Kapex staying Square

[joinery45]

Does anyone else have trouble with their Kapex staying square. I have to re-square the table about  every other day. I returned it to Festool but it still wouldn't stay square. I lock each cut with the hold down etc. so it is not operator error. The error is about a fat 1/32" in 12". But when cutting out furniture pieces I was accumulating over 1/16" unless I marked each piece. I'd rather select for grain quality than fit.
When I opened the shipping container from Festool after the previous repair the foam blocks were trashed and the saw was loose. Maybe that was it.
It took forever for Festool to send new packaging material and when it arrived they sent two of the same top pieces, fortunately the only foam not damaged from the original shipping was the missing piece.

 

[djwong]

I have not any difficulty maintaining square on my Kapex.  Admittedly I do not use it too often these days, but when I do, it is still as accurate as when I set it using the 4 cut method.  Is it possible that your blade is the culprit?

 

[Alan m]

[welcome]to the fog. or should that be  [welcome] back. anyway good to see you.

send the saw back. there is probably a tolerence issue. talk to shane holland on here and see what he says

 

[joinery45]

Good suggestions, I did switch-out the blade, a Little difference, but not enough to account for the error. I do use the saw all the time, but only in my workshop. IO think I took it to one job for a complex mitre job, even then I strapped it down in my van to prevent roll overs etc.

 

[joinery45]

The way I check or error is the same one I use to see if my 24" Starret is still square.
Start with a 12" wide piece of pre-finished MDF or Nova-ply.
With the body of the square to the left and the 24" arm aimed toward you us a Japanese marking knife and score the finish.
Then flip the square align the base and score the surface.
Any error in the square is doubled.
Loosen the screws that hold the quadrant just a bit.
Align the score marks with the laser and clamp in place using the hold downs.
Start the saw and just touch the surface with the saw fully retracted, then pull forward and repeat.\
Compare the location of the cut in relation to the scored lines.
Tap and repeat.
Tighten screws.
Stack two pieces of 12" wide mdf to the left of the blade and trim edges
open like a book and butt the saw cuts together any gaps are your error.
Then use the calculator in the On-line Kapex manual to calculate the error with the four cut method.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Are you sure the lasers aren't out?

 

[joinery45]

I use laser to get close, then the shallow cut from the blade for the actual measurement.. But, Laser and blade are dead-on.

 

[Steve R]

I interested to find out what you do find to be the issue. I have had a Kapex for a year and it has been gotten hauled to at least 50 sites and never ever  had it go out of square.

Of course I do put it in the back seat of the sedan and make sure its seat belt is fastened securely. Sometimes we even stop for ice cream on the way back home. Hmmmm.... maybe I shared too much. [wink]

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Ken Nagrod]

I interested to find out what you do find to be the issue. I have had a Kapex for a year and it has been gotten hauled to at least 50 sites and never ever  had it go out of square.

Of course I do put it in the back seat of the sedan and make sure its seat belt is fastened securely. Sometimes we even stop for ice cream on the way back home. Hmmmm.... maybe I shared too much. [wink]

Cheers,
Steve

What flavor?

 

[mouppe]

I would imagine the kapex goes for pistachio!

 

[Alpine-Glen]

I am having an issue with the left fence not aligning with right fence!!!!!! If I hold a straight edge against the left side and move towards the right side, the right side is sticking out by a good 3/32". I have no idea how this happened, the saw is about 1 1/2 years old and is used everyday on high end millwork projects. My dealer has contacted the festool Rep for the past two weeks and I havent gotten a call back. The guard is constantly sticking and sometimes wont even operate, my guys blow it off everyday when we wrap up the tools and we use a vac with the saw 95% of the time. Overall, I'm not impressed by the saw and even less impressed with the Festool Rep from NY/NJ. Is anyone else having issues with festool customer service? This is my first time having an issue with any of my Festool equipment.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Is anyone else having issues with festool customer service?

Glen, I've sent you an email requesting your contact information. I don't know the details of the communications between your dealer and the Festool sales manager in your area, but it's best if you call our service department when you're having an issue. They are in the best position to troubleshoot, diagnose and resolve any issues you might be having with your saw.

Sorry for the issues but I'm confident we'll get it resolved quickly once I get your contact information. Alternatively, call our service department directly. Their number's below in my signature.

