Score 1 for the kapex

[glass1]

I recently was building a couple of locust gates. Mortise and tenon.  The kapex trenching is good enough for this work. Far and away the best trenching scms.

 

[SoonerFan]

I have to agree the Kapex is the best for trenching.  Personally I don't use trenching much but it is nice to have when needed.

 

[Kev]

I haven't trenched with my KAPEX, but I do remember the old Hitachi 8" SCMS being excellent .. apart from the clouds of sawdust ,, at trenching.

Anyway .. I don't want to know this as I need lots of good excuses for the HK85 and the grooving attachment [smile]

la la la la la la la la la

 

[sancho57]

I haven't trenched with mine either but it's good to know it can do that nice of work

 

[BBuild]

It takes fairly light pressure to achieve good results like that. If you bare down too hard you will get an uneven cut. Just something to be aware if.

 

[Tayler_mann]

It takes fairly light pressure to achieve good results like that. If you bare down too hard you will get an uneven cut. Just something to be aware if.

Hahahaha I found that out using it the trench function for the first time last night making a door jamb. Good thing the casing will cover the first few cuts.

 

[weekendwarrior]

I agree with others.  While the Kapex can trench... it requires too light of a touch to produce good results.  The trench brake does not limit the plunge depth sufficiently.  It's easily off a few millimeters.

I had to half lap a few 2x4s and it technically worked with the Kapex, the joints were not clean.  I know I would have had perfect results with my table saw, but I just kept going with the Kapex to show a proof of concept.

 

[Tayler_mann]

I agree with others.  While the Kapex can trench... it requires too light of a touch to produce good results.  The trench brake does not limit the plunge depth sufficiently.  It's easily off a few millimeters.

I had to half lap a few 2x4s and it technically worked with the Kapex, the joints were not clean.  I know I would have had perfect results with my table saw, but I just kept going with the Kapex to show a proof of concept.

Once I had gotten the hang of it it worked quite well. I cleaned it up with a chissel and it was really nice. The big thing I found is having a lighter touch and also a really firm hold on your material if you are not clamping it. That actually had the biggest factor for me was my material moving around slight amounts while cutting.

 

[itchy]

I don't have a lot of experience with the kapex trench function as I have only just got the saw but I have played around with it a bit. You can get good results with a light and even touch it requires practice until you get a handle on the technique. There are limitations to how much force the rails can resist with the weight of the saw head/motor and your downward pressure being applied. The Festool blade doesn't cut a flat bottom due to the tooth geometry, this may add to the appearance of the trench cut having variations in depth. After cleaning up with a chisel it should look pretty good. There are likely better ways to trench especially if you are doing large volumes of it but it's a handy trick to have up your sleeve when you just have your miter saw.

 

[sae]

Anyway .. I don't want to know this as I need lots of good excuses for the HK85 and the grooving attachment [smile]

la la la la la la la la la

[member=13058]Kev[/member] Surely you'd want the MF26cc if you plan to use it as a tool and not a toy.

The HK85 looks like a great tool, but the grooving attachment looks super fussy to use, and a waste of time if you plan on using it more than once a year.