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Thread: The Quest Toward a Square Cut on a Kapex

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    The Quest Toward a Square Cut on a Kapex

    I bought this saw early 2017 assuming that some of nice German engineering would serve me well. After-all, on the whole I enjoy my Festools. I could square the saw, but I found it to come out alignment quickly. I decided to pursue some changes.

    I had two goals, create zero clearance so that small objects do not turn into missiles and so that I can line my cuts up to a knife mark. The other goal is to cut square without regular readjustment.

    When adding an auxiliary fence it's important to note that it can cause more issues than it cures. Cutting square starts with having a fence that is true, flat and both sides must match and be aligned to one another. I started with a set of aluminum plates, I drilled and tapped for bolts then shimmed the fence until they were in fact true and aligned.

    Finally I could then square the saw up to the fence, however I've noticed that with this saw it does not remain square. Any heavy cuts usually throw it out of alignment and so after realigning this thing more times than I care to recall I finally decided to dig a little deeper.

    The miter gauge is fixed in place by machine screws, I found that the machine screws capture only the sides of the slotted holes they fall into, and just barely do so at that. So easy solution was to just put washers under the machine screws and finally it seems to have worked. I had intended to purchase washer face screws, but Festool used 5.5mm screws, something I can't seem to source in the same variety as would be offered to more typical sizes.



    I checked for squareness with a Matsui square, its precision beyond what is really needed for woodworking (according to some, not me). And at long last it reads square and remains that way.
    Last edited by Brian Holcombe; 02-09-2018 at 3:44 PM.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

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