Stand for Festool Kapex Miter

[SMLWinds]

I just bought a Festool Kapex miter saw. I'll preface this by saying that the quality of my tools is far greater than my knowledge of woodworking, but I am learning rapidly! I am going to use the saw in my woodshop but also need it to be mobile to be used various places. I was wondering what my stand options are. I know Festool makes a stand for it. Is this the only classic "sawhorse" type stand that I can mount it on or does it attach to any other company's stand?

I haven't gotten my shop set up yet, but I assume I will probably put it on a bench/table. What do all the Kapex owners use for the stand(s) for their saw? What are the options? Any help and suggestions are appreciated!

 

[MahalaHomecraft]

Several companies make miter saw stands that will work with any saw.  Dewalt and ridgid both make nice, relatively affordable stands.  The ridgid is good if you have a truck or trailer, because it folds into a hand truck with the saw still on it.  The Dewalt is better for transporting In a smaller vehicle.  It comes with brackets which you mount permanently to the saw, and then the saw clicks right off the stand, the stand folds up, and there ya go.  Everyone makes then but these are two with which I've had positive experiences.

 

[JerrySats]

I bought the ridgid mitersaw stand Im pretty happy with it . I did a little review of it here , just check out my posts . 

 

[peter halle]

Here is the link that Jerry mentioned:  http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-jigs-tool-enhancements/new-kapex-and-ridgid-ms-uv-stand/

Peter

 

[lumbajac]

Hello & welcome to the FOG SMLWinds.

I'd check out Ron Paulk's Ultimate Miter Stand found in this thread here: http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-jigs-tool-enhancements/the-ultimate-miter-stand/ ... take a look at his video link in the first post.

I built one and love it for in my shop and it's portable.  Also, building one for yourself like this would give you a good opportunity at practicing reading plans and your woodworking.  You don't necessarily have to make the 20mm holes if you don't have the LR32 or router and you don't necessarily have to make the extensions for cutting baseboard, etc yet... I started but still haven't gotten those finished myself yet after a year or so of having the main stand completed.

 

[Kev]

I have Festool's UG stand and extensions and for me it's absolutely idea. I only move it from the garage to just outside, but the ease and speed of setup is fantastic. It's also extremely compact and light.

 

[SMLWinds]

Guys-Those were great and very infomative responses! Thanks a lot! I do like the "ultimate" stand but I'm afraid with my minimal experience I may be working on that for a long time to get it right. I am running into this issue with a router table as well....I see tables I would like to build for equipment but don't have my shop set up to build the table!

I do like the Rigid stand....looks pretty nice and although I am a Festool caliber consumer most of the time, I do have a few Rigid products I'm happy with.

If I were to go with the Rigid stand, that would give me the actual "stand" but I would still need a fence, correct? I finally found the FastCaps site and I think the fence you guys are talking about is this, right?

https://www.fastcap.com/estore/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=44675&idcategory=0

Allow my to show my ignorance by asking what is means when it asks if you have a right or left "saw stop side." I'm confused by that question.

In the end it looks like I could buy the stand for under $200 and the fence system for $399 from FastCaps giving me an investment of about $600, which is over $200 less than the Festool equivalent stand (the UG mobile miter station with cart and extensions). To be honest, as much as I love Festool, the Rigid stand with FastCaps fence system looks a bit sturdier and nicer to me.

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Smlwinds, have you considered this?

https://www.fastcap.com/estore/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=47007&version=2075

 

[TomGadwa1]

If you have the room there are alternatives to the FESTOOL UG and EXTENSIONS. But if you have a small shop as I do then the UG has NO PEER! When the KAPEX is on only the UG the footprint of the saw is minimal. Put some castors on it as I have done and it is extremely mobile as well. Many times you just do not need all the footprint of a larger stand getting in the way of usable workspace! I would LOVE to have enough room for say the Ron Paulk setup but unless fate deals me a winning LOTTO ticket or I find some investor to increase my shop size I will live quite comfortably with my ALL FESTOOL setup! Well excepting the custom cantilevered castor plate and shelf for my MIDI which is conveniently placed underneath my KAPEX thus saving precious space in my ever humble shop!

