Bosch Glide, and kapex Users

[measure once cut remeasure]

Looking at upgrading my shop with a new slide compound miter saw. 
The weight of the Bosch Glide is a nonfactor. The saw is staying in the shop, and will not be used for rough construction.

Based on reviews, the biggest negative of the Kapex (besides price) had been motor reliability.  Festool may have addressed that issue with their new motor design.


Both the Glide and Kapex don't require as much bench depth as most sliders do. The extra space saving behind the saw should allow enough space for a big gulp mounted behind the saw. The big gulp should take care of dust better than just having an extraction hose. 


The larger cutting capacity of the 12" blade Glide is a positive, compared to both the Kapex and my old Makita.

The lack of a laser on the Glide isn't a big concern, as I have never used a saw with a laser. Maybe I just don't know what I'm missing.

I am use to a soft start, direct drive motor on my Makita, which is also found on the Kapex .  I don't know if it would be just take getting used to a belt drive Glide.
   Do belt drives require maintenance ?

The Kapex has a convenient work hold down that would entice me to use it, rather than my hand.   The Glide's hold down is like my old Makita, and not very convenient.  99% of the time, I hold the work piece by hand.


The odd blade size on the kapax is a negative, but not a deal breaker.  I've had good luck with Amana, Onsrud, and Freud blades. For the most part these brands are not available for the Kapex.  Amana does have a 30 mm bore 10" blade close to the 10.25" found on the kapex. The $106 negative hook 80 tooth blade is made for melamine.  
Ridge carbide sells a kapex size 260mm blade, for about the same cost as their standard 10" size. This would be a slightly less expensive option to the OEM blade.
 
My highest priority, is accuracy over the entire length of the cut.  
I have read reviews and watched videos that mention or show lateral deflection when the Glide is fully extended.

     Have Glide or Kapex users noticed any deflection or play with the saw fully extended ?

Any all comments or opionions are welcome 



Thanks
Karl

[jteneyck]

Have you considered a RAS?  For a few hundred dollars you can get a nice old Dewalt that does everything a miter saw does, and more, with greater accuracy and reliability.  For the same price as a Kapex you can get a used industrial quality RAS with far greater capacity and no worries about deflection.  

John

[JohnnyEgo]

I am interested in this as well, so I will be paying some attention. I have a Milwaukee 12" slider which has served my purposes well, but I'd like to build a fixed miter station on my countertop, and it's footprint requires it to be further forward than I'd like in that setting. I had eyed the Kapex just because I am familiar with it, and the sliding mechanism is oriented forward rather than backward. My number-one hesitation has actually been durability over the price, as I have read about a fair amount of motor burn-out. But the size factor is very appealing to me.

[greenacres2]

Got to agree with John--i've got less than $250 in my 1957 Dewalt GWI, including bearings and a overkill table. It cuts 0-45 degrees true, with a load of torque. with the post design, built into a bench top it provides more usable bench space than when i had a miter saw built into that space. And...for Kapex money, you're probably looking at an Omga or Original Saw Co. machine that will outlive us all.
earl

[GeeDub]

I've wondered how some Festool sponsored guys switched to Bosch for their SCMS. Maybe they're Bosch sponsored as well. I have Bosch, Festool and may other brands and colors in the shop. I think of Festool as a system. Some of the products that don't review so well like the Kapex and the routers make sense if you are running Festool as a system. The parts being designed to work well together outweighs a slightly lower score on some parameter during testing. Of course, if your primary measuring stick is dust collection Festool reset the bar for that long ago.

[Maple Leaf]

Look into the new Makitas. 10" blade version cuts 12" wide; 12" blade also available. Best dust collection; excellent accuracy; 45º bevels either direction; 45º miter either direction. It's the bomb.

[Pirate]

I'm in the ras camp on this.
DeWalt 2+ hp ones.

[packerguy®]

I did the mental gymnastics last summer, and ended up with the Bosch.

The main deciding factors were:

The arbor size (being able to use whatever blade I wanted)
The 12" blade
The money savings of course

Frankly I think the Bosch is really nice. Its a solid saw. Super easy to adjust, but I havnt needed to at all. I generally keep it at 90 degrees. 

The only two things the Kapex scored higher in my analysis (for me) was the weight consideration, but I will never be moving it, and the dust collection, but being in the shop its means less than if I would drag it around.

In the end for me, being a shop tool, its not worth double the price.

[Strokes77]

I have had both tools in my shop. Bosch gcm12sd and the kapex. Both fine saws.

Accuracy is great on both. The handle on kapex is awkward to use. Very weird to get used to.

Dust collection isn't great on either. There is always dust around and behind the kapex, despite a full time festool vac hooked up. The Bosch had dust on it also.

If I was buying again, new prices, I'd buy Bosch every time.

The Laser on kapex is nice. The holddown is nice. But it's alot of $$.

I've never adjust the speed on kapex.

Hope this helps.

[measure once cut remeasure]

Have you considered a RAS?  For a few hundred dollars you can get a nice old Dewalt that does everything a miter saw does, and more, with greater accuracy and reliability.  For the same price as a Kapex you can get a used industrial quality RAS with far greater capacity and no worries about deflection.  

John

Laziness is the main reason that I currently have and would like to upgrade to a new SCMS. 
I have a radial arm saw, and really like the convenience of keeping a stacked dado set on it. 
I have rarely used either the 12" or 14" Onsrud blades that I have for it
I think the saw is a delta model 40c.  The motor badge says delta multiplex 2hp 10/20 amp. The serial # badge says Rockwell, and the blade guard says delta Milwaukee.
The saw came from a buddies barn where it was buried under piles of junk. He had bought it from a university auction for almost nothing.