My Carvex 420 is now worse than ever

[NH-Engineering]

Hi.
I have earlier had some issues with my Carvex when it comes to making perpendicular cuts.
It "never" cuts perpendicular.. well 2 of 20 cuts I have done has actually been perfect perpendicular, the rest has been slightly off to way off. But I have so far been thinking that this has been caused by the material or "user error" so I have been a bit forgiving with it. But the trend is always that the cut starts out straight and the blade starts to deflected away from straight along the cut more and more.

I have always paid attention to adjust the blade guide as described in the manual, which simply means: Closing the gap but leave it with a slight clearance to the blade so it can slightly wobble a bit. (Release the screw 1/4 to 1/2 turn after the blade guide touches the blade).

But my Carvex has now entered a new universe when it comes to "accuracy". it simply "destroys" both blades and the material it is put to work on. It also creates sparks from the blade guide when the blade is bent sideways sufficiently.

I can also mention that my carvex has been used very little, its total cutting length is only a few meters in soft wood since it came out of the box brand new.

I will now send my Carvex back for service/repair.

But I will like to share the following information with you.

I have done the following test:
Cutting trough a 48mm (2inch) plank of pine (cu impregnated). I attached a straight piece of panel to feed the carvex along to make the cut straight. The splinterguard was in place but "old".
Both blades was nearly new.
Pendulum action was set to "2".
I pushed the Carvex along the cut with just weak force.

Image001: The long cut is done with a S75/4 K blade, the short cut is done with a S75/4 FSG blade.

Image002: The long cut seen from the underside.

Image003: Underside of the long cut where it begins. It is aprox 21mm from the edge of the plank.

Image004: Underside of the long cut where it ends. It is aprox 37mm from the edge of the plank.

Image005: The S75/4 K blade is bendt after use.

Image006: S75/4 K blade after use.

Changed blade and adjusted the blade guide:

Image007: Underside of short cut made with S75/4 FSG blade. (Clearly drifting towards edge of plank).

Image008: The S75/4 FSG blade is not bendt, but shows signs of heat friction (blue) from the blade guide.

Image009: Other side of S75/4 FSG blade.

Conclusion: The cuts drifts to the left indenpendently of the blades used, and independent of the structure in the material. Since the cuts was done in opposite directions.

So if your Carvex has signs of not cutting perpendicular it can suddenly escalate.
This machine has been marketed as exelent in making perpendicular cuts, so than you shall expect that as well!

 

[Kev]

I'll be very interested to hear how you get along with this and hopefully understand the root of the issue. If this was a highly common problem I would have expected to hear about it a lot on the forum. Yes there's been a few issues reported, but this sounds dire.

 

[Wuffles]

Pretty much what happened to mine. User error was suggested at the time, the usual "have you adjusted the guide accordingly" BS. Then it was sent off to Festool UK for repair and came back having had a vague part exchanged, so it was apparently faulty.

I then sold it as I'd lost confidence entirely - and also lost a bunch of blades too.

I bought the Mafell and haven't looked back.

 

[aas]

Exact same story. I'd read plenty about it before buying, but any problems were always put down to 'user error', so I thought that won't be a problem. I even purchased the guide rail adaptor thinking it would help - it doesn't. (To be fair, the Carvex does work in 18mm chipboard!)

I seriously regret buying it, should have got the Mafell. I'll be selling it ASAP. In the meantime, I've gone back to my 18v Makita, which is a dream in comparison.

No point sending it back to Festool, there is nothing 'wrong' with it apart from the basic design of the bottom blade support, which won't get changed with a check up.

Maybe you don't hear more about the problems because like me, people don't want to come on hear admiting their mistake in buying the tool or sounding like a complainer. My choice, a bad one, I'll sell it and move on, end of story.

 

[mastercabman]

You should never use a guide
(Strait edge) with a jigsaw
Use a circular saw
There's no way to know if the blade is parallel to the foot of the saw
Try cutting something without a guide and see what happens

 

[aas]

You should never use a guide
(Strait edge) with a jigsaw
Use a circular saw
There's no way to know if the blade is parallel to the foot of the saw
Try cutting something without a guide and see what happens

Really??? So why do Festool sell the guide rail adaptor for exactly this purpose if it should never be used with a guide?

 

[NH-Engineering]

You should never use a guide
(Strait edge) with a jigsaw
Use a circular saw
There's no way to know if the blade is parallel to the foot of the saw
Try cutting something without a guide and see what happens

Festool makes both a guide rail adaptor and the circular cutting adaptor that fix the saw in the sideways position. So the Carvex should clearly handle this situation. Other jigsaws that I have used have no problems with this. The S75/4 FSG blade is also specially designed for making straight cuts. The blade is very stiff, still it is deflected. I think my Carvex is a bad unit, but I dont like the design of the blade mechanism where the blade is allowed to "whobble".

 

[mastercabman]

You should never use a guide
(Strait edge) with a jigsaw
Use a circular saw
There's no way to know if the blade is parallel to the foot of the saw
Try cutting something without a guide and see what happens

Really??? So why do Festool sell the guide rail adaptor for exactly this purpose if it should never be used with a guide?

