My Festool tips and information site.

[Dan Clark]

I agree about Gary's videos.  I have all of them.  They are worth every penny. 

I did a quick review of 2007 JLC Live with special focus on the Finish Carpentry Clinic given by Gary Katz and Greg Burnet:http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=1914.  Watching Gary and Greg in action was great!

Also, if you haven't seen Gary's "Sketchup Tutorial: Drawing a Bookcase Using Groups & Components", you're missing the best opportunity to understand how to use this excellent tool.  Instead of just making a pretty picture, Gary shows you how to create a detailed drawing by creating components and then assembling the component pieces - just as you do with woodworking.  It's located here:http://www.garymkatz.com/charts_drawings.html.

Regards,

Dan.

 

[City Properties Inc]

Brice, great intro write up on the Kapex. How is te durabilty? You'be had it for a while know.
My business consist of about 70% rof top deck builds that where IPE is our primary material.
15%residential reads and 15%light commercial which consist of stores coffee shops and high rise condo work. We move around a lot.
Overall how has it been with the rigors of day to day. In / out of truck, job to job, up 3-4-5stories through out house and of course it will be left out side over night under a tarp on roof top.
Is it fussy? Do you find yourself adjusting regularly? I need accuracy all the time and a saw that's durable enough light framing to crown. essentially if it's wood we do it. Can the kapex take it or is a foo foo shop saw that needs to be babied? Maybe the kapex is not for me.

Thank you in advance for your time .
Yannin Tsakiris
www.citydecksinc.com
www.citypropertiesinc.net
Philadelphia, PA

 

[jmbfestool]

Brice, great intro write up on the Kapex. How is te durabilty? You'be had it for a while know.
My business consist of about 70% rof top deck builds that where IPE is our primary material.
15%residential reads and 15%light commercial which consist of stores coffee shops and high rise condo work. We move around a lot.
Overall how has it been with the rigors of day to day. In / out of truck, job to job, up 3-4-5stories through out house and of course it will be left out side over night under a tarp on roof top.
Is it fussy? Do you find yourself adjusting regularly? I need accuracy all the time and a saw that's durable enough light framing to crown. essentially if it's wood we do it. Can the kapex take it or is a foo foo shop saw that needs to be babied? Maybe the kapex is not for me.

Thank you in advance for your time .
Yannin Tsakiris
www.citydecksinc.com
www.citypropertiesinc.net
Philadelphia, PA

Well I treat mine like I treat a dewalt or makita and the accuracy is still der!

I proberly treat it worse because I have it in the ug stand which has very hard wheels!  This makes the kapex bounce around
ALOT along many surfaces when carting it along to the job!  With dewalt and makita or other I would be normally carrying it all the way so wouldn't get that kinda of abuse.  So... Saying that I give it more hammer than other brands and it still holding true.

A warning!  The kapex depth stop is very limited it's accurate enough but can't remember but I think it's max depth height is only 40mm as many other saws I have used its 80mm plus I think! so double!

which is a shame really cus doing trenches with a chop saw is a very quick method when on site. 

I often end up needing to either hand saw it or get my circular saw and set it to the correct depth and do few cuts and chisel the res whereas a other brand saw would of allowed me to still do it on the chopsaw.

Jmb

 

[Brice Burrell]

My saw is holding up well but I'd admit I do handle it with a lot more care than I do my older DeWalt.  I generally don't use it on framing projects unless they are fairly small.  I did tune it up a little last spring not because it was all that out of wack but more because I had time on my hands.  I think handling it with a little more care when loading and unloading goes a long way to keeping it true.  There are two things I keep an eye on, the sliding fence extensions and a roller wheel that is part of the blade guard.  I don't crank down on the cam lock on the sliding fence extensions so they don't end up getting deformed and I keep a little lube to help them move freely.  I know there were a few complaints from members in Europe about these fence extensions getting stuck; but I haven't heard any grumblings in long time so maybe it isn't a problem anymore.  Also I keep the roller wheel lubed, that helps keep the blade guard working correctly.

As long as you handle it reasonably I think the Kapex is great general purpose jobsite saw.  If you have guys on the crew that are going to just throw it in the back of the truck or smack it with 2x12s daily, then I'd look at another option.