Bosch Glide, and kapex Users

[Ray Newman]

In 2016, I purchased a BOSCH 12" glide saw. Initially considered the KAPEX, but after a hands-on at the local Woodcraft I changed my mind about it. Also, while the dust collection is very good on the KAPEX, the salesman informed me that the smaller diameter hose on my Fe$tool vacuum would decrease the KAPEX  dust collection capability. So that would have been another US $120 for the larger diameter Fe$tool hose added to the total out the door cost. At that point I determined the KAPEX was not worth it.

Agree that the BOSCH hold down needs improvement. I have not found a need for the laser as I just align a saw tooth on the cut line. As the BOSCH is on a mobile cart, I just move it to an open door or place a cardboard screen behind it to deflect the saw dust down to the floor. I think I may tinker with some flexible hose to replace the bag so as to connect the BOSCH with my DC system.

[Handplanesandmore]

Any Festool tool (including the kapex) can be used with any vaccum systems and with any hoses. No other miter saws offer better dust collection than the kapex. Whether that matters or not is another story. My neighbor never tries to put his Acura sports car's top speed to test, but he remains proud of it for the top dollars he paid for it ($70k?).

Simon

[Cabinet Monkey]

My neighbor never tries to put his Acura sports car's top speed to test, but he remains proud of it for the top dollars he paid for it ($70k?).

This seems to be the mentality of a lot of festool owners - especially with Kapex. They are proud of their saw and its dust collection. But there are other saws that have almost as good of collection , cut just as accurately, and are priced 50-75% less than a Kapex.

And guess what ? NONE them have a history of burning up motors. Not one. Nor do they have reports of leaky gearboxes. Now, do they give their owner's that warm fuzzy feeling of being in the club ? Prob. not, but if one is looking for a really good saw with good dust collection and a good value- the other saws take the prize.

The one place I think kapex truly distances itself from others is when portability is factored in. It is lighter and more compact, making it easier to transport. I'm pretty sure most users don't take advantage of this though. If you're going to have a fixed cut station, then Kapex's dust collection ( whether better or not) is kinda moot. In that is always better to have a shroud mated to your central collector. A four or six inch collection hose is going to do a much better job than any saw's port connected to a 36 or 50mm hose. But again, if you need to go portable, kapex wins hands down.

[FireWood]

The whole Festool system is designed around mobility, easy set up, easy tear down, and minimal clean up (dust collection)

The Kapex is ahead relative to the competition in a number of those areas - though the gap seems to be shrinking year by year.  But if those aspects of tool function are not as important to the buyer, there's no need to feel badly by making a different choice.


I have a few Festool products and am very happy with them.  I do NOT own a Kapex and don't think I ever will.  However, for versatile cross cutting, one of their HK tracksaws with an FSK rail looks just right for my needs!

[Pirate]

Besides being more usefull, one thing I like about the 12" Dewalt ras I have, is it takes a 5/8" bore blade.
I use any table saw blade I have on it. Dado stack included.