Kapex video on YouTube!

DaveM

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Joined
May 30, 2007
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26
I came across this tonite on YouTube:

(Warning: viewing this video may lead to bank account deficiency syndrome at some point in the future!)



Dave

 
Oh, man. My birthday is less than a week away, and I'd love to get one of those for myself. PLEASE SELL SOON!!!!!!

I just realized I was drooling.
:o

 
While we continue to wait for the Kapex in NA, does anyone have tabs for the Festool song?
 
I have resisted the purchase of a chop saw for many years because there have always been other ways that I could do the job that they do just as well with the tools that I already own.  Having seen this video, I am quite sure that is no longer true.  I particularly like the device for measuring and transcribing both exterior and interior corner angles.
 
Holy smokes on a number of levels:

1) Neat and accurate (by what I can tell) of the funky looking little measuring tool.

2) Where's the dust?

3) Holy depth of cut Batman.

When are they coming? 

Chuck
 
Over the past week, I have been slowly getting back into the swing of late winter pruning.  It takes a little more time to get my 39 year old body up to full speed without major (they no longer seem to be minor :P) aches and pains.  Since i have no large expenditures on the agenda (I had already decided "NO" to a Kapex), it has been easy to slide into an hour and a half of high pruning (ladder climbing and some tree climbing) per day for awhile.  Next week, maybe even three hours by end of week.  A very relaxed pace. 

Now, I could have done very well without that YouTube view.  My life was happy and relaxed. i had grown to have no grudges against such people as Eli and others who have availabilty to NAINA Kapex.  Now it has all come to an end.  The sun is up and i MUST get moving.  gotta make $$$'z.  no more loafing along.  I take back all kind thoughts i may have had for TWAHTK (Those Who Already Have The Kapex) i have to get back to work.  :-[

The 9-1/2 minutes of watching that vidio shoulda been avoided at all costs. >:(

I do have one question.  That angle measuring tool.  Is that a strictly Festool/Kapex intro.  If so, that is one great inovation.  i have spent so many minutes per setup to work out the exact angles for various projects.  that tool is so quick and such a timesaver, there is no need to set up several angle guides for multiple cuts.  It looks like almost fun to get the exact angle of cut without getting into higher (?) math. 
Tinker
 
Tinker said:
I do have one question.  That angle measuring tool.  Is that a strictly Festool/Kapex intro.?

I think it's the first time one's been included with the saw as part of the system, but angle divisors are pretty commonplace, certainly here in the UK; I've had a cheap and cheerful version like this one for years...
200111_l.jpg


Cheers, Pete.
 
You know its funny what people are attracted to, I see the angle gauge and think it is a big waste of time using that tool. The tool needs to taken back over to the saw to find the angle, then at the saw you have to carefully dial in the angle.

I use the Starrett miter saw protractor, it has to scales one gives you the angle for a miter joint, while the second scale provide the angle to fit a single workpiece to an angle. Now I can go around a room measure and record the angles for the corners and write them down on a piece of paper.  Or when I'm doing baseboard, on the corner itself so when I come back to run the shoe mold I don't have to recheck the angle or get confused when I look at the cut list for the base and try to remember which number goes with what corner?? If I'm unsure all I have to do is look at the corner and see what I wrote on the wall.

When I get my Kapex the angle unit will end up sittting in a box somewhere I'm sure. Not trying to be the dark rain cloud here, I think the Kapex is going to be a great tool and I can't wait for the release here in the States.
 
DaveM,

Thanks for posting.  Yep, BADS (Bank Account Deficiency Syndrome) is a well known issue in these parts!  ;D

Dan.

 
Brice Burrell said:
You know its funny what people are attracted to, I see the angle gauge and think it is a big waste of time using that tool. The tool needs to taken back over to the saw to find the angle, then at the saw you have to carefully dial in the angle.

I use the Starrett miter saw protractor, it has to scales one gives you the angle for a miter joint, while the second scale provide the angle to fit a single workpiece to an angle. Now I can go around a room measure and record the angles for the corners and write them down on a piece of paper.  Or when I'm doing baseboard, on the corner itself so when I come back to run the shoe mold I don't have to recheck the angle or get confused when I look at the cut list for the base and try to remember which number goes with what corner?? If I'm unsure all I have to do is look at the corner and see what I wrote on the wall.

When I get my Kapex the angle unit will end up sittting in a box somewhere I'm sure. Not trying to be the dark rain cloud here, I think the Kapex is going to be a great tool and I can't wait for the release here in the States.

Brice,
For me, I no longer do site (outside of shop) work unless it's for my own house or family.  That means for every corner i work in, furniture and other objects piled in that corner to make room for the previous corner needs to be moved to another corner so it can be moved again and again>>>.  the extra traveling is not for the productive part of the job. 

Since my daytime job never was finish or fine carpentry, i would probably always be stuck in the one corner at a time mode. 

I guess my shortcuts as a mason were somewhat like the shortcuts you have pointed out for trim work.  The difference for me was that I set up story poles at every corner so i never, once set up and working, never had to go back to the transit or recheck batterboards and string settings.  Just went to the lines with strings set off of the well anchored story poles and almost never had to go for the hand levels.  I often look into DIY mags and books and cringe when i see how some DIY'ers write up as if they are experts.  i am sure some of the experts (professionals) here must shiver when they see how some of us never-beens do things. 

Thanks for the good idea anyhow.  As always, your ideas have always been most helpful in so many ways.

Tinker
 
Looks like Festool pulled-it off. The dust collection appears amazing for a miter saw.
I have cancelled my order for the new Makita LS1013 and Rousseau stand and I will not get a table saw at least not before the Kapex is home.
Then, it will be time to find a new hobby.
 
