rodwolfy said:
Did you follow the Kapex thread?? Specifically, did you read the posts by the English guy who had the problem with 10 Kapex saws and then the Festool Engineer came over and stopped production? WOW.
Let's get a few things straight, so you guys stop frothing and some of you go buy offbrand saws you don't really want because you think you're in a rush to fill a hole in your collection, and the Kapex isn't worth the money or the wait (you haven't even seen one yet fer chrissakes, don't make your mind up until you get to use one at least).
(disclaimer: mostly personal opinion follows.)
I think that forum guy has (excuse the expression) a HUGE hard-on that he was able to not only return 10 of them and not have Festool tell him to piss off and find a better saw if he could buy one, but also he's flattering himself even more by claiming he single handedly shut down worldwide production. Ask him exactly what his problems with it were and he kind of waffles. I heard the complaint about accuracy he had was that he couldn't cut a board at the extreme range width the saw could handle
and flip it to complete cutting the
second half of the board. Wouldn't a rational person move to the MFT at that point? So who really gives a rat's if you can crosscut a 600mm board with it. Wrong tool for the job. Of course it won't give satisfactory results. 10 saws. That's customer G0$%amn service. Start asking yourself what other company would even do that.
As to the laser, I haven't seen any problems in the two machines I've used. Mine has been fantastic right out of the box, and I had one of the first ones in the country. I'm not the rocket scientist this guy obviously is (sarcasm intended), but I haven't had a real complaint enter my mind about it yet. I've used probably five to seven other chop saws in the past and this one is a racecar in a lot full of pickups. Nothing wrong with pickups, they get the job done. And I mean racecar in the speed and accuracy sense.
The Kapex is a great saw. Full stop. There is nothing about my experience so far with this saw that would make me say they fell short of the mark. I've been using one probably three or four times a week for the last couple of months. Between yesterday and today, I probably made about a hundred cuts on one. I do own one, but I was using one on location. It did stay set up in one place the entire time, so I can't attest to moving the rig back and forth and setting it up a bunch of times, but it isn't something I'm planning on babying.
It is light, but it isn't built lightly. C'mon, how many tools (other than the worm-drive) can you buy anymore that aren't plastic and some kind of alloy? I've been slamming it through 2x4. No complaints. I can shave a piece from the edge that's so thin you can see light through it. The cut side is so smooth it's like glass. This is framing lumber. These guys make pro tools (literally). What's the worst you've ever abused (or allowed someone to abuse) a Festool? I've seen some pictures. This will be able to handle that. If not, you've got the warranty. You probably won't end up returning it ten times I bet.
I did think of a complaint about it today while I was framing a wall to fit an existing opening. If I had a chance to make one complaint, I'd say it's almost too accurate. Stupid complaint, I know, but we're already reaching IMO. It encourages you to cut to the millimeter. I had trouble fitting in the frame I made for the top of the door RO because I made it fit the opening exactly. It was just over
eight feet long, for you imperials. In the past, I would have cut a fractional measurement 'strong' or a bit shy, but still left wiggle room, maybe dropped a sixteenth in my mind, but I never was cutting with that much accuracy before. No measuring fence and no laser before. My mistake today was I stopped thinking about the actual fit because I've been so focused on reading the tape measures on the fence. I've never used a fence with a tape before, so maybe an incra is something super special. I've seen the accuracy of my work skyrocket since I started using these tools and this one is no exception to that statement. It was easy to fit the frame when we put it in square to the opening. You know what that means.
Okay, maybe one other complaint. I wish they put the laser button somewhere near the trigger. But maybe they put it over the top on the other side so you wouldn't hit it by accident. And you're never starting a cut while you're trying to turn it on, because it's a pain. That's a built-in safety feature! You'll have to admit, I'm really really trying to give somebody cause to not like the saw here.
I had a portamate stand on my last saw, and I hated that damn thing. Worked just okay when set up, but fell over when folded, there was no good way to stow it. I haven't really seen a stand I liked, I've had experience with two others. They all seemed pretty much the same to me. Where do you put down your tape? Your pencil? A cut list? I cut a nick in my speed square once with the old stand because I stuck it under the saw without thinking. There's room for all these and a covered cup of coffee on the table. I'll take the tradeoff of a lot of pieces (6, plus saw and MFT) for not only being able to break this fence down into easily stowed and moveable parts, but also, HELLO, you get another MFT work surface with the package. Is it me or do we all want a jumbo? You don't need one if you have two MFTs!
If you think the fence isn't for you, guess what? The height of the material cutting surface of the Kapex is pretty much exactly an MFT plus a SYS1 (or is it SYS2? anyway, a SYS will get you there). We used it this way while waiting for the set parts to hit Australia. Did it work? Yes. Would I do it that way again? Why? I have the fence, and it's way better.
You can use it on the ground like this too. I'm done working that way, but you could.
The legs are a bit light. It is possible to kick them out of square. Having said that, I had a stack of 2x4 leaning against one side fence to grab from while I was banging out cuts. Using the fence they get cut really fast, no marking, no measuring after you set the flag. I've been caught there too, cutting a whole pile the wrong measurement because it's so easy to repetitively cut wood exactly. Lucky they were long for another measurement.
Dust. It catches most, it misses some. It depends on what you're cutting, and how fast you drop that saw. There is no airborne dust. There is usually some dust on the back of the saw and the MFT. Absent is the clouds of dust that I got with my old saw after the tiny bag was full and I yanked it off. It doesn't spray dust on the wall behind it. I guarantee you there was never a better setup for DC that you didn't build yourself.
I love the saw. I don't even let people look at mine, because I'm afraid they'll drool on it
. But I don't give it (or the one at work) baby treatment, any more than I would my other tools. Yes, I do dust them off before I put them away if I have time, and I do vac out the inside of the systainers every so often. I have been caught cleaning one off with a pack of baby wipes, so technically I guess that is baby treatment. I don't bounce the saw around in the back of a vehicle. In fact, the thing I love about these tools is that nothing bounces around in the back of a vehicle. I bought empty SYS for all my paint and plaster tools. My CO2 gas tank and nailers are in others. I don't like pawing through loose crap all sh!7piled on top of itself, it looks unprofessional and it's always a pain to get what you want. Plus right now I share a car with the rest of the family. I can use it for work and unload real fast and it's still clean. I used to have a crew cab dually. I fit everything I need in a Honda CRV now. Sure, I'll probably get a van or a ute (that's like an El Camino), but it works for now. Anyway, sorry about the rant, but it looks like everybody's just freaking out from Down Here.
Don't panic fellas. There's no bugs, no bullshit. It's a great tool, you'll have one soon, and it'll probably cost a lot less than mine did.