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Tom,
If your shop is that small, then you could build something like this for a fraction of the cost of the UG and keep your CT 26 underneath.

 

[Birdhunter]

I have a limited and chopped up area for my woodworking shop. All of my power tools, including the BIG ones, are mobile.

I struggled with the cost of the Kapex vs getting rid of a perfectly good miter saw. Once I got over the hurdle of buying the Kapex, I had to decide on a table.

I ended up with the UG table for the Kapex. It is a compact and surprisingly rigid support for the Kapex. Also, the small Festool vac that I dedicated to the Kapex fits snugly under the UG.

Like most Festool products, the Kapex is part of a well engineered system. The Kapex, the UG stand, and the Festool vac are extremely well integrated.

 

[JerrySats]

Guys-Those were great and very infomative responses! Thanks a lot! I do like the "ultimate" stand but I'm afraid with my minimal experience I may be working on that for a long time to get it right. I am running into this issue with a router table as well....I see tables I would like to build for equipment but don't have my shop set up to build the table!

I do like the Rigid stand....looks pretty nice and although I am a Festool caliber consumer most of the time, I do have a few Rigid products I'm happy with.

If I were to go with the Rigid stand, that would give me the actual "stand" but I would still need a fence, correct? I finally found the FastCaps site and I think the fence you guys are talking about is this, right?

https://www.fastcap.com/estore/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=44675&idcategory=0

Allow my to show my ignorance by asking what is means when it asks if you have a right or left "saw stop side." I'm confused by that question.

In the end it looks like I could buy the stand for under $200 and the fence system for $399 from FastCaps giving me an investment of about $600, which is over $200 less than the Festool equivalent stand (the UG mobile miter station with cart and extensions). To be honest, as much as I love Festool, the Rigid stand with FastCaps fence system looks a bit sturdier and nicer to me.

Thanks again for all the help!

Yes thats the fence system I use , I'm very happy with it .  It has stops on both sides if you so choose to use them . 

Set up in the shop just to see how it was . I used the extensions on the miter stand to support the fence .

 

[SMLWinds]

NYC-the link you sent has several different set ups, with the Kapex fence for $399 at the bottom. Are you referring to me considering one of their all in one packages with stand and fence? Are the differences in price between those options mainly due to how many 64" fences are included?

Jerry-Thanks again! So, let me make sure I understand. Your Rigid stand has extensions that provide decent support to the fence on each side so that you generally dont' have to use the tripods that come with the FastCaps Kapex set up?

How hard is it to remove and replace the fence? As far as space goes, it looks like the Rigid stand folds up nicely and easily. If I have to save space, I feel like I could just remove the two 64" fences and fold up the saw very compact quickly.

The truth is that I have a rather large space for my shop so space isn't an issue for me. However, I will ultimately share this space with other hobbies (mainly my antique tractor restoration hobby) so I don't want to waste space. However, I have several thousand square feet of garage space available to divide up how I see fit.

One other thing to keep in mind is that while I do like having my Kapex mobile, 98% of the time it will be sitting in the shop. If I wanted to place it on a bench, I could very easily store the Rigid stand and still use the 2 64" Best fences from FastCaps, right? I just want to make sure the fences are usable when I put it on a bench in my shop as well.

I think I see what the "left and right stops" are....they attach to the fences on either the right or left side. It looks like the Kapex set only comes with one stop, so I am assuming I can just buy another one, correct?

Thanks again for all the help--sorry for the rookie questions but it sure is great to have some assistance trying to understand things.

 

[SMLWinds]

Ok....this question probably has an obvious answer but I don't know it so I must ask...

