Tool Snob Carvex Review

[briandey]

Does anyone here read the Tool Snob blog?  There was a review of the Carvex posted there earlier this week, and they wrote that they couldn't recommend it due to the lack of a standard type of beveling base plate.  They said that overall the device was great, but lacking a standard beveling base plate made the saw a no-go for him and his work.  The guy who did the review is more of a construction/remodeling type guy, and said that he uses a jigsaw to back cut baseboard trim and other pieces to a scribed line so as to fit better, and how the Carvex, with its center hinged base plate, does not allow back cuts near an edge.  With the center hinged angle foot set up to make a back cut, the support wing would be off in thin air and the other wing over the material would be angled upward, providing no support. 

I totally see his point and do possibly see in my work how this could become an issue.  I had a similar experience with wanting to cut obtuse angles on some trim with my TS 55.  I had to flip the board over and cut blind to get the saw to create the proper angle and still have the base plate of the ride on the material while the blade was tilted under itself.  It was cumbersome, but happened to work since I was cutting in a perfectly straight line using a guide rail.  If I had to cut to a scribed line, I would have been in trouble.  In fact, although it worked for a few pieces, I had too much to do and decided to purchase a small portable table saw for just these sorts of instances.  Can someone think of a workaround for this with the new Carvex so that the support wing wouldn't be out in empty space without support that a standard type of jigsaw base plate would provide?  Does anyone think Festool will develop a more standard base plate for this, or just say use the Trion and you are SOL with the Carvex?

Brian

 

[MrToolJunkie]

Yeah -- this has been discussed in a couple of threads -- the picture on his review actually makes it very clear as I initially did not understand.  I have been thinking about this and the only thing I can think of is to build a bigger base and screw it into the wings through the predrilled holes -- in essence making a larger flat base.  It would be tedious to swap this on and off if you did this type of cut a lot, but I am not sure how else you would do it.  Other than cutting from underneath, but that is not always possible. 

The other thing that I find interesting with the bases is that the guide rail base cannot be adjusted to fit the guide rail snugly.  This seems like a bit of an oversight if you want to use the Carvex for guided cuts on the rail.  I checked one out at my dealer and there is a lot of wiggle room.  Maybe this is not an issue with a jigsaw cat and granted there are other ways to make this type of cut, but still is a limiting factor in my eyes.

Other than these two things, the jigsaw did cut amazing -- it is light, plenty powerful and the circle cutter is the best I have ever seen on a saw.  The other bases add some flexibility to the machine for different tasks too. 

Scot

 

[tjbnwi]

Most scribes are done along the edge of a board/cabinet/filler. Set the base to a 5º acute angle angle instead of the obtuse angle they used, 1/2 of the base will be on the piece being scribed with about 1/2" clearance between the blade edge and the edge of the wing on the base. I don't own a Carxev nor have I used the 420 model, but I can see the solution clear as day in the photos on the Tool Snob website.

Tom

 

[festnoob]

The base plate appears that following a scribe line will cause contact with the side of the work piece

 

[tjbnwi]

Someone would have to check but it appears as if you have 1/2" clearance between the blade and the inboard edge of the wing. The scribe in the photos would have cleared that wing.

Tom

 

[Vindingo]

I am curious if one issue stems from the fact that people in the states rarely use jigsaws upside down?  He mentions it is possible, but seems to over exaggerate a bit on how "extremely" difficult it is.

"But, we discovered, it is possible to make this cut...but it's tricky. If you cut from the underside of the board, you can do it. It's a very awkward proposition and there's still no guaranteed success. Because of the funky bevel footplate, it's extremely difficult to hold the saw and keep the functional half of the footplate flat against the board. Remember, you're holding the saw under the board, beveled away from you while trying to keep the blade accurate on your line. No problems, right?"

I haven't handled this saw, but I have used others upside down, didn't think it was crazy hard.  

One line I don't buy is:  " Plus, the coping foot doesn't provide a flat surface for the tool to ride against, so there's not going to be any accuracy in the bevel angle."  

Why would you need accuracy on the back bevel angle?  

Hasn't this saw been out in Europe for a while?  I wonder if Festool will come out with a new base.

I am curious to try this saw now.  

 

[festnoob]

I am curious if one issue stems from the fact that people in the states rarely use jigsaws upside down?  He mentions it is possible, but seems to over exaggerate a bit on how "extremely" difficult it is.

"But, we discovered, it is possible to make this cut...but it's tricky. If you cut from the underside of the board, you can do it. It's a very awkward proposition and there's still no guaranteed success. Because of the funky bevel footplate, it's extremely difficult to hold the saw and keep the functional half of the footplate flat against the board. Remember, you're holding the saw under the board, beveled away from you while trying to keep the blade accurate on your line. No problems, right?"

I haven't handled this saw, but I have used others upside down, didn't think it was crazy hard.  

One line I don't buy is:  " Plus, the coping foot doesn't provide a flat surface for the tool to ride against, so there's not going to be any accuracy in the bevel angle."  

Why would you need accuracy on the back bevel angle?  

Hasn't this saw been out in Europe for a while?  I wonder if Festool will come out with a new base.

I am curious to try this saw now.  

