Kapex wings, what do people use / prefer

[shed9]

As the title says, what wings do people use / prefer with the Kapex saw?

I'm finally finishing my Kapex stand / sysport and not sure if to go with the UG wings or the crown stops and make my own. The UG wings make initial sense as they would be quicker to get going and have the increased length ability. However my concern is the limited width and the lack of clamp positioning. A pair of crown stops and home made wings would give me more width and clamping but means more work.

As always, all advice appreciated.

 

[Stone Message]

I bought a pair of Crown wings/supports (or whatever the correct name is) when I bought my Kapex. I do not use them for crown moulding cutting but like the extra width that they give to the saw base and, more importantly, the extra clamping options provided by the track.

I am building a new Kapex saw station to fit my methods of working and my relatively small workshop. I do not have the luxury of sufficient space to have long supports on the left and right of the saw. For this reason I have standardised my workshop bench and cupboard heights to 900mm which means that I can always find something to support a long piece of wood.

I would like to have a rear fence that has some form of stop that will allow me to setup for accurate repeat cuts. If it is not 100% reliable then I will continue to use a rule to set a fixed stop.

I have fold up flaps which can extend the width of the saw station when required. The whole things is on industrial heavy duty castors so it can be moved around the workshop as required.

Peter

 

[shed9]

Thanks for the input Peter, I am already following your bench build.

I'm already committed to the bench design as I wanted Systainer storage as well;



I'm reworking it slightly by placing another set of braces in the mid, lower and upper section to better facilitate drawer slides.

I'm in the same situation in that I have no intention of cutting crown mouldings but the Kapex crown stops make a lot of sense as extra base width and clamping. That said I quite like the instant usability of the UG wings. Also there is the fact that I can just remove them when not required and have about 3m of bench space although part of me says to avoid this aspect as I'll just fill it with junk like any other bare surface area.
Whatever option I go for I need a good back fence and stop as this was one of the key reasons for a bench.

 

[Stone Message]

I really like your concept and that aluminium extrusion that you have used looks great. I have seen it before on the FOG but have been put off by the price. When I had my first 'unmoveable' mitre saw setup across my longest wall I did a calculation to work out the best place for the saw. After loads of sketches I ended up with a 1/3rd and 2/3rd split measured to the saw blade.

Keep up the good work.

Peter

 

[shed9]

Thanks Peter. I agree with the idea of not having a centric cut line, the reason it's setup as it is for now was to get an idea of build size. Most of my own cuts are to the left of the blade so I may yet move it over to the right but to be honest my main work general consists of dividing 8ft beams and then processing the halves so a mid sectioned saw may be best for now although I am toying with the idea of a moveable system. I'm also looking to fit a reasonably accurate stop system and considering something like the Wixey WR700

 

[Dochawthorne]

You should look at the fast cap fence for the Kapex that's what I use but mine is always on site. They do make a bench set up and they all have adjustable stops that are easy to ziro and you can add lengths to either side. I love mine but some times wonder if I should have went with the festool just for faster set up and take down.

 

[dltflt]

I have the UG wings. I have only used them a couple of times since I purchased them but they seem pretty nice. My plan is to build a cabinet to store the systainers and mount the Kapex and wings on top

 

[joiner1970]

Ug wings are great. When I had my old Makita chop saw on a metabo stand it had supports that doubled as length stops. They had to much play to cut anything accurate, the dewalt stand is the same. Where as the ug wings attach to the kapex so all the cuts off the stops are exact

 

[shed9]

You should look at the fast cap fence for the Kapex that's what I use but mine is always on site. They do make a bench set up and they all have adjustable stops that are easy to ziro and you can add lengths to either side. I love mine but some times wonder if I should have went with the festool just for faster set up and take down.

I looked at the Fast Cap system but the width is really no different to the UG set so it seemed moot to me. Also, we don’t get access to the full range of Fast Cap kit here in the UK.

