Festool Kapex KS 120 User manual

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 1
The Festool Kapex KS120, sliding compound miter saw.
Review by Brice Burrell

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 2
The Festool Kapex KS120 sliding compound miter saw, with its dust collection capabilities, light weight,
compact size and accurate cuts, will set a new standard for miter saws. Any one of these features would be a
welcome addition on any new miter saw, all of them, well, now you have a saw that is head and shoulders
above the competition.
As a residential remodeler my work takes me inside occupied homes almost everyday, the job site needs to be
safe, well organized, and most of all, clean. This is where the Kapex's dust collection comes in, there is no
other saw that compares to the Kapex is this regard. Collecting dust isn't just for inside work. With more and
more synthetic materials, like Azek and Trex, being used it’s a good idea to collect the dust at the saw rather
than leave it in a pile on the lawn.
I've struggled to get my old 12" slider up small stairwells and through narrow doorways. The Kapex is
smaller and lighter; now, I don't bang door frames and railings nearly as much when moving the Kapex to job
site. The smaller size is partly because it's a 10" slider, but, I don't have to sacrifice cutting capacity. Its
cutting capacity is virtually identical to my old 12" saw.
If you have ever done remodeling work in older homes you know nothing is square, level or plumb. With every
miter needing some tweaking to get a perfect fit, trimming out an older home can sometimes be a real
challenge. A miter saw that can produce accurate, repeatable cuts is a must, the Kapex does this.
Festool has come up with some unique features on the Kapex, for example, the micro bevel adjustment. No
other saw on the market has anything like it. Festool has long a standing tradition of leading the power
tool industry with innovation and the Kapex is no exception.
I hope you find the information in this review helpful and the reading enjoyable.
-Brice Burrell, Renovation Contractor, Pittsburgh, PA
Packaging

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 3
My Kapex was shipped from the Festool warehouse on a pallet along with the MFT/Kapex and
accessories via a freight carrier company. All three boxes were well packaged. The Kapex was
delivered in two boxes, the outer box a plain cardboard and the inner box pictured below.
One of the opening ends is taped shut and the other is not taped, nylon straps wrap the box and hold
both ends closed.
Once the straps are cut, the un-taped end opens,
inside the saw is held in place with Styrofoam.
There is a cutout in the foam to form a handle to
pull the saw out of the box easily. If you have ever
fought with getting large tools out of the package,
you'll appreciate the extra effort Festool has taken
to make this so easy.
The saw's handle is zip tied down with a piece of
foam in between it and the saw's base to hold it
tight. An Allen key is stuck in the foam so
remember to retrieve it before discarding (or
keep the packaging in case your saw ever needs to
be shipped back to Festool for service).

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 4
The saw also has a plastic sleeve on the one of the rails to prevent the saw’s head from being able to
moving during shipping.
The MFT/Kapex was packaged in a cardboard box with Styrofoam also. I give Festool high marks for
the packaging; you can expect your saw will arrive with no shipping damage.
Set up
The MFT/Kapex is the first thing to set up; I set the MFT on its edge to loosen the knobs for the legs.
Unfold the legs, they will sort of snap into the open position.
Stand the MFT upright, if the floor is uneven the front right foot can be adjusted to take the wobble
out.
The saw goes on the table next, there are four round
rubber feet; these feet are spaced to fit into the holes in
the MFT’s top.
Release the saw’s carriage pulling the locking pin outward,
releasing the saw from its downward position. Now, loosen
the locking knob to allow the carriage to slide on the rails.

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 5
To set the saw to 90 degrees, lift up on the
miter lock handle, press down the detent
override and rotate the saw to 90 degrees.
Pressing the miter lock handle down will
lock in the miter setting.
The Kapex also has two recesses for bolts
to mount the saw to the MFT or any other
table/saw stand. Festool offers the
“clamping kit” part # 494 693, (sold as an
accessory) kit includes two bolts and two
locking knobs. Drop the bolts down
through the recess and screw on the knob
from under the MFT.
Festool clamps can also be used in addition to or in place of the clamping kit. Place the clamp in from
below the MFT, there is a space for the clamp on the saw’s base, tighten the clamp.

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 6
The crown stops with base extensions part # 494 369 (sold as accessories) can be mounted to the “V”
grooves in the Kapex’s base to cut crown molding “in position” or “nested”. Attach the vacuum hose to
the dust port on the saw. Unwrap cord and plug it into the CT’s outlet, turn the power switch to the
“auto” setting. The saw is ready to cut.
Out of the box
With the Kapex unpacked I wanted to check the
quality of the saw right out of the box. I wanted
to check to see in the Kapex had any of the
common quality control issues that other brand
saws seem to have. After a basic function test, I
began my “out of the box test.” I wanted to check
the fence for square and to see if the saw’s bed
was completely coplanar (all on the same plane),
the lasers and how accurately the saw would cut.
I used my 7" Incra guaranteed square, with
bright sunlight backlighting the square to check
the fence for square. As you can see in this photo there is a small amount of light visible. After
checking both fences all along entire range of travel this gap was relatively consistent. The picture
makes it look like there is much more of a gap then there really is. Without the strong backlighting
the gap is undetectable. I’m satisfied that this saw’s fences are at a right angle to the saw bed.
It’s important for the saw’s bed to be perfectly coplanar for accurate cuts. I checked the saw bed by
placing a 2' Stabila level to act as a straight edge. No obvious gaps, so I tried to slip a piece of paper
under the level, it would only slide under the rounded edge of the level. I continued checking with the

