Brice's comment are correct as are Jerry's. When I'm on a job doing molding I'm cutting a bunch of it. I've never counted but it's hundreds of cuts each day. Brice's statements all hold true and Jerry Work posted right away and since he was in the middle of a job he just performed a quick fix for himself and documented it so some of us could learn from it. I think some of the earlier saws like Rick C's, Gary K., The Silva's etc., not that you'd probably hear if there was an issue but they probably didn't have it. Mine both worked fine right up to the point where they didn't. That was after hours of cutting. I miter, left and right constantly and I'd bet many others (Let's say Lucas) most of the time just sit there. Maybe an occasional 90 degree cut but it's not like it's out on a job site under heavy use. So he probably doesn't have an issue and might not.
They had replacement plates on hand and ready before I even had my problem(s) I wish they had the forethought to get the plates sent to the dealer and switch them out before they got into our hands. I have an issue with them not understanding which saws have/might have the wrong plates. This is where I'm struggling with this whole thing and state that they are reaching for a fix.
Festool did respond to people with an issue with a new plate (i got 2 different ones for some reason) and even included a T20 Torx driver sent overnight air. That is a great way for the company to respond (I bet a lot of manuf. would make you send it in, or return it). When I had the lock up on top (first saw) it was replaced right away. The 2nd saw locked up and I replaced the plate since I had one from the first saw and it's still working ok, although I haven't got to use it heavily since replacing the plate. I'm not sure what the next steps are. I know Festool is disappointed and embarrassed by the issues whether large or small. I'm sure they will do what they can to keep our Kapex's running. Festool USA (Christian, et al) are going to have their hands tied somewhat, waiting on the parent company and manufacturing end to make more permanent changes to the unit. A lot of us here know the Festool folks like David M., Steve B., Allen K., etc. personally (not friends of course but acquaintances) and know they'll do what they can to ensure we get what we need and are happy with our tool purchase. I don't have any gripes whatsoever about Festool USA.
I think we can all agree that they really let us down on the table/table lock design. The saw does have some really great features and is built well. I'm of course paranoid that I'm going to have more issues with the turret. When I fails it still somewhat usable in a sense that you can turn it, it's just really tough to do it and wastes time. But I can at least finish the job. It's just switching back over to the Dewalt is not a quick and easy issue due to stand/table considerations.
The horrendous looking Hitachi C12LSH has micro adjust on the bevel and miter table (it's not really advertised for even having the miter micro adjust). It's also one of the smoothest saws to turn/adjust. Do I want one, heck no...
We probably aren't going to get anywhere else on this table issue for now. It's really just making a decision about whether to buy the saw or not, and/or to keep or return one if you've got it. That's where I'm at... I'll let you know what my decision is and why when it comes. It's really all up to me now and not Festool.
Chris...