KS60 Kicking back frequently.

[levey]

Hi all, new member.

I have had a KS120 for years and recently purchased a KS60,
my problem is cutting beading and smaller pieces of wood the KS60 frequently kicks back destroying the work piece or making a hole in a plaster wall 3 meters away (or a dent in my head).
I have since added wooden fences to reduce the gap between the factory fences and changed out the 36 tooth blade for a 60 tooth blade but no luck.

A friend of mine has a KS120 that acts the same but mine is fine.

Should i take it back? very happy with it otherwise.

Sorry if this has been asked before, i did a quick search with no luck.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ultane]

Welcome to the forum.

Hopefully someone will be along shortly that can help.

 

[mrboult]

Hey there,

Obviously the first thing to check is the tolerances of the fence and base. If there are any gaps behind or under the workpiece then the wood can close on you as you cut causing kick back. However it sounds like you've already covered this and added your own fence additions.

If you are experienced, and it sounds like you've used your KS120 without issue, at a certain point you just have to back yourself and realise that if this is happening to you with this saw specifically then there is something wrong and it needs to go back.

 

[levey]

Thanks MrB,
I might contact the Festool rep.

 

[ChuckM]

A friend of mine has a KS120 that acts the same but mine is fine.

It may be the saw, it may not be what that caused your problem. I use a Kapex 120 (stock blade), but have never attempted to trim small pieces using just the stock fence set-up.

The best and safest way to cut small pieces (you didn't say how small yours were) -- regardless of the brand or model of the miter saw -- is to build and use a zero clearance cutting jig. You can find all kinds of versions or designs on the web. Mine is shown here. Note that the blade doesn't cut through the jig (like making dado cuts).

Also make sure that the blade has stopped spinning before raising the sawhead, a habit worth having for both safety and cut quality considerations.

 

[Birdhunter]

I don't know if my reply applies here, but I never cut small pieces on my 120 Kapex. There is just too much chance the cutoff gets sucked back against the blade. Bang!!! Kickback!.The same applies to my big SawStop.

I will use double sided tape to affix the small piece to a larger piece of wood. After the cut, both the kept piece and the cutoff get pealed off the sacrificial board.

Another similar approach is to use the double sided tape to affix the wood directly to the Kapex base.

This approach using the double sided tape takes more time, but less than a trip to the ER.