Any Festool owners?

[JKM]

I have the KS60 and love it, it's easy to use, intuitive, the cuts are absolutely perfect and so clean. Dust is absolutely minimal used with the extractor and it's easily portable as I sometimes need to take it if I am helping relatives etc.

I would prefer a laser than the led but just didn't think I needed the ks120.


I got into a bit of woodworking a few months back as I want to do some DIY projects in a new house. I have absolutely zero experience but decided to buy festool mainly in the back of the guarantee, serviceability, residual value and reputation. So far I definitely haven't been disappointed and I hope the quality of the cuts make up for my inexperience.

The other factor was the ability to use it back up against the wall as the saw slides rather than the rails.

The ks60 was the last one I bought and was a bit of a whim but it's turned out pretty handy so I don't regret it. I got the TS55 tracksaw, a load of rails, MFT3, OF1010 router (runs in the bosch holey rail), DF500 domino set and all the kit/dominos for it, CTL-Sys extractor, various benchdogs fences, rail squares, dogs etc so basically no excuses if I bodge something, at least I can't blame to tools. I vaguely fancy the new cordless table saw but the price is a bit hard to stomach unless there is a 240v adapter soon.

I had never heard of festool before i devoured all of @petermillard videos, so he has a lot to answer for, shame he doesn't get a festool comission!

I did buy some non festool stuff too, a trend t4 I never used, Bosch professional 12v flexclick drills and drivers, metabo sander, Bosch professional router (2nd hand, bought it for the rails and adapter) as those were the things I didn't really see much advantage in getting the festool variants, time may prove me wrong but no regrets so far.

 

[curryjunkie]

just got the kapex this week, its a thingof beauty alright, i got it because of its small footprint especially when folded for storage, i dont want to risk leaving it outside in an unheated workshop so like most of my tools it lives in a spare room between uses, its accurate right out of the box and well made, havent tried the makita, i own some makita tools and a few festool, and a few ryobi, im not wedded to a brand.

 

[dvddvd]

Does anybody know the actual depth of a Kapex 60? If it was pushed to the back wall and usable to the front knob that tightens the mitre adjust? It says 661mm on the festool website, but can you use it in that min space, I'm sure I saw a review and it was more like 800mm? thanks

 

[cmoops2]

Does anybody know the actual depth of a Kapex 60? If it was pushed to the back wall and usable to the front knob that tightens the mitre adjust? It says 661mm on the festool website, but can you use it in that min space, I'm sure I saw a review and it was more like 800mm? thanks

Just measured mine: 720mm (at 90 deg) increasing to 730-odd during passage from 90 to 45 deg therefore suggest 740mm maximum would suffice ...

 

[dvddvd]

Thank you that sounds an ideal size..

Did something happen at Festool around 3 years ago?

It's just that I've found around 3 people in the UK selling Kapex 60 mitre saws.
Brand new in the box, unused but 3 years old?
Bit strange that people spend £800 on a mitre saw and don't even bother unpacking them and plugging them in?

 

[Skottex]

If the saw needs to live in your workshop then it does not make sense to buy a portable mitre saw.
The right call would be A Radial Arm Saw or a cast iron Mitre Saw (like OMGA T55) which are not flexing and are seriously precise.

Both the Makita and the Festool are carpenter/installer machines and sacrifice precision in order to be portable.

 

[HOJ]

Did something happen at Festool around 3 years ago?

That ties in with the 1st Covid lockdown, that's when lots of people thought they could/would become woodbutchers.

Is it just Festool fan boys who paid £350 more for a inferior spec machine?

I am not a Festool fan boy by definition and have burnt through a few "site mitre saws" I currently have 3 Dewalts, (not used much now) a Makita on one site and Festool Kapex 120 in the Van.

The Makita is a good saw but fiddly to set up, almost to the point it seems they built the saw then thought of bits to add on to add function, the handle is a pain, and as has been said if you use your left, its awkward, and is if you swing a left mitre, trying to switch it on with your right hand, you need to be a bit double jointed, out of all of them the Kapex works and suits me better.

I would have liked to have a Wadkin in my shop but I have limited space, however I do have an ELU RAS, (running with a 300mm blade!!) but only ever use it for crosscutting, occasionally mitres but using angled fences rather than move the arm, it does that job reasonably well.

I had a Freud biscuit jointer, cost £120 new and on a facebook group people kept telling me to buy a Lamello biscuit jointer £650.00.

I eventually did.....havent a clue what the £530 price difference went on?

You need to listen to your own drummer!

 

[dvddvd]

Thanks What year did all the festool saws motors start packing up and is there a way to check it's not one of the bad bunch?

