2019 Kapex

[Greg Parrish]

Anyone have experience? I’m planning to get another miter saw now that I’ve reorganized my layout and have made a space. Was planning to get another Makita LS1019L but saw there is a new kapex out. Wondering how it compares and if worth the price difference? Thanks for any first hand experiences.

[Joe Hendershott]

Good bit of Festool hate here Google FOG and get more replies.

[Matt Day]

Good bit of Festool hate here Google FOG and get more replies.

Not sure where you got that from. Lots of folks love their Festools here, including me, especially sanders and Dominoes. There hasn’t been a lot of love for the Kapex though, given its cost and performance. .

[Greg Parrish]

thanks

honestly I didn’t go to FOG because this is my preferred forum.

Realize the older model had issues. I’m looking for info on the new kapex. Good or bad.

[Jim Becker]

I am in the user group and haven't seen a whole lot of negative on the new version so far, but I don't always look at threads for Kapex.

[Bryan Lisowski]

Greg, not much has changed, supposedly with all the past failures (which festool was slow to admit to) they have upgraded the motor and other internals. I think time will tell if the issues were fully resolved. I know a lot of people said the saw is under powered for cutting hardwoods. I never felt that was the case, but I have only used others. It is still light and compact in terms of how it slides. If I was going to put a miter saw back in the shop and was buying new, I would choose the largest capacity of a non slider.

[Greg Parrish]

Thanks Guys. I was looking at the kapex and makita due to dust collection but suppose I could try to build a hood instead to connect to the dust collector. If I went non slider and built a hood then most any 12” model would prob be fine. Thanks for the info.

[Brian Holcombe]

Buy an Omga.

[Greg Parrish]

Buy an Omga.

Brian, I’ve seen yours and it would be great but is cost prohibitive for my shop. Honestly the kapex is too expensive but I’m putting priority on dust collection and accuracy. The makita and kapex seem to have the best dust collection without a hood but accuracy comes into question. If I end up building a hood I can just go with a standard 12” dewalt non slider and be fine. Just not sure if I want to go with a hood or not.

[Brian Holcombe]

The dust collection and accuracy are greatly over stated. If new is the only option then the Omga’s are expensive but if used is fine then you can get one for a reasonable price.

Outside of that I would buy a non slider or just live without a chop saw and use a sliding tablesaw instead for that purpose.

Putting forward the advice I recieved and regretted not accepting before buying the Kapex.

[Greg Parrish]

Makes sense. I’ve been doing the live without the miter approach for months and am tired of having to change up the slider config or use the handsaw for quick cuts breaking down material. The slider approach was based on the idea that a wider cut would be handy on occasion. I’ll think through the possible hood build approach and see if I can get my dust drop over to it.

[Jim Becker]

Greg, adding on to what Brian said, I moved my CMS upstairs in my shop where my lumber is stored...the only thing it's been used for for years has been shortening boards. I do all my criticall cutting on the slider. I even toyed with replacing the old 12" CMS with a new 8-10" sliding miter saw for what I do, but given how little I use it...it wasn't worth that investment. And as has been stated. onboard dust collection, even for the best of the machines at that, is still marginal so you need a large, cumbersome hood to actually catch all the debris anyway with these machines. If you feel you really need something, get a small 8-10" slider and a portable, folding stand...use it in your driveway when you really, really, really need a miter saw instead of your sliding table saw.

[Mike Henderson]

I have a Kapex (older version). It's accurate enough for what I do, but not a whole lot better than the miter saw I had before. And dust collection is only so-so. I get a lot of swarf behind and around the saw.

If I was doing it again, I'd probably buy some other brand and save the money.

Mike

[Darcy Warner]

I bought mine maybe 6 months after they first came out. Been drug all over the place, used hard, moderately maintained and has been a great saw. It currently resides in my shipping department for crate building, mostly because I haven't drug a RAS over there yet.

[Patrick Walsh]

If you buying it for dust collection I’d think again. It’s marginally better than a modified dewalt hooked up to a shop vacume.

I’d buy a used OMGA over it in a heart beat.

Honestly I opt for a skillsaw to break stuff down and a sled on the ts or a slider. Only place I ever want to use a chop saw in on site.