KAPEX

[jools]

Mines 18 months old 240V and cuts everything on site from treated framing to finish scotia plus building plastics. In and out the van every day(cartwheel down the road when it flew out the back when the van was written off, lost a little paint) used by others on site and it is still flawless. 36mm short pipe improved dust extraction, make up minimum clearance inserts and fence out of scrap HDPE, keep your blades in good condition, remember to clamp the wings well back not on the first lip, set up so everything between the lasers disappears, onboard mitre gauge and it's everything a SCMS should be. Having dragged various Makita  and Bosch models plus tables etc out of vans and on to site nothing sets up like the Kapex. Also the wings fit the CMS and the MFT to improve their cutting capacities. The additional cost is easily recovered in set up time alone. I have a lot of Festool but not a buyer just because it's Festool. I buy what I consider the best within my budget. When on price work, accuracy and speed are the only places you can save money on site, but done without a loss in quality. The Kapex allows me to achieve that. 
If it quit tomorrow I'd buy another
Regards
Jools

 

[Walk On Wood]

I've had my Kapex about a year and a half. Bought during the reconditioned sale last year. Zero issues. It's by far the best SCMS I've ever used. I've previously had a Makita, a Bosch, and a DeWalt (which I kept as a backup saw). I've never had pieces fling out (other than cutting some base shoe the first day that I used it, user error). I use the short 36mm hose and am constantly amazed at how much dust it catches.

I recently did about 2400 cuts in 3 days making a custom floor.

 

[Cheese]

I recently did about 2400 cuts in 3 days making a custom floor.

I couldn't help but notice the box of off-cuts, just curious how many of them got rocketed towards the fence?

I think I already know the answer... [wink]

 

[peter halle]

I believe he wrote that he hadn't had any since the first day cutting some shoe.  He was cutting flooring this time, so I think that the shoe was prior.

Peter

 

[Cheese]

You're right Peter [not worthy]...I completely spaced out that sentence. Ya, looking at that box of off-cuts I didn't think he'd had a problem.

I've never had an issue with mine either, cutting 1 1/2"  or 2 1/4" maple or oak 3/4" thick tongue & groove flooring. Any scrap maple flooring that is shorter than about 8" is always cut into 1/2" wide pieces that I use for smoking on the Weber. I've cut thousands of pieces of maple for smoking with no issues.

 

[Tyler Ernsberger]

I've had my Kapex about a year and a half. Bought during the reconditioned sale last year. Zero issues. It's by far the best SCMS I've ever used. I've previously had a Makita, a Bosch, and a DeWalt (which I kept as a backup saw). I've never had pieces fling out (other than cutting some base shoe the first day that I used it, user error). I use the short 36mm hose and am constantly amazed at how much dust it catches.

I recently did about 2400 cuts in 3 days making a custom floor.

There is quite a bit of saw dust on the floor and on the saw,  did you have dust collection set up the whole time?

 

[Dunn wood]

This thread is about the POSITIVE. After 2400 cuts over 3 days I don't think that is much sawdust. So the DC must have been working fine. I have always been amazed at the amount of sawdust left over from the Kapex or lack of.

 

[Tyler Ernsberger]

This thread is about the POSITIVE. After 2400 cuts over 3 days I don't think that is much sawdust. So the DC must have been working fine. I have always been amazed at the amount of sawdust left over from the Kapex or lack of.

I didnt say anything negative.  I don't own a Kapex personally.    I thought it was a good question.  Is the dust collection the same when cutting on a miter versus straight on?

 

[Walk On Wood]

Zero of the off-cuts were rocketed away. The dust on the floor was from the kapex, but in that time, I emptied my (nearly full) Ultimate dust deputy twice. So I would guess somewhere around 95-99% of the dust got collected

 

[DB10]

Sometimes you can't avoid the dust, depends on what type of cuts your making. this is my Kapex after an afternoon of trench cutting, obviously with this type of cut the dust spews everywhere, no mitre saw with a 36mm hose connected to a midi and a Dust deputy like my set up is going to be able to capture 90% of this dust. But on regular and miter cuts it's pretty good.

 

[SMJoinery]

I love my Kapex.
If i had to replace it tomorrow and replace it with another one.
Straight out the box it was already "tuned" to a high degree of accuracy. Mines gets a lot of use every day from precise trim work, trenching and general cutting.
It's in and out the van and workshop, upstairs, downstairs and used in clients homes.
Maintaining its accuracy is important and using it every day means that I have checked and "retuned" it using the supplemental guide including adjusting the lasers to how I prefer them.
The hold down clamp is superb, the stand and wings are excellent.
I love that no matter how I have marked my cut I just need to align the corresponding laser and make the cut.
The angle finder is nice to have right on the saw.
The dust extraction is superb and can be heightened further with many of the user experiences highlighted many times on these pages. It's also easily heightened by slowing the cuts to let the extraction rate pick up more chips.
Finally the stock blade is superb and the finer 80 tooth is excellent. I can't find much difference between them when cutting or on the finished edges.
In summary, I love my Kapex.
If i had to replace it tomorrow and replace it with another one.
Scott