 

[HOJ]

I think it was pre 2010, mine is 2012 been back twice for a service and also had a new fence, cos I'd bent it, hammering it, your talking about buying new, I presume, so 3 year warranty applies.

 

[dvddvd]

Hi thanks, no its someone selling a new, unused one. He said he bought it and never used it and its still in the box. Its nearly 3 years old, with 2 months remaining on the warrenty. He registered it, but didnt use it

 

[Doug71]

My KS 120 is from 2012 and had the motor issues, think they started fitting the updated motors around 2016, never heard of any problems with the KS 60 though.

@dvddvd I don't know exactly where you are but I'm about 17 miles South East of York, you are welcome to come and have a look at my KS 120 if you want, you might end up buying one if you do though!

 

[dvddvd]

Hi thanks for the offer but dont put temptation in front of me....Where did you but from?
Ive been offered a Kapex 60 with an add on led light for £600, which is boxed and never been used but nearly 3 years old so no warrenty.
Or buy a new one for cheapest ive found is £714.00 with no led light so another £50 0n top

 

[Chris70]

Hi thanks for the offer but dont put temptation in front of me....Where did you but from?
Ive been offered a Kapex 60 with an add on led light for £600, which is boxed and never been used but nearly 3 years old so no warrenty.
Or buy a new one for cheapest ive found is £714.00 with no led light so another £50 0n top

Don't bother with the light, mine got dusted up ages ago and I've not used it at all. I've got a Kapex60 and, just like someone above stated, I lower the blade tooth onto the stock to know precisely where the cut is going to be, then I cut. This is probably a few seconds slower than using the light but it gives me more confidence.

 

[Chris70]

I would have loved to have bought (not brought as some would say) the Kapex120, but the price was a 'price too far. Then there's the Festool Kapex88, to add to the mix, which hasn't had a mention on this thread. I've read the 120 and the 88 have the same depth of cut, 88mm, but there are other differences, eg, price I'd love for someone to summarize them here! @dvddvd would be interested, I'm sure.

 

[Distinterior]

I would have loved to have bought (not brought as some would say) the Kapex120, but the price was a 'price too far. Then there's the Festool Kapex88, to add to the mix, which hasn't had a mention on this thread. I've read the 120 and the 88 have the same depth of cut, 88mm, but there are other differences, eg, price I'd love for someone to summarize them here! @dvddvd would be interested, I'm sure.

They are basically the same machine, except the Kapex 120 has a special feature on it that will allow you to cut material up to 120mm high vertically against the fence. Obviously, the Kapex 88 will only allow a cut in the material up to 88mm high.....As far as I know, this is the only difference.

Incidentally, I've owned and used loads of different mitre saws throughout my 40 years of cutting up materials and nothing has come close to the accuracy, quality of cut and efficiency of dust extraction that I get from my Kapex 120.......Yes, it's a lot of money but the quality speaks for itself once you've used one.

Edit. Regarding the laser function.....I tend to use it as an initial guide when cutting slightly oversize as the lines can appear a bit blurry. I'm sure I could adjust the laser settings to give a crisper pair of lines but I've never felt the need to do so.
With the UG wings attached to the saw, final dimension cuts are accurate, repetitive and clean and are achieved without the need for the laser.

 

[dvddvd]

thanks, I want to use the saw with its original blade, but also want to use a 180mm 0.6mm kerf fret slotting blade too.
The cut will be 80mm wide and 3mm deep. With the blade been smaller I think it will be better suited to the Kapex 60 than the bigger 120?
I will build some sort of jig to heighten the base and then fine tune it with the trench facility

 

[TRITON]

just fanboys and YouTubers.

I bought the Kapex 120

So which are you ? the fanboy or the youtuber

knocked out about a 1/4 of a mm over 200mm

1/4 mil out of 8 inches. WOW thats pretty darn good and well, WELL within acceptable levels of accuracy.

 

[Sideways]

1/4 mil out of 8 inches. WOW thats pretty darn good and well, WELL within acceptable levels of accaccuracy

Yes if you're building garden sheds but I won't be asking you to fit my next kitchen

 

[TRITON]

Straight off a mitre saw. The saw you use to roughly cut to length ?

Are you still drinking in the afternoons ?

 

[Sideways]

Have you actually handled the Festool, some people dislike the vertical handle which with my wrist is an instant No as the natural movement is like a motorbike throttle with a rotating movement and not all on the wrist.

I think the Festool vertical handle would feel really awkward to me. Other things arranged like that do. They make you want to reposition your grip as you use them.

These guys got it right on the money as long as you're a righty....