Dan T said:
... I'm more than happy with the results i achieve from this saw.
....
If you're satisfied with your current saw, I wouldn't bother getting the kapex.
Sure, the kapex has it's benefits, but it has it's drawbacks too.
When I got my kapex, it had just come out, and was a big improvement over the saw I had then, an older makita ls1013,that had lost it's accuracy and was having some other problems, the kapex was exactly the same weight, but had a higher capacity. Over the years I had run into some annoyances with the makita saw, for instance with the flip up fences, getting the bevel set just right, and having to start over because I forgot to move the fence beforehand; or when I had to set up in a narrow hallway because I couldn't cut longer pieces in a room, the kapex could be placed closer to the wall, leaving more room in the hallway. The lasers are a nice improvement too, if I marked a line on the piece to be cut it's easy to dial in the miter/bevel.
But the dewalt 717 already has many of the features, it's barely heavier, and has a central carry-handle, it has the improved cutting-height capacity, it has the sliding fences. It can be fitted with a laser, or the shadowline-ledlight. The controls for the bevel aren't at the back of the carriage like on the old makita but closer to the front of the saw. (and it has beveldetents, which the kapex only has for 45°and 0° via a turndial) It has the same miter-range as the kapex, but only to different sides (the kapex can do 60° to the right, the DW to the left)
The kapex has pretty good dustcollection, but I found that you HAVE to use it, even when working outside, because when I don't the sawdust gets blown up and the wind blows it in my face. (there's no dustbag accessory, and the ones for the planers won't fit)
The idea of the handle inline with the blade is good from an engineering point of view, to minimize deflection (allong with the bars positioned further apart), but it's less comfortable ergonomically speaking. it's curved (outward) design, and the fact that it's not covered with a "grippy" texture makes it likely for your hand to slide of the trigger when you bring the sawhead down. Another consequence of this design is the need for the bladeguard to slide inside the housing instead of over it, when it slides over, you can easily hold it up with your thumb with your hand still on the handle.
The dewalt also has a lockable miterdetent override, the kapex override is springloaded, and you have to keep pressure on it (this doesn't bother me, but it's important to some)
The large bevelscale on the kapex is easy to read, and very nice in combination with the turndial, but it also limits the miter-range when you have extensions installed with a backfence on them.
The dewalt doesn't have the speeddial, but I do think it has the sofstart and the bladebrake.
The biggest advantage of the dewalt over the festool is: You already have it.
This post might sound like a rant, and I'm still very happy with my kapex, but it's not the be all end all in mitersaws . And for the price it costs you can buy one or several other festools you may have a bigger need for.