You can say all you want
Jigsaws are not good to be use with a guide
If the blade is not parallel with the foot or adaptor it will never cut straight

 

[mastercabman]

You should never use a guide
(Strait edge) with a jigsaw
Use a circular saw
There's no way to know if the blade is parallel to the foot of the saw
Try cutting something without a guide and see what happens

Festool makes both a guide rail adaptor and the circular cutting adaptor that fix the saw in the sideways position. So the Carvex should clearly handle this situation. Other jigsaws that I have used have no problems with this. The S75/4 FSG blade is also specially designed for making straight cuts. The blade is very stiff, still it is deflected. I think my Carvex is a bad unit, but I dont like the design of the blade mechanism where the blade is allowed to "whobble".

Have you tried cutting without a guide?
Does it still have problems?

 

[NH-Engineering]

You should never use a guide
(Strait edge) with a jigsaw
Use a circular saw
There's no way to know if the blade is parallel to the foot of the saw
Try cutting something without a guide and see what happens

Festool makes both a guide rail adaptor and the circular cutting adaptor that fix the saw in the sideways position. So the Carvex should clearly handle this situation. Other jigsaws that I have used have no problems with this. The S75/4 FSG blade is also specially designed for making straight cuts. The blade is very stiff, still it is deflected. I think my Carvex is a bad unit, but I dont like the design of the blade mechanism where the blade is allowed to "whobble".

Have you tried cutting without a guide?
Does it still have problems?

Not recently, but I will try without a guide and post here.

 

[aas]

You can say all you want
Jigsaws are not good to be use with a guide
If the blade is not parallel with the foot or adaptor it will never cut straight

I wasn't saying 'what I want'... it was a question - "why do Festool sell the guide rail adaptor for exactly this purpose if it should never be used with a guide?"

 

[ear3]

I had to send my Carvex in because it was not making 90 degree cuts.  The problem was that the detachable base was slightly loose, when when locked down, so whenever I would feed in a new splinterguard it would cause the blade to skew.

It works fine now after return from service.

Another potential, similar problem, is that some of the subbases fit loosely, and have a little slop in them, and so could also skew the blade out of plumb when inserting a splinterguard.

Not sure what your particular issue is, but from what I understand, this jigsaw needs some lateral play to make a straightline cut, and so placing a guide up next to it will cause issues like you're experiencing.  I think someone has asked this already, but do you get true 90 degree cuts when you free cut (without a guide/edge)?

 

[peter halle]

I went searching here because the issue has been brought up before.  Festool does not recommend using the jig saw on a rail for material thicker than 3/4".  Also it is recommended in the supplemental manual tha a wide set blade be used such as the FSC.

Peter

 

[mastercabman]

You can say all you want
Jigsaws are not good to be use with a guide
If the blade is not parallel with the foot or adaptor it will never cut straight

I wasn't saying 'what I want'... it was a question - "why do Festool sell the guide rail adaptor for exactly this purpose if it should never be used with a guide?"

I don't know!
Maybe they just want to offer more flexibility to the saw
Maybe the adaptor is design in such that it keeps the blade parallel to the guide
But I don't believe it is a good way to cut straight line with a jig saw
The blade is going to go wherever its going to be easy to cut
And if you force the saw against a guide you get crooked cuts
Do you want to know why I know that? [wink]

 

[aas]

I'm not saying I disagree with you, it is something I 'tried' before buying the Carvex, (a machine marketed as a superior, precision piece of engineering), and of course it seldom works! I posed the question because this so called precision machine is offered with the base to work with the guide rail - except it is a big fail!

Those of us who have purchased the Carvex and have isses with it, are rightly not happy about it. The reality is that it is a plasticy machine with some nice features - Strobe LED, Plug-it lead, removable swappable bases, 2 choices of power switch for the D handle, automatic speed control.
It is not in the same league quality wise as for example the TS55. The dust collection is poor. The blade guide system is a fiddle and a nuisance. Also on a personal note, I find the trigger uncomfortable under the fingers, the machine feels way too long with a hose attached (some sort of swivel at the back of the base would help).

Out of interest mastercabman, which model jigsaw do you use/prefer?

 

[Holmz]

You should never use a guide
(Strait edge) with a jigsaw
Use a circular saw
There's no way to know if the blade is parallel to the foot of the saw
Try cutting something without a guide and see what happens

Let's envision someone cutting out a sink.
Maybe one that is square.
Would they not leave the rail in place and whack the jig saw onto it?
(Even the Mafell P1cc is designed to fit on the rail, so I suspect that Bosch one may also do so as well??)

Pretty much what happened to mine. User error was suggested at the time, the usual "have you adjusted the guide accordingly" BS. Then it was sent off to Festool UK for repair and came back having had a vague part exchanged, so it was apparently faulty.

I then sold it as I'd lost confidence entirely - and also lost a bunch of blades too.

I bought the Mafell and haven't looked back.

