Festool Kapex KS 120 Manuel utilisateur

Festool Kapex

The Festool Kapex KS120, sliding compound miter saw.

Review by Brice Burrell

Festool Kapex

The Festool Kapex KS120 sliding compound miter saw, with its dust collection capabilities, light weight,

compact size and accurate cuts, will set a new standard for miter saws. Any one of these features would be a

welcome addition on any new miter saw, all of them, well, now you have a saw that is head and shoulders

above the competition.

As a residential remodeler my work takes me inside occupied homes almost everyday, the job site needs to be

safe, well organized, and most of all, clean. This is where the Kapex's dust collection comes in, there is no

other saw that compares to the Kapex is this regard. Collecting dust isn't just for inside work. With more and

more synthetic materials, like Azek and Trex, being used it’s a good idea to collect the dust at the saw rather

than leave it in a pile on the lawn.

I've struggled to get my old 12" slider up small stairwells and through narrow doorways. The Kapex is

smaller and lighter; now, I don't bang door frames and railings nearly as much when moving the Kapex to job

site. The smaller size is partly because it's a 10" slider, but, I don't have to sacrifice cutting capacity. Its

cutting capacity is virtually identical to my old 12" saw.

If you have ever done remodeling work in older homes you know nothing is square, level or plumb. With every

miter needing some tweaking to get a perfect fit, trimming out an older home can sometimes be a real

challenge. A miter saw that can produce accurate, repeatable cuts is a must, the Kapex does this.

Festool has come up with some unique features on the Kapex, for example, the micro bevel adjustment. No

other saw on the market has anything like it. Festool has long a standing tradition of leading the power

tool industry with innovation and the Kapex is no exception.

I hope you find the information in this review helpful and the reading enjoyable.

-Brice Burrell, Renovation Contractor, Pittsburgh, PA

Packaging

Festool Kapex

My Kapex was shipped from the Festool warehouse on a pallet along with the MFT/Kapex and

accessories via a freight carrier company. All three boxes were well packaged. The Kapex was

delivered in two boxes, the outer box a plain cardboard and the inner box pictured below.

One of the opening ends is taped shut and the other is not taped, nylon straps wrap the box and hold

both ends closed.

Once the straps are cut, the un-taped end opens,

inside the saw is held in place with Styrofoam.

There is a cutout in the foam to form a handle to

pull the saw out of the box easily. If you have ever

fought with getting large tools out of the package,

you'll appreciate the extra effort Festool has taken

to make this so easy.

The saw's handle is zip tied down with a piece of

foam in between it and the saw's base to hold it

tight. An Allen key is stuck in the foam so

remember to retrieve it before discarding (or

keep the packaging in case your saw ever needs to

be shipped back to Festool for service).

Festool Kapex

The saw also has a plastic sleeve on the one of the rails to prevent the saw’s head from being able to

moving during shipping.

The MFT/Kapex was packaged in a cardboard box with Styrofoam also. I give Festool high marks for

the packaging; you can expect your saw will arrive with no shipping damage.

Set up

The MFT/Kapex is the first thing to set up; I set the MFT on its edge to loosen the knobs for the legs.

Unfold the legs, they will sort of snap into the open position.

Stand the MFT upright, if the floor is uneven the front right foot can be adjusted to take the wobble

out.

The saw goes on the table next, there are four round

rubber feet; these feet are spaced to fit into the holes in

the MFT’s top.

Release the saw’s carriage pulling the locking pin outward,

releasing the saw from its downward position. Now, loosen

the locking knob to allow the carriage to slide on the rails.

Festool Kapex

To set the saw to 90 degrees, lift up on the

miter lock handle, press down the detent

override and rotate the saw to 90 degrees.

Pressing the miter lock handle down will

lock in the miter setting.

The Kapex also has two recesses for bolts

to mount the saw to the MFT or any other

table/saw stand. Festool offers the

“clamping kit” part # 494 693, (sold as an

accessory) kit includes two bolts and two

locking knobs. Drop the bolts down

through the recess and screw on the knob

from under the MFT.

Festool clamps can also be used in addition to or in place of the clamping kit. Place the clamp in from

below the MFT, there is a space for the clamp on the saw’s base, tighten the clamp.

Festool Kapex

The crown stops with base extensions part # 494 369 (sold as accessories) can be mounted to the “V”

grooves in the Kapex’s base to cut crown molding “in position” or “nested”. Attach the vacuum hose to

the dust port on the saw. Unwrap cord and plug it into the CT’s outlet, turn the power switch to the

“auto” setting. The saw is ready to cut.

Out of the box

With the Kapex unpacked I wanted to check the

quality of the saw right out of the box. I wanted

to check to see in the Kapex had any of the

common quality control issues that other brand

saws seem to have. After a basic function test, I

began my “out of the box test.” I wanted to check

the fence for square and to see if the saw’s bed

was completely coplanar (all on the same plane),

the lasers and how accurately the saw would cut.

I used my 7" Incra guaranteed square, with

bright sunlight backlighting the square to check

the fence for square. As you can see in this photo there is a small amount of light visible. After

checking both fences all along entire range of travel this gap was relatively consistent. The picture

makes it look like there is much more of a gap then there really is. Without the strong backlighting

the gap is undetectable. I’m satisfied that this saw’s fences are at a right angle to the saw bed.

It’s important for the saw’s bed to be perfectly coplanar for accurate cuts. I checked the saw bed by

placing a 2' Stabila level to act as a straight edge. No obvious gaps, so I tried to slip a piece of paper

under the level, it would only slide under the rounded edge of the level. I continued checking with the

Festool Kapex

saw mitered to 20, 30, 45 degrees in both directions, 60 degrees on the right side and 50 on the left.

