kapex are on rolling stands we built which holds a CT22 below the Kapex. with folding in and outfeed wings only 3' long. For us this has proven long enough because the stock has been pre-cut on one of the other saws.
 
I bought a UG stand for my KAPEX and at first was not happy with only the large wheels on the back. To move my KAPEX around my humble sized shop required me to tip the KAPEX back and roll it about. My fear was if I slipped and dropped my precious saw that it could become damaged. I therefore constructed a set of castors on a plate that allowed mobility without the need to tip the saw and risk a possible calamity. I am now very content with the UG stand for these reasons: Has a small footprint which is ideal in a limited space shop, Safe to move the saw now, Has a spot for a dedicated CT MIDI dust collector and will still work perfectly with the UG Extension set. The only drawback to me was the initial price but now that I have increased it value via my improvements I have gotten over the sticker shock.
[attachimg=#1]
My upgraded stand with CT MIDI on green plate and castor set.
 
Since I own 2 MFT3's I bought a Kapex MFT. The Kapex MFT with the saw on it placed in between 2 MFT3 puts the saw at the exact height to use the MFT3s as indeed out feed tables/supports
 
==> I therefore constructed a set of castors on a plate that allowed mobility without the need to tip the saw and risk a possible calamity.

That's a really nice mod...  You should license it back to FT.  I'd like to do something similar, do you have a sketchup?
 
When LOML surprised me with a Kapex, I opted for the Kapex MFT and added the UG wings -- great set-up, sturdy, multi-use and about the same price as the mobile cart with UG wings.  I am really digging the MFT Kapex.

Scot
 
Thanks for the praise. I will make a deal with FESTOOL,  they can use my setup for the modest fee of the new LARGE DOMINO set and both systainers  filled with the dominos and cutters. I have not yet become fluent in sketch up but I have some pictures that could aid in building a set for another lucky UG Cart.

Okay I took some more pictures to show some details pertaining to the Cantilevered Castor set and Green Mounting Plate for the KAPEX UG Stand.
[attachimg=#1]
KAPEX on UG Cart with CT MIDI and Castors locked and ready to cut.
[attachimg=#2]
Fresh Cut.
[attachimg=#3]
Wheels chocked and saw leaned back for conversion to stock UG Cart.
[attachimg=#4]
Riser support block to ease conversion process.
[attachimg=#5]
CT MIDI removed from the Green Plate.
[attachimg=#6]
Green Plate which is held in place with UG Stand feet and lock knobs.
[attachimg=#7]
Green Plate removed with holders next to it.
[attachimg=#8]
Rear support detail on the Green Plate.
[attachimg=#9]
Cantilevered Castor Plate. Guess the paint on the Green Plate was not quite dry yet!
[attachimg=#10]
Castor Plate loose from UG Cart with KAPEX holders and UG Stand feet reattached. Castor Plate is now ready for removal.
[attachimg=#11]
KAPEX UG Stand in stock configuration.
[attachimg=#12]
Castor Plate with KAPEX hold downs.
[attachimg=#13]
Side view of Castor Plate.
[attachimg=#14]
Bottom view of Castor Plate.
[attachimg=#15]
Detail of castor mounting.
[attachimg=#16]
Three quarter view showing cantilever arm which supports the two by four castor mount.
[attachimg=#17]
Bottom view showing cutout detail to accommodate UG Stand clips.
[attachimg=#18]
Standard KAPEX hold downs used to fix the Castor Plate to the UG Stand.
[attachimg=#19]
Mounting hole front side of UG Stand.
[attachimg=#20]
Mounting hole rear side of UG Stand.
[attachimg=#21]
KAPEX with CT MIDI on Green Plate attached to Cantilevered Castor Plate mounted on the UG Stand ready to rock and roll. Time to convert from stock setup to my DELUXE setup is about eight minutes. Bear in mind that no KAPEX, UG Stand or CT MIDI was harmed during the conversion process or documentation process carried out here within.
And finally the parts used to construct the Green Plate and Cantilevered Castor Plate were some offcuts that I had laying around the shop. I employed dominos throughout for rigidity of the structure and obtained the green and gray paint at my nearby Lowes.

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I have the Kapex mft/3 with the old wings.  I like the set up.

I use the Kapex mft/3 for a work surface more then I do my regular mft/3, because of it's smaller size.
 
Then you have fur up the work supports too.  As it is with the kapex on the dewalt brackets the work supports barely reach the table height when fully extended. It blows, I bought one to use with kapex and was dismayed. You can drill new holes in the kapex base though.  The newer version of the dewalt stand with the levers is very nice and functional nontheless
 
The Dewalt brackets do fit the Kapex perfectly, just use a single 3/8 bolt in the countersunk hole on each side of the Kapex.  What blows about the Dewalt stand is the play in the brackets and the lack of work support except at a single point on each side.  I attempted to modify my ultimate miter stand to work on the Dewalt base but just felt that the brackets were too flimsy.  I don't understand how others attempt to use it as a workbench.

If you have the time and space I would recommend the UMS, just make sure you build it out of Baltic Birch or something relatively stable.
 
The UMS is a great design, however for some situations it might not be appropriate. In my case I was looking for something with the smallest footprint size due to the limited size of my shop. The UG Stand with my caster set meets this criteria. I also need to be able to easily move it out of the way frequently as well which by looking at the size and weight of the UMS I do not think it would perform well in this type of use. Regarding cost I think after one would procure the materials and factor in the labor to build the UMS that it would most likely be in the same price range as the UG Stand. These are some points to consider. Using a Dewalt stand that has support issues with long stock and mounting issues too does not sound like a viable option IMHO. I am very happy with my UG Stand and caster set which works perfectly with the UG Extension set for long stock support. Most of the time I do not have the extensions attached as I prefer to have the space free in my shop. When I do need to cut long stock I move the UG Stand to where it and the needed extension or extensions will get nicely and do the cutting. When I am done cutting the extensions come off and are stowed out of the way and my small foot printed UG Stand and KAPEX can be easily moved off to the side. It all boils down to what works best for each individuals needs per their situation. For me my "Ultimate UG Stand with caster set and Extensions" suits my purposes extremely well. For others with a larger shop the UMS I am sure would work extremely well too. Just some thoughts.
 
Lots of good comments. I appreciate it.
The UG stand with the base plate for the CT is pretty awesome. Wouldn't work for me though since my CT is always loaded with systainers. I definitely think Festool should take you up on your offer. They get the idea, you get a domino set for it.
I'll take a look at the dewalt stand. For now I'm still leaning towards the Kapex mft and the extension wings. We'll see.
 
I have thought about buying the new wings and using them with my Kapex mft/3.

It only takes me like 6 minutes to set up the mft/3, kapex and old style extensions.
 
holzhacker, based on your mod, i ordered the festool stand w/ wings.  The sticker shock will be mitigated when I get your mods installed.  I hope you don't mind, but I am going to shamelessly leverage your design prior to FT marketing something similar and charging another $300... 
 
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