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Thread: The Quest Toward a Square Cut on a Kapex

  1. #31
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    Thank you!
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  2. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Holcombe View Post
    I wouldn’t be disappointed by a Patek Philippe Grand Complications either. 
    This thread in conjunction with the mortiser thread makes me think you could start a machine modification business. Sort of a Ruf Automobile for Euro tools.



    I can think of one time every 5-7 years or so a PP GC would disappoint... service time. My pedestrian by comparison 5980 came back after 7 months with a 1.5 Kapex bill. I think a GC is in the 5 Kapex range.
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

  3. #33
    Brian, are these miters you cut 45's
    If so look at picture framers saws - My saw is fixed at 45 degrees, 2 motors, 2 blades, all steel, no aluminium, doesn't need adjustment. I step on a pedal and both blades come down. The fence is towards the operator and the outside of the teeth just pass the fence so the teeth are cutting down against the table - no flying pieces. A standard chop saw is meant for carpenters - in fact when the blade first touches a 2x4 the teeth are cutting up - it's a compromise to increase capacity.

  4. #34
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    Brian-

    Any chance you could snap a pic of where / how you placed the washers? I don’t think I follow what you did.

    Thanks

  5. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jebediah Eckert View Post
    Brian-

    Any chance you could snap a pic of where / how you placed the washers? I don’t think I follow what you did.

    Thanks
    +1. Which screws needed the washers? Are they shown in your posted picture?

  6. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Barry View Post
    +1. Which screws needed the washers? Are they shown in your posted picture?
    +2. Was about to ask the same thing

  7. #37
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    Coming into this thread late, but if anyone needs to source metric fasteners, like the 5.5mm Brian did, go to a high end bicycle shop. 5.5mm screws, while not common, are also not uncommon on european bicycle frames. American spec'd frames made in Asia, with primarily Shimano Gruppo's, will have 4,4.5, and 6mm fasteners. The European made frames and Campagnolo Gruppo's are different standards.
    One other option is to get rid of the 5.5mm, fill the hole, and tap it out to 6mm or even 8mm.

    PS
    Just be glad this isn't the 50's. There were three metric standards back then. Italian, French and British and three different pitches of 5.5mm fasteners to chose from.
    Last edited by Mike Cutler; 09-27-2018 at 7:49 AM.
    "The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)

  8. #38
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    These are for the bolts that hold down the plate with angle markings on it, the machine used that plate’s detents to set it square.

    Replacing with 6mm would be ok, but larger than that won’t work, the assembly that passes over the plate doesn’t offer enough clearance.

    I have a bike shop in town, so I’ll check them out for a sexier bolt. Ideal to me is typically a washer faced bolt with sized washer under it.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  9. #39
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    Something about your statement below doesn't make sense. You mention a linear dimensional error (.001") and yet you are talking about an angular error. Which is it? How are you doing your measurements? Over what distance is that error? How did you make the measurement? Is it repeatable? Are you saying you can use a miter saw to trim off a piece of wood and then expect it to be the same thickness within 0.001" every time?

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Holcombe View Post
    The factory fence is pretty accurate as I found it, but I wanted to be able to square this to .001"~ and even the most minor detail can cause issues at that degree.

  10. #40
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    My aim is for the saw to cut squarely.

    The mark ~ means approximately, so the intention of the statement is to suggest I'm aiming for the smallest possible error within the setting of my miter saw, not that I will set it to .001" without demonstrable error. Goals and results are two different things.

    In this case it easiest to check squareness with a known square item (certified precision square) over a practical distance. The error in that distance should be minimized. The distance used was the length of the cut capacity of the saw. The error was checked in the dynamic rather than static as it matters only that the saw can make a square cut.

    The saw is not actually sturdy enough to cut without some error and I believe the error is greater than .001" but I did not check it since the error was equal over the distance of the cut (it creates a very slightly curved shape over the length of the cut).
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  11. #41
    Brian, I don't have a Kapex, but appreciate this post, nonetheless, as it has got me thinking about solutions for the slop in my cheapo miter saw. It hadn't occurred to me that the miter gauge detents, and therefore, the miter gauge connection to the saw body, is what defines the squareness (assuming a flat fence). Thanks!

  12. #42
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    Thank you, Dan! Glad you are finding this to be thought provoking.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  13. #43
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    i had a used kapex for a few months and sold it for a profit afterwards. Didnt care much for the handle, and Brian is right, squaring it up and maintaining that setting is a fool's errand. Granted, i was using mine to cut .75-1.5" thick hardwood. Secondly, adjusting the parallelism of the lasers was like putting a man on the moon. I eventually gave up on that endeavor and went back to lining cuts up to the blade. In order to do that, you need to "modify" the guard. I remember it locking into place until you turned the saw on. The bevel adjustment was very nice, and i can see if you cut MDF trim on site all day why you might like this saw. In a home shop setting, i dont think it has much of a place. Almost to the day, a year ago i sold the kapex and a tricked out jessem router table that paid for almost half of my Felder KF700. The jessem router table was really nice, but its still just a 12-15amp router motor with an MDF surface and some aluminum bits thrown in for good measure. That is kinda how i view the kapex, a clever tool that went way too far down the road of diminishing returns. Actually, thinking back on it more, i sold my MFT-3 on top of the others, and that paid for more than half the Felder. If you were buying new, which i wasnt, by the time you bought the $1475 kapex, $1500 jessem package, and the $700 MFT-3, you are very well within striking distance of a used euro machine that will do all of those tasks to a higher degree of precision and with more efficiency and dependability. Identical argument to the previously mentioned OMGA.

  14. #44
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    I agree completely, it works for the moment. I need a larger space before I can consider much more machinery,
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  15. #45
    Thanks for the great tip.

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