You're making me feel better about getting the P1cc. Any day now it should be here.
[wink]

 

[mastercabman]

I'm not saying I disagree with you, it is something I 'tried' before buying the Carvex, (a machine marketed as a superior, precision piece of engineering), and of course it seldom works! I posed the question because this so called precision machine is offered with the base to work with the guide rail - except it is a big fail!

Those of us who have purchased the Carvex and have isses with it, are rightly not happy about it. The reality is that it is a plasticy machine with some nice features - Strobe LED, Plug-it lead, removable swappable bases, 2 choices of power switch for the D handle, automatic speed control.
It is not in the same league quality wise as for example the TS55. The dust collection is poor. The blade guide system is a fiddle and a nuisance. Also on a personal note, I find the trigger uncomfortable under the fingers, the machine feels way too long with a hose attached (some sort of swivel at the back of the base would help).

Out of interest mastercabman, which model jigsaw do you use/prefer?

I have the trion and like it
I did tried the carvex
Felt OK but I have not spent enough time to give a full review

 

[aas]

They sell a guide rail adaptor for the Trion too.
I see from Peters comment above that the adaptor is only for use up to 19mm.

 

[MrToolJunkie]

I have four jigsaws - the Bosch JS572, Mafell P1CC, Festool Trion and Festool Carvex. The Mafell is by far the most accurate of the bunch - no question. Perfect 90 degree cuts in thick or thin stock, on or off the rail - does not matter. It just works. Any blade as well. I like the Trion very much too - it is very smooth and I get nice cuts with it - you have to adjust the guides, but once they are set you can get great results - again, on or off the rail. The blade visibility is not an issue for me unless you attach the front chip guard, but you can use the little pointer on the anti-splinter insert to follow your line and get excellent results. The Carvex is a nice saw, but I only use it for the circle cutting capability. For me it feels too light and is jumpy. Might just be a personal thing, but the Trion is much more solid feeling in my hand and if there was a long trammel system like the Carvex I would probably use that and sell the Carvex. I like the Bosch as well - you can use it on a guide rail (either Bosch/Mafell or Festool) with the edge-guide attachment - there are little grooves in the handle that fit both styles of rail. This saw is plenty powerful, has DC, good visibility and a light. I can only get square cuts if I use a thicker blade in it like the Carvex/Trion blades or a Bosch blade ending in "DP" -- which is Bosch's version of a thick blade in various tooth configurations. It uses a double roller assembly and works well. I use this saw more for construction type tasks as it has a steel overshoe that fits easily over the plastic overshoe for rougher work.

 

[NH-Engineering]

Hi Again,
After getting a lot of response on my first posting I was inspired to do a 2.nd test today where i have done 4 cuts under different

conditions.

First 3 cuts parallel to the graining of the wood.

1.cut: 22 cm length with Guide
2.cut: 22 cm length freehand
3.cut: 22 cm length freehand

4.cut 4 cm length freehand perpendicular to the graining of the wood

Carvex setup:
Carvex cleaned carefully.
Blade guide cleaned and oiled.
No Splinter guard.
New S75/4 K blade.
Blade guide adjusted (Screw 1/4 turn reverse after touching the blade)
Pendulum action =2

Wood 48mm (2inch) cu impregnated pine. (Same as original post).

I have attached 20 images:

So here we go:

Img01-02: Carvex cleaned and adjusted.
Img03: Wood before cutting.
Img04: Side view of the graining.
Img05: Closeup of the freehand cutting line.
Img06: Wood after cutting

Here it is obvious that the guide reduces the accuracy of the saw very much! You can easily see that the left cut is deflected

towards the edge of the plank

Img07,08,09: Cut with guide starts out pretty good perpendicular, but drift sideways more and more and reach 3mm at the bottom after

cutting length 22cm

Img10,11,12: Freehand cut starts out perpendicular, but drift sideways 1mm at the bottom after a few cm and stays there along the

rest of the cut.

Img13: The top surface is practically dead flat.

Img14: Line for 2.nd freehand cut is marked.
Img15: 2.nd cut finished, I have wobbled a bit along the line, but I paid special attention to having the base of the saw flush with

the top surface of the wood during cutting.

Img16: The cut starts out perpendicular but the entry is a bit rough
Img17,18: Same result as previous freehand cut. It drifts of 1mm at the bottom of the cut and stays there.

The following is questionable due to short cutting length, but I include it.
Img19: Freehand cut perpendicular to the graining of the wood, The cut starts out 1mm deflected at the bottom.
Img20: The cut than become perfect perpendicular after 4 cm of cutting.

Conclusion:
Using a guide on 48mm or 2" wood is catastrophic! The guide simply ruins everything!

During freehand cutting the saw performs more stable, but my Carvex does simply not cut perpendicular when cutting along the

graining it tends to "bend" towards left.

Cutting perpendicular to the graining seems to give better results.

I am now considering a Mafell in addition to my Carvex because i like the more rigid blade mechanism of the Mafell.

I assume that a Mafell will perform well when used with a guide? Can someone comment on this?