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The Festool Kapex, page three.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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The Kapex KS120
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Some of the saw's specifications, 13 amp MMC controled motor, miters: Left 50°/Right 60°, miter detents at: 0°, 15°, 22.5°, 30° and 45°. There is a marking for 31.6°, but, no detent. Saw blades are 260 mm diameter (about 10 ¼”) with a 30 mm arbor bore. The Kapex is covered by Festool’s 1+2 warranty. The official designation of the US version is: Kapex KS 120 EB.
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The Kapex: Features
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The Kapex has all of the features that you’d expect in a miter saw and some unique to this saw. In this section I’ll give a brief overview of the features and how they work and go into greater detail we get to the “The Kapex: In use.” section.
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The Kapex’s base is made a magnesium alloy, the base has V-grooves cast in both ends, and these grooves are where the crown extensions attach. The miter lock is the handle shown here, pushing the handle down locks the miter setting and pulling it up releases. Also on the handle is the detent override button. The saw can miter 60° to the right and 50° to the left, this much range in the miter settings means the saw’s bed is going to be smaller.
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The pointer on the miter gauge is green, with two lines on either side to set the miter to a half degree. In this picture the miter angle is set to one half degree to the right. The screw above the gauge is to adjust the pointer. Moving the saw back and forth setting the miter angle is a bit stiff, that may just be because of the tight tolerances and the fact the saw is new. The detents lock in solidly, but, I have no trouble setting the saw ¼ degree out of a detent. One quarter degree is my standard and I can repeatedly achieve that with the Kapex.
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The bevel lock is a flip lever located on the top rear of the saw. It’s pretty easy to reach and adjust. With the bevel flipped up the bevel selector knob and the bevel of the saw can be adjusted.
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With the bevel selector set to 0-45° the saw can be set 45° to the left only with a stop at 0°
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The ± 45° setting allows the saw to be beveled to 45° both to the left and right with no stop at 0°.
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The ±47° setting, the saw can be set to 47° to the left and right, no stop at 0°.
Once the bevel adjustment lever is unlocked the bevel can be set like any other miter saw, by pushing it to the desired angle. I like the fact that the saw doesn’t just flop over, it stays where I put it when I let it go. There are two things that set the beveling feature of the Kapex apart from the others, first are the large bevel gauges and the second is the “micro” adjustment feature.
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