Thanks,
Shane

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Glen,

I always suggest that customers deal directly with Festool rather than work through their dealer. Sometimes the message(s) may get lost in the process. It's possible that the email(s) did not go through for some reason or got blocked as spam, for instance.

One of our service techs, as well as your area Festool sales manager, have both attempted calling you and gotten your voicemail.

Shane

 

[TOOLTOWN]

Shane,
The dealer did emai the festool sales rep(Toby) monday the 25th and also thursday the 28th. Toby was informed of Glen's issues with the kapex and was given Glen's contact info, phone number and email address.
You can also see where Glen says he has not heard from the festool rep.

[ Edited to remove email content - it's against the forum guidelines to post private communications publicly - Shane ]

 

[Alpine-Glen]

As you can see, my local dealer DID contact the local Festool Rep. I had no doubt that they contacted Festool on my behalf as I have been dealing with this Family Business for many years (Tooltown, Paramus NJ). I sent the emails to Shane yesterday and I'm sure he will remove the comment about Tooltown neglecting their customers.

After Shane got involved, Toby called me and left a VM stating that he is a SALES REP and not a Repair Guy!!!! David from Festool called me and has sent a return box for me to send the Kapex back for repair. I am thoroughly satisfied with the response from Festool after posting on FOG and I am thoroughly satisfied with Tooltown Paramus NJ for their assistance with this issue. If Toby Haskins (The Sales Guy) would have responded to the three emails from Tooltown, then Shane Holland wouldnt have had to step in. Festool used to have a Rep in NJ (Mitch) that would take your tools apart on the spot and get them working tip top, he would even come to my jobsites and make sure we were totally satisfied with the tools performance. I sincerely hope that Toby is not Mitch's replacement!

Thanks again Shane and Tooltown, Parmus NJ for your exceptional customer service.

 

[FestoolMike]

If Toby Haskins (The Sales Guy) would have responded to the three emails from Tooltown, then Shane Holland wouldnt have had to step in.

+1 +1 +1

I would hope that despite the fact this is the "sales guy" he would d have the wear withal to forward the messages off to the appropriate functional organization while CC'ing those that sent the original message (a handoff).  This "aint my yab man" (said with a Jamaican accent for full affect) has no place in the customer service chain at Festool or any other organization.  I think that some realignment of expectations may be warranted.

Just my opinion.  Im glad that the issue has been picked up and taken forward.  It is unfortunate there was a delay.

Mike

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Shane,
The dealer did emai the festool sales rep(Toby) monday the 25th and also thursday the 28th. Toby was informed of Glen's issues with the kapex and was given Glen's contact info, phone number and email address.
You can also see where Glen says he has not heard from the festool rep.

For the record, I never claimed that an email wasn't sent. The important thing is that Glen's issue is now getting handled. My apologies if you felt that I was laying blame on Tool Town. I specifically stated that it's possible that, for whatever reason, the email didn't get delivered. We do have spam filtering that we use on a corporate level, for instance. In the future, I would recommend that if you have a customer with a tool problem, that you contact our service department rather than the regional sales manager.

My apologies to Glen and Tool Town for the issues in getting a response in a timely manner, regardless of the reason. This information has already been shared with the sales manager's supervisor for review.

Shane

 

[mp397]

I know this post is old, but the problem is not.
I purchased a new Kapex less than a year ago and only use it for weekend projects on my miter saw station. And I also cant get it to stay square I'm going crazy about this. I now readjusted both the fence and the miter detents plate - lets see how long that will last.
I cant understand why people would pay this sort of money if they dont get better performance than saws that less than half the price. Im now considering the dewalt and other offerings.

 

[mp397]

I am having an issue with the left fence not aligning with right fence!!!!!! If I hold a straight edge against the left side and move towards the right side, the right side is sticking out by a good 3/32". I have no idea how this happened, the saw is about 1 1/2 years old and is used everyday on high end millwork projects. My dealer has contacted the festool Rep for the past two weeks and I havent gotten a call back. The guard is constantly sticking and sometimes wont even operate, my guys blow it off everyday when we wrap up the tools and we use a vac with the saw 95% of the time. Overall, I'm not impressed by the saw and even less impressed with the Festool Rep from NY/NJ. Is anyone else having issues with festool customer service? This is my first time having an issue with any of my Festool equipment.

I noticed that problem as well on mine. ! I was aligning the saw perfect and then when cutting I was not getting square cuts and I found out about the same problem as you after that.