When I look at the Rigid stand itself, it has the arms on the outside that can be used as stops and for supporting the material you are cutting on the right and left.

The Best Fence from FastCaps is $400. Aside from being a ruler, what does that fence add to the set up? It seems to me that I could just use the Rigid stand and appropriately support my work. The fence does allow me to measure while cutting, but aside from that, is there another reason I should spend $400 on the Best Fence?

Certainly the measurement is a nice convenience, but I have to believe most people would probably use a tape measure and pencil instead of paying $400 for the fence. What other advantages are there to having a fence?

Thanks again!

 

[JerrySats]

Yes the stand has stops , the only thing is the arms only go out I think 38" . So if you do longer work then you wont be able to use them .  Most of the time I use the built in extensions . You could use the best fence setup in a stationary system , but would have to make something up for them . Truth is sometimes the fence fights me to get it into the brackets on the kapex . I think Fastcap could have made better brackets out of aluminum not plastic or whatever it is .  Get the miter stand stand and see how you like just using that . I think you'll do fine with just the stand , as for storage it folds up and you can store it standing up like a hand truck , either with or without the saw on it .  You will need to drill holes in the kapex base to mount it on the ridgid mounts . That was the only thing I needed to do .

 

[SMLWinds]

Thanks again, Jerry! The more I researched this, the more I seemed to think that the fence was a nice, $400 tape measure. For my purposes, I am not certain it is worth the money. What I will probably do is get a mobile stand (like the Rigid) and then for the more permanent setup in my shop, I will find something else and just put it on a bench.

What do folks do for a stationary set up for the Kapex in their woodshops?

I must say that the thought of drilling holes in my Kapex sends chills up me!  [eek] Perhaps I can drill the Rigid stand instead? If not, I guess it will be all right, just don't like the idea of taking a drill to my new Kapex!

 

[SMLWinds]

Am I going to have to drill holes in my Kapex if I get any stand other than Festool? Or, are there certain non-Festool ones that it will fit on without drilling?

 

[duburban]

Thanks again, Jerry! The more I researched this, the more I seemed to think that the fence was a nice, $400 tape measure. For my purposes, I am not certain it is worth the money. What I will probably do is get a mobile stand (like the Rigid) and then for the more permanent setup in my shop, I will find something else and just put it on a bench.

What do folks do for a stationary set up for the Kapex in their woodshops?

I must say that the thought of drilling holes in my Kapex sends chills up me!  [eek] Perhaps I can drill the Rigid stand instead? If not, I guess it will be all right, just don't like the idea of taking a drill to my new Kapex!

if you want repeatable accurate cuts then you need something like the best fence system. sure you can use a tape measure and pencil for every cut but what a waste of time for repeat cuts. research why people use stops on a miter saw fence and get a handle on why a prefab system makes sense for those that don't want to make their own. fastcap has sold some pure cheap garbage products so i can't fully recommend them. anyone buy the laser mount for the dust poles? rip off even at a blowout price of $5... the mounts for their dust hood... flimsy plastic, had to make my own. but, full material support and the ability to make repeat cuts with stops is a must for me, and why buy a kapex if you don't intend to set yourself up for accuracy?

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

SML,
Even though. I don't plan on going mobile, I may be moving towards getting the Best Fence Pro 2 system....that is the link that I was trying to send you.  The thing that I like about it is the ability to fine tune the level and its ability to condense down to a smaller profile. I have a job this summer in Connecticut, so this would allow me to wheel it down my stairs and out to a rental van.

 

[TomGadwa1]

True enough but how would satisfy my FESTOOL addiction!! Also the wheels on the UG stand with my castor plate move about my shop with very little effort. When I do need to cut longer pieces on my setup it takes under a minute to place both wings onto the UG setup. Most of the time the extension wings are tucked away and thus the small footprint of my KAPEX MIDI setup is enjoyed!
[attachimg=#1]
It can't get much smaller than that!