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 7
saw mitered to 20, 30, 45 degrees in both directions, 60 degrees on the right side and 50 on the left.
All surfaces were coplanar.
Now for the real test, how does it
cut? First up, 90 degrees cut in a
piece of 4/4" pine. The cut was a
perfect 90 degrees. Forty-five
degrees miter and bevel cuts were
also spot on. Compound cuts will be
discussed later in this review.
The lasers didn’t check out. Both
were off by 1/32". Since other
Kapex owners abroad have
commented that their saw’s lasers
were perfectly set at the factory I
was a little surprised by this. This
isn’t a big deal, a few minutes of adjustment and the alignment was corrected.
The last thing I wanted to check was the machining on the fence extensions. I removed the fences to
have a look at the quality of the machining, it was fine, but there was a burr left from the process. These
burrs was very thin and extended part of the length of the both fence. I was able to easily remove it with
my fingernail. The burrs themselves didn’t interfere with the operation of the fences. However, if the
burr was to break loose of the fence and lodge into the slot, perhaps then, the fence could bind. I believe
the real culprit may have been damaged fences from their being mishandled while off of the saw. Since
the fences are a relatively soft alloy they could be damaged if dropped on a hard surface. I’d suggest
storing them in a safe place while off of the saw. I don’t know if this is going to be an issue in the future,
I’ll just keep an eye on them just to make sure a problem doesn’t develop.

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 8
Some of the items we’ll be looking at in this review.
Kapex
MFT/Kapex Accessories Dust Extractors
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.

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 9
MFT/Kapex
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.
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).

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 10
The Kapex KS120
I’ll be separating “the Kapex” section into a number of sub-sections to better organize the
information in this review. I will go over the saw’s capacities/specifications first.
The Kapex: By the numbers
Standard
Package
Includes:
60 tooth Universal Saw Blade , Angle Transfer
Device, Hold Down Clamp, Allen Wrench
Power
Consumption
1600 Watts (13 Amps)
RPM
1400-3400 RPM

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 11
Cutting
Capacity
90°/90°
12” x 3 15/32”
305 mm x 88 mm
Left/Right
45°/90°
8 15/32” x 3 15/32”
215 mm x 88 mm
Left 45°/45°
8 15/32” x 2 1/8”
215 mm x 55 mm
Right 45°/45°
8 15/32” x 1 3/8”
215 mm x 35 mm
Special
Cutting Depth
4 23/32” x ¾”
120 mm x 20 mm
Crown Nested
Capacity
6 5/8”
168 mm
Max Bevel
47°/47°
Miter Range
Left 50°/Right 60°
Dust Port
27/36 mm
Weight
47 lbs.
21.5 kg.

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 12
Some of the other specifications, 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.
The Kapex: Features.
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.
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.
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.

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 13
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.
With the bevel selector set to 0-45° the saw can be set 45° to the left only with a stop at 0°

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 14
The ± 45° setting allows the saw to be beveled to 45° both to the left and right with no stop at 0°.
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.

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 15
A unique feature on the Kapex is the rack and pinion micro bevel adjustment. The right rail has
a handle on the front that turns the bevel adjustment gears to fine tune the bevel angle.
Here’s a picture of the back of the Kapex with the
cover removed to show the gears that adjust the
bevel.
I noticed the sound of metal to metal when
adjusting the bevel, so took the back of the saw
off to see what was making the sound. It’s the
bevel locking device that makes this sound. The
bevel lock rides along a steel flange (that also
acts as the stops for the bevel setting); in this
picture you can see a small line where the lock
rides along the flange. I don’t see this doing
damage to the saw, but time will tell.

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 16
The micro bevel adjustment is one of the
features that I’m excited about, with the
large scale and this micro adjustment in is
possible to set the bevel to ¼ degree
repeatedly. This feature will come in handy
when it comes time to tweak a miter on a
baseboard.
The Kapex’s power
switch (trigger) is
two stage like the
TS plunge cut
saws, with one
difference. The trigger must be pressed part way to lower the saw
blade, then the safety button then the trigger can be pressed all the way
to the “On” position. At first I found this very awkward. The Kapex has a
vertical handle that sits high on the saw, reaching up this high and
depressing the trigger was the issue. It sort of bent my wrist in an
uncomfortable angle. However, by the end of the first day of use I settled in on a method that
worked well for me. My method is to not wrap my index finger around the trigger, but rather
keep it straight. The Kapex is set up to be used with right or left handed, notice that I’m using my
left hand, normally I’m a righty and I have no problems using either hand.
The dual lasers, well I don’t consider
myself a “laser” kind of guy, I’ve
always used the blade to align the cut
and that has always worked well for
me. My other miter has a laser on it,
but I didn’t use it much.
Like I said, my method works, why
change it now? Well, efficiency, the
lasers can help align cuts when the
saw blade can’t be placed on your
measurement marks; that can speed
up the process and increase accuracy.
The lasers are easy to adjust, follow
the directions in the manual and you
have the lasers setup perfectly in no
time.