All surfaces were coplanar.

Now for the real test, how does it

cut? First up, 90 degrees cut in a

piece of 4/4" pine. The cut was a

perfect 90 degrees. Forty-five

degrees miter and bevel cuts were

also spot on. Compound cuts will be

discussed later in this review.

The lasers didn’t check out. Both

were off by 1/32". Since other

Kapex owners abroad have

commented that their saw’s lasers

were perfectly set at the factory I

was a little surprised by this. This

isn’t a big deal, a few minutes of adjustment and the alignment was corrected.

The last thing I wanted to check was the machining on the fence extensions. I removed the fences to

have a look at the quality of the machining, it was fine, but there was a burr left from the process. These

burrs was very thin and extended part of the length of the both fence. I was able to easily remove it with

my fingernail. The burrs themselves didn’t interfere with the operation of the fences. However, if the

burr was to break loose of the fence and lodge into the slot, perhaps then, the fence could bind. I believe

the real culprit may have been damaged fences from their being mishandled while off of the saw. Since

the fences are a relatively soft alloy they could be damaged if dropped on a hard surface. I’d suggest

storing them in a safe place while off of the saw. I don’t know if this is going to be an issue in the future,

I’ll just keep an eye on them just to make sure a problem doesn’t develop.

Festool Kapex

Some of the items we’ll be looking at in this review.

Kapex

MFT/Kapex Accessories Dust Extractors

I’ll be giving you a close look at the Kapex, all of its related accessories and since dust extractors

are an important part of the Kapex dust collection, I’ll be including them also.

Festool Kapex

MFT/Kapex

It may seem out of order, but I want

to start with the MFT/Kapex since

you’ll see it in almost ever picture.

It’s used as the stand for the saw; it

can also be used as a work platform

for smaller projects or for a stand

for other tools. It’s light weight so it

can be easily carried to or around

the job site. The MFT/Kapex can do

pretty much everything its big

brother, the MFT/3, can but only on

a smaller scale. Use it for clamping,

cutting, routing and so on.

The MFT/Kapex has an MDF top, 525 mm x 815 mm with 20 mm holes spaced on 96 mm centers;

two extra rows of holes are to mount the Kapex. The total height of the MFT is 790 mm tall. The

height allows the Kapex’s bed to be the same height of the MFT/3

(900 mm). It has the same V-groove profile as the MFT/3. The

profiles have slots for Festool clamps allowing work pieces to be

clamped to the side of the MFT. The guide rail hardware from the

MFT/3 can be attached to the MFT/Kapex. Soft, non-marking,

rubber feet on the MFT keep it from sliding around on the floor, the

front foot can be adjusted to level the MFT on an uneven floor.

MFT/Kapex is sold as an accessory (not included with the saw).

Festool Kapex

The Kapex KS120

I’ll be separating “the Kapex” section into a number of sub-sections to better organize the

information in this review. I will go over the saw’s capacities/specifications first.

The Kapex: By the numbers

Standard

Package

Includes:

60 tooth Universal Saw Blade , Angle Transfer

Device, Hold Down Clamp, Allen Wrench

Power

Consumption

1600 Watts (13 Amps)

RPM

1400-3400 RPM

Autres manuels pour Kapex KS 120

Table des matières

Autres manuels Festool Scie

Festool

Festool KS 120 KB Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool AT 65 E Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool TS 75 EBQ Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool KSC 60 EB Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool TS 75 EBQ Instructions d'installation

Festool

Festool TS 75 EBQ Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool TS 55 REQ Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool IS 330 EB Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool TSC 55 KEB Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool HK 55 EBQ Instructions d'installation

Festool

Festool KAPEX KSC 60 EB Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool TS 75 EQ Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool HKC 55 EB Instructions d'installation

Festool

Festool ATF 55E Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool SYM 70 E Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool ISC 240 Li Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool TS 55 REBQ Instructions d'installation

Festool

Festool PRECISIO Series Instructions d'installation

Festool

Festool KA-KS 120 Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool Kapex KS 120 Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool TS 55 FEBQ Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool TS 75 EBQ Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool KAPEX KS 120 EB Manuel utilisateur

Festool

Festool HK 132 E Instructions d'installation

Manuels Scie populaires d'autres marques

RIDGID

RIDGID BS1400 Manuel utilisateur

ATIKA

ATIKA BWS 400-2 Manuel utilisateur

RGC

RGC FS20 Manuel utilisateur

Makita

Makita M2300 Manuel utilisateur

IMET Spa

IMET Spa BASIC 300 PLUS SHI Manuel utilisateur

IMET Spa

IMET Spa SIRIO 370 AF-E Manuel utilisateur

Optimum

Optimum OPTisaw CS 275 Manuel utilisateur

Makita

Makita BPB180 Manuel utilisateur

Stihl

Stihl MS 462 C-M Manuel utilisateur

AEG

AEG TS 250 K Manuel utilisateur

Meec tools

Meec tools 004665 Manuel utilisateur

Makita

Makita LS1018L Manuel utilisateur

Ryobi

Ryobi RCS1400 Manuel utilisateur

DeWalt

DeWalt DCS391 Manuel utilisateur

Sealey

Sealey SA72 Manuel utilisateur

skilsaw

skilsaw SPT88 Instructions de montage

Urrea

Urrea SI810 Dimensions et guide d'installation

EINHELL

EINHELL BKG 210/1 Manuel utilisateur