Old Kapex Worth It?

[xedos]

The Makita saw is twice as good as the Kapex...Ive had 2 Kapex that both burned out, and one got replaced by the Makita...when the other Kapex burns out for the 2nd time, Ill get another Makita. Waaaay more capacity when mitering and equal dust collection. I have 15k invested in other Festool btw

I don't agree with this at all.  I have both saws and while the Mak is very good - especially price considered; it's no where near twice as good if at all.  And that's if you get one with perfectly aligned rails.  I've been very critical of kapex's motor woes and FT's handling of it and a working saw is infinitely better than a broken one.  The 1219 may be a better value or it might not, but I don't you'll find many (any) that agree it's twice as good as a kapex. 

Even on a makita forum.

 

[ChuckM]

Whoever thinks (fill in the blank/brand) is twice as good as the Kapex is another example of beauty in the eye of the beholder. Try the hold-down clamp, try the bevel (not the miter) angle control, try the dust extraction (with the larger dia. hose), or try making a three-way miter joint with the Kapex and then with a non-Kapex.

Anyone who still comes to the conclusion (after doing all that long enough) that some miter saw out there is twice as good as the Kapex, to me, hasn't mastered the Kapex yet.

 

[Cheese]

Whoever thinks (fill in the blank/brand) is twice as good as the Kapex is another example of beauty in the eye of the beholder. Try the hold-down clamp, try the bevel (not the miter) angle control, try the dust extraction (with the larger dia. hose), or try making a three-way miter joint with the Kapex and then with a non-Kapex.

Anyone who still comes to the conclusion (after doing all that long enough) that some miter saw out there is twice as good as the Kapex, to me, hasn't mastered the Kapex yet.

You forgot to mention 3 of my favorite features Chuck... [smile]...the trenching feature, I don't know if ANY other miter saw has that feature.  [big grin] 

The 50# weight...that's the reason I purchased mine to be able to easily move it upstairs and outside when I want to.

The "set & forget" feature. Once the saw is adjusted, it never seems to come out of adjustment. I purchased mine 9 years ago and despite my moving it from room to room and up & down the stairs to work outside, it's still dead on. I was always readjusting my other miter saws once I moved them.

 

[ChuckM]

The Bosch GCM8SJL Saw can do trench cuts, but its trench depth control is not as good as Kapex's based on my previous experience. I know not enough about other saws's trench controls.

 

[serge0n]

I'm glad you got it for $500, great find.
I have the same 2008 model Kapex that I purchased used 5-6 years ago from a guy who used it on construction sites. Not a cabinet builder. It was used to cut anything, including steel curtain rods and hardie siding. It still looked great though and the sliding action was waaaay smoother than brand new DeWalt or Makita. I got it for $250, which I consider a steal.

It worked perfectly until about a month ago, when it finally died with the dreaded puff of smoke coming from the motor. It was almost funny, smelled like someone was smoking cigarettes in my shop.

I sent it in as I had no idea what exactly went wrong and got a whole list of replacement parts from Festool, including the fence which they said was bent. The repair price sticker left my jaw on the floor. After some back and forth with Festool's customer service, they offered me a great deal and repaired it for ~$600. The first thing I noticed was that the new motor had way more power and cut through 6/4 hardwood like it was cedar. The second thing I noticed was that they forgot to replace the miter fence even though they charged me for it. A few calls and emails later they offered me free next day air shipping both ways to fix the issue. When I finally got my saw back, they even included a free blade as an apology. That's an exemplary customer service in my book.

In the end, I have an extremely accurate miter saw for $850 total including the recent repair.
So even if yours burns out eventually, you can send it in and get a brand new Kapex for way less.
Is it the best miter saw on the market? Maybe. I'll be able to tell for sure once I marry a recently acquired 3 phase Omga T50350 with a VFD and give it a proper spin...

My only advise is to change the brushes ASAP. Used up brushes was the reason why my Kapex went up in smoke. That's what I've been told.

 

[mculik5]

[member=50918]serge0n[/member] - Thanks for the comment about the brushes. First part I added to my list of things to order.

Started a new thread about replacing the clamping collar/linear bearings, as that seems to be the only real issue with this saw -https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/old-kapex-refurbishment/.

If any of you have any experience with that, would love to hear about it. Thanks!