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 17
The Kapex comes with the angle transfer device, “angle finder”.
The angle finder can be used on both inside and outside corners.
Once the angle is set, take the angle finder over to the saw, align
one of the lasers with the line on the angle finder, now you have
perfectly bisected angle. The angle stores in the saw’s base, in the
slot in the left side of the base, shown in the photo here.
The two sliding fence extensions give the saw another 90 mm
(about 3 ½”) for a total fence height of 120 mm (about 4 9/16”).
The fences slide to move out of the way for bevel cuts and they can
be removed entirely. They
have a locking lever in the back and a set screw to prevent
them from being removed, the screw can be adjusted
(screwed in) to allow the fences to be slid off the saw. Fences
have holes to attach a wooden sacrificial fence. The fences
are made of the same material as the base, a light weight
magnesium alloy.
Also included is a hold down clamp. What I really like about
the hold down is how easy it is to use, so easy in fact, I have
actually used it. The hold down from my last saw was so inconvenient that I never used it. I took
it out of the box, tried it and then placed in on a shelf somewhere and haven’t used it since. The
Festool hold down has cam like clamping action that the Festool Clamping Elements have. No
time consuming screw clamp like the old saw. This is a small thing that can make a big
difference in time savings and safety. I’ll now enjoy the added safety that a hold down clamp
provides. In the picture above, I’m using the hold down clamp to secure an acute angle jig.

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 18
The special cutting position fixes the carriage so the saw acts like a chop saw; this holds the saw
in the perfect position to maximize the cutting height. This position can used when cutting
crown “nested” or “in position”. To set the saw to the special cutting position there is a lever that
folds down, this engages in the back carriage to lock in place. There is a small green button on
the back of the carriage to release the lock; you can see it in this picture.
The Kapex uses the Fast Fix blade changing system. The green knob behind the handle is the
Fast Fix; turn it to lock the spindle and lockout the power switch (it’s still a good idea to unplug
the saw). First, with the Allen wrench located on the back of the saw, loosen the bolt move the
arbor bolt guard out of the way. Then remove the arbor bolt and outer flange, it is a lefthand
thread, turn it clockwise to remove. Depress the power switch to move the blade guard out of
the way to remove the blade. Reverse the process to install the new blade, remember to turn the
arbor bolt counterclockwise or anticlockwise to tighten. The saw and blades have an arrow
printed on them to indicate the proper orientation.
On the back of the saw is a place to wrap the cord and store the Allen wrench, and a handle for
carrying the saw is molded in. Again, it’s small details like this that users appreciate.

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 19
Trenching (dados & rabbets),
most SCMS have this feature.
On the Kapex the trenching
depth of cut is pretty precise
and easy to set. While it won’t
produce furiture grade
results, it can make field
expedant dados and rabbets
for paint grade work or rough
framing. This photo to the left
the green trenching
knob/lever (green arrow),
push it down and twist it to
set the depth of cut.
The motor on the Kapex is
controlled by MMC eletronics,
this keeps the saw at speed while under load, controls the soft start, thermal overload
protection and variable speed. The MMC eletronics are also responsible for the somewhat
unusual sound of the Kapex, sort of a growling sound. If you happen to own one of Festool’s TS
plunge cut saws this sound will be quite familiar. In the picture to the right is the variable speed
control, on/off switch for the lasers, dust port and at the bottom of the picture is the trenching
lever.
The Kapex: Accessories

Festool Kapex
Brice Burrell, copyright 2008 Page 20
With the MFT/Kapex out of
the way we’ll look at the
other Kapex accessories, the
saw blades, crown stops and
clamping kit. With the
Festool extension wings not
yet released in North
America I’ll show you the
Sawhelper extension wings.
The clamping kit is used to
secure the Kapex to a MFT or
any work table. The kit
includes two bolts and two
fastening knobs. The bolts fit
the recesses in the saw’s base
and the knobs screw on from
below the MFT or table.
Crown stops, used to hold crown molding in position or nested. The crown stops attach to the V-
grooves in the saw’s base. One locking knob mounts the crown stops and a knob lock the stop to
set the distance of the stop to match the crown’s spring angle. Without the stop portion one the
crown stops act as small extensions.
Saw blades, the heart of any miter saw. Festool offers four saw blades for the Kapex, two for
wood, one laminates and one for non-ferrous metals.