Brice Burrell said:
You know its funny what people are attracted to, I see the angle gauge and think it is a big waste of time using that tool. The tool needs to taken back over to the saw to find the angle, then at the saw you have to carefully dial in the angle.

I use the Starrett miter saw protractor, it has to scales one gives you the angle for a miter joint, while the second scale provide the angle to fit a single workpiece to an angle. Now I can go around a room measure and record the angles for the corners and write them down on a piece of paper.  Or when I'm doing baseboard, on the corner itself so when I come back to run the shoe mold I don't have to recheck the angle or get confused when I look at the cut list for the base and try to remember which number goes with what corner?? If I'm unsure all I have to do is look at the corner and see what I wrote on the wall.

When I get my Kapex the angle unit will end up sittting in a box somewhere I'm sure. Not trying to be the dark rain cloud here, I think the Kapex is going to be a great tool and I can't wait for the release here in the States.
brice,i use to have the starrett protractor(lost it or got stolen)i liked it.i also have the bosch angle finder.finding the angle on a inside corner was fine,but when it comes to outside corners,if they are small,you can't really fit those angle finder easily.the one that festool have,has 2 sliding extention that you adjust to size so that you can wrap around a small corner.(check the video,i'm pretty sure you already did)do you still think that maybe you may still consider to use the angle gauge?also i think it would be nice if it has a scale(degrees) on it.
 
mastercabman said:
brice,i use to have the starrett protractor(lost it or got stolen)i liked it.i also have the bosch angle finder.finding the angle on a inside corner was fine,but when it comes to outside corners,if they are small,you can't really fit those angle finder easily.the one that festool have,has 2 sliding extention that you adjust to size so that you can wrap around a small corner.(check the video,i'm pretty sure you already did)do you still think that maybe you may still consider to use the angle gauge?also i think it would be nice if it has a scale(degrees) on it.

  Small inside corners are a problem, for them I use a standard bevel gauge then hold it to the Starret. If the Festool unit had a scale it would be a improvement.
 
Individual parts of the YouTube video are available via Antony's Ideal Tools website athttp://www.idealtools.com.au/category55_1.htm where they can be viewed in larger format.

Two parts concentrate on the Smart Bevel -http://www.idealtools.com.au/files/KAPEX_SMART_BEVEL_1.wmv andhttp://www.idealtools.com.au/files/KAPEX_SMART_BEVEL_2.wmv

One alternative to the Smart Bevel, pictured below...

hs_smks120_494370_z_01a_crop2.jpg


..is the Swedish Nobex Multifix...

Multifix1.gif


...which is featured athttp://www.nobex.se/GB/Nobex/Tillbehor/nobexTillb1GB.html andhttp://www.nobex.se/GB/Nobex/Tillbehor/nobexTillb3GB.html

Unlike Festool's Smart Bevel, this does have a scale, so it would suit those who like to note down the angles as they go along, transferring the angles to a saw later in the day; and also those who like to cut the pieces as they go along.

In the UK, the Multifix is available from Axminster and Machine Mart for about 30 GBP.

Forrest

 
I've used the angle finder a little bit. Works pretty good. Probably not a lot because I haven't done a full blown trim job with it yet. The pic in the post above doesn't have the two dotted white lines on top of the angle gauge. These correspond to the kerfside lasers. I could care less about numbers on a scale, the fewer numbers I use the better off I am.  :D

Remember you don't have to go back downstairs and out to the garage to make a cut, you can work in the hallway. I don't go for the writing the whole house down and cutting everything at once. I'm positive it's a more efficient way, but the angle notations always stuff me up.
 
I thought the coolest part of the video was the fact that the table of the Kapex was the same height as a Systainer 1. Talk about a system!
 
Eli,

Hi, Tell me about real world dust control..  The ability to control dust on the job brought me into the Festool world, (and I am a convert).  How does the Kapex do?  Is it as dramatic as say a 55 compared to a skillsaw? I now use a Makita 1214 with a CT22 AND a dusthood.  It's OK, sometimes I think it's more show for the homeowner than good for air quality.  I'm standing in line for the new saw lots of other features I like,  just wondering...

Thanks, Dan
 
Dust control looked to be up to Festool's standard from the video, anyone with real experience with the Kapex like to comment?
 
Dan Rush said:
Eli,

Hi, Tell me about real world dust control..  The ability to control dust on the job brought me into the Festool world, (and I am a convert).  How does the Kapex do?  Is it as dramatic as say a 55 compared to a skillsaw? I now use a Makita 1214 with a CT22 AND a dusthood.  It's OK, sometimes I think it's more show for the homeowner than good for air quality.  I'm standing in line for the new saw lots of other features I like,  just wondering...

Thanks, Dan

Well, I never used a miter saw with a hood previous to getting the Kapex, so unfortunately I can't really make a good comparison. It's certainly better than every single saw that has a dinky little canvas bag with a wire inside that hangs off the back. I've found that for the most part it's getting all the fines out of the air, which I think is the priority. When I go into a business or a home with it, I'll set up the MFT800 on a canvas drop, and that way I'm getting whatever heavy stuff falls.

A lot of variables. What type of wood, how big the cut, how fast you cut it (slower cut action seems to pick up more dust IMO). I'm happy with it, but I started using the tools all at once with no previous experience save the TS55, so I've been really pleased with everything. I do generally have to vac up the surface of the table and the saw itself, but unless you make the cut inside a plastic bubble, I'm not sure how collection could be better in any situation with any other saw. Dustless it is not, but I'm more than satisfied. Like you said, a lot of it is show, but it's nice having minimized wood boogers in my nose.
 
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