I have the UG wings. I have only used them a couple of times since I purchased them but they seem pretty nice. My plan is to build a cabinet to store the systainers and mount the Kapex and wings on top

Ug wings are great. When I had my old Makita chop saw on a metabo stand it had supports that doubled as length stops. They had to much play to cut anything accurate, the dewalt stand is the same. Where as the ug wings attach to the kapex so all the cuts off the stops are exact

I see the advantage of the UG wings and I’m tempted but as mentioned earlier, the width and lack of clamp slides is a slight concern for me.

I’m leaning towards building another section on top of the bench which is level with the saw and having a plug in fence at this stage. This will give me a wide surface area, the ability to run t-tracks for clamps and storage underneath for miscellaneous tools.

Thanks for the input so far  [smile]

 

[wow]

Are the Crown wings/supports (or whatever the correct name is) useable with the UG extensions? Does using them screw up the Integrated metric tape measure? I assume that it would, but I haven't even ever seen the extensions, so I don't know...

 

[shed9]

Are the Crown wings/supports (or whatever the correct name is) useable with the UG extensions? Does using them screw up the Integrated metric tape measure? I assume that it would, but I haven't even ever seen the extensions, so I don't know...

Wow, they are not compatible with each other. It's either the crown stops and DIY extensions OR just the UG wings.

 

[wow]

Are the Crown wings/supports (or whatever the correct name is) useable with the UG extensions? Does using them screw up the Integrated metric tape measure? I assume that it would, but I haven't even ever seen the extensions, so I don't know...

Wow, they are not compatible with each other. It's either the crown stops and DIY extensions OR just the UG wings.

OK, that shoots down THAT idea. DO you (or does anyone) happen to know if the FastCap Best Fence System is compatible with the Crown wings?

For that matter, can someone post a picture of the Crown wing outside end and bottom side? I'd like to understand what my options might be for connecting an extension to it?

Thanks in advance!

 

[curt boyer]

Wow, this is my old setup.

 

[shed9]

One related question, I notice the Kapex MFT takes the height to the same as the MFT work surface.

This is a little too low for me as I'm not used to it, any Kapex with Kapex MFT users who can comment on this working height for saw?

 

[Stone Message]

One related question, I notice the Kapex MFT takes the height to the same as the MFT work surface.

This is a little too low for me as I'm not used to it, any Kapex with Kapex MFT users who can comment on this working height for saw?

Obviously this may depend on your height. I always had my work benches at about 840mm until I bought my MFT3 (at 900mm). I found the working height of the MFT3 so much better and have now standardised all of my working surfaces to that height. The one exception is my TS saw station (a pair of trestles with some MDF and holes for Parf Dogs) which is just a little lower so that I can reach across when needed.

I am 1.75m and so my ideal working height seems to be just a tiny dash over half my height.

Peter

 

[shed9]

That's the problem Peter, I've always bench worked at 900mm (or thereabouts) but also always worked with SCMS's at around 1000mm as I find it easier to line up the cuts. I'm now combining a bench surface with the level of the Kapex's bed.

 

[roblg3]

sorry guys, i didn't read the whole thread, but... if you put the right UG wing on the left and the left on the right, all you have to do for crown stops is slide the extension wing forward or backward on the kapex base and voila! crown stops AND extensions with all the stops available as well.

 

[abgoto]

I have the UG cart and wings and they work perfectly for me. The cart makes it easy to put the saw away when not on use and the wings are plenty wide, given the maximum cutting width of the Kapex. As an added bonus, the wings can be easily attached to the MFT/3.

 

[Worm Drive]

sorry guys, i didn't read the whole thread, but... if you put the right UG wing on the left and the left on the right, all you have to do for crown stops is slide the extension wing forward or backward on the kapex base and voila! crown stops AND extensions with all the stops available as well.

Clever idea. Only issue , it wouldnt work for short pieces. Festool really dropped the ball on the extension wing design. The only reason I didn't buy the UG cart and extension wings is that they weren't compatible with the crown stops.

 

[roblg3]

The "stops" begin at the edge of the kapex table.  BTW it's not my original idea.  Kudos to Matt at the woodworkers club in MD.