The problem with making the back cut is that in an already assembled cabinet the carcass is in the way if scribing a face frame and the back of the cabinet is in the way of scribing a back bevel on the side. The review is on point and I saw it for myself when I went to pick up a preordered Carvex and accessory kit. I opted to repurchase the Trion and couldn't be happier.

 

[tjbnwi]

I am curious to try this saw now.  

I might have to buy a Carvex and the base kit just to see if what I think will work will work.

Anyone want to send me a Carvex and base kit to try/play with ???. I promise I won't keep it . I'll send it to Vindingo to try ;D

Tom

 

[Vindingo]

The problem with making the back cut is that in an already assembled cabinet the carcass is in the way if scribing a face frame and the back of the cabinet is in the way of scribing a back bevel on the side. The review is on point and I saw it for myself when I went to pick up a preordered Carvex and accessory kit. I opted to repurchase the Trion and couldn't be happier.

I can see your point on a pre-installed faceframe, but he is ranting about baseboard.  It can be back beveled before install.  Also, his claim to need accuracy on the back bevel angle seems silly, nonsense even.  

To completely write off a jig saw as "nearly unusable as a jigsaw" in a review because it doesn't conform to his work flow seems harsh.

Disclaimer:  I had a Trion, didn't care for the sight lines and gave it to a friend.  I bought a $80 Bosch 4 years ago and have used it prob 3 times in that span.  I won't be buying a Carvex.  

Watch, now mine is going to break and I'll need a new jig saw  [tongue]    

I am curious to try this saw now.  

I might have to buy a Carvex and the base kit just to see if what I think will work will work.

Anyone want to send me a Carvex and base kit to try/play with ???. I promise I won't keep it . I'll send it to Vindingo to try ;D

Tom

[thanks]      

 

[tallgrass]

My beef with the carvex is not being able to cut an angle while using the circle cutter. I was planning on cutting arks with a bevel. I gues I am alone in this. O, well I will figure out how to cut my arch with a bevel some other way.
Otherwise I like the saw so far.

 

[tjbnwi]

Make a tapered shim/spacer, two sided tape it to the saw plate.

Tom

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Make a tapered shim/spacer, two sided tape it to the saw plate.

That won't work with the circle cutter because of the way the trammel connects to the base.

 

[elfick]

Along the lines of what tjbnwi said, with regard to the original complaint about back-bevels, you could use the standard base with the stickfix insert and create your own beveled sub-base at whichever angle you prefer and attach it with velcro whenever you need it.

 

[tjbnwi]

Again I don't own one, don't think I've ever seen the 420.

After watching 2 videos of the circle cutter in action, I see no reason a shim won't work. The tape does not have a lot of curve in it so it will flex. Bet you a 420 that I could make it work, and work well. In one of the videos they were doing a slight bevel cut in a panel. I don't get the issues with a beveled scribe, from the video it look like it worked just fine.

I don't use a jigsaw often, but with all the crap about these issues, I'm getting closer to ordering one just to see what all the BS is about.

Tom

 

[Frank Pellow]

My beef with the carvex is not being able to cut an angle while using the circle cutter. I was planning on cutting arks with a bevel. I gues I am alone in this. O, well I will figure out how to cut my arch with a bevel some other way.
Otherwise I like the saw so far.

There is a way to do this with the Carvex if you are willing to cut the circle twice.  I show the technique in reply #57 in the thread: http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tool-reviews/festool-carvex-420-(both-mains-and-battery-powered)-comparisons/msg274981/?topicseen#msg274981

 

[barnowl]

While I'm a die hard Festool fan, I read that the Metabo is a great jig saw as well.

And the standard base pivots, like the Bosch.

Anybody have any experience with the Metabo?

 

[woodie]

I don't use a jigsaw often, but with all the crap about these issues, I'm getting closer to ordering one just to see what all the BS is about.

Tom

I wouldn't call other peoples concerns "crap". I think there are some valid points.

As it stands, there is no way to do a back bevel along an inset scribe line from the top side of the work piece. You can do it from the bottom, if you have access. However the angle base is narrow enough that it makes this more difficult to do. It's hard enough keeping a large flat base pulled up tight against the bottom of a work piece.

Not being able to attach the circle cutter to the angle base seems like an oversight too. We go on and on about the "System" approach with Festool but where's that here? Maybe you could attach an angled shim to the base of the rail adapter and then bend the circle cutter up to achieve the desired result, maybe not. Sounds like a hassle to me.

 

[Paul G]

At this point I hope Festool comes out with a regular style angle base that can connect to the circle cutter, is self balancing and reversible like the Mafell would be great and dust collection would be in keeping with the Festool system in general. The new style has its advantages but as noted earlier it falls short in other ways that people are already putting jigsaws to use. At times with tools I feel like I'm playing a fantasy draft, hoping for a collection of features that will seemingly never exist in one team.

 

[fidelfs]

I don't think it will happen.  Carvex has been on EU and other parts long before than USA.  It didn't happen there.

Maybe Carvex 440.

 

[morts10n]

The only time I use a jigsaw to cut a scribe line is if the workpiece is going up against brick. I've never felt the need to angle the base of a jigsaw, and mostly cut from underneath, sometimes holding it at an angle, if possible  (I do own a Collins coping foot).   I back bevel scribe lines with a circular saw and finish up with the RAS 115.  On long pcs. like baseboard, I think jigsaw is too slow, so I freehand the back bevel on a table saw and finish with RAS.