Thread: What's the best Compound Mitre Saw on the market right now?

Haven't used the Bosch but I have got the Kapex with mobile base and extensions. Very accurate and repeatable cuts once it's setup correctly. The only bugbear I've found with it is the depth stop doesn't go high enough (I think it's 60mm)and I can't cut shallow trenches,rebates in thick timber other than that it performs very well.

Are you saying that the maximum height setting for trenching is approx 60mm from the bed of the saw?
So if it goes up to 60mm does that mean you could cut eg a 1mm deep trench in timber 60mm thick, but a 65mm thick piece of timber you would have a minimum 5mm deep trench ??

Yep, If the work piece is 90mm the shallowest would be 30mm trench. There is a work around though, but it can slip and you can bgger up the piece if not careful.

Originally Posted by fubar

Haven't used the Bosch but I have got the Kapex with mobile base and extensions. Very accurate and repeatable cuts once it's setup correctly. The only bugbear I've found with it is the depth stop doesn't go high enough (I think it's 60mm)and I can't cut shallow trenches,rebates in thick timber other than that it performs very well.

+1

The other thing with the depth stop is that when lowered to engage it is a little bit rubbery and so each cut may not be exactly the same depth. Nothing a chisel can't clean up though.

I find the laser on the Kapex to be very accurate, but have had to recalibrate it once or twice (so keep an eye on it). No big deal.

Used to get a bit of burning on some species (Bluegum). Changed to 80 tooth blade and slowed it down - no burning and a smooth cut to die for.

It only comes with one clamp (called a terminal clamp) and so I purchased a second one. Not necessarily for always clamping both sides (but sometimes I do when it won't lead to binding), but more so I don't have to keep swapping it from side to side.

Using the terminal clamp the shortest piece that can be held is about 250mm, which is not nearly short enough at times. To solve this I added a modification which holds a small piece of timber very firmly indeed (never had any slipping):







I have a left and a right. It takes a short while to remove it if I just want to use the fence as normal. I'll probably end up buying a second pair of fence wings so I can leave the short clamp permanently mounted (just slide the wing off and put the other wing on).

Dust extraction is much better with a 36mm hose rather than 27mm. The 27mm hose results in a choke point of less than half the 36mm (43%) and also results in a 6mm annulus ledge for things to get trapped against. This is because the 27mm connector inserts into the Kapex outlet, whereas the 36mm connector goes over the outside of it.

Recently I also added a contraption so that I can use the big dusty in tandem with the shop vac on the Kapex. It's a 4" pipe which I can slide in to sit near the back of the cut (has to be sliding to cater for mitres). When doing a great many cuts this makes a really big difference to how clear the saw table stays - particularly at the back of the cut. A couple of weeks ago I did 860 dockings of 90x19mm boards and at the end of it there was about as much dust on the saw table as there would be from half a dozen cuts without the big dusty going. Staggering difference.

All in all I'm extremely satisfied with the K120.

HTH.

I like my Kapex too, after weighing up the Bosch as well. I agree with all the above, including the depth stop limitations, which annoyed me once again yesterday.


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Originally Posted by fubar

Yep, If the work piece is 90mm the shallowest would be 30mm trench. There is a work around though, but it can slip and you can bgger up the piece if not careful.

Please share your workaround? I have one also - you show me mine …


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Thanks for all the feedback guys. A decent SCMS has been on the wish list for a few years now but due to space limitations in my old shed, I deliberately put off buying one because I didn't want to invest the money in a good one, only to bang it about in a cramped space. Now that I have more room to move, it's time to get something worth having.

I'd been hoping Festool would make a bigger brother to the 120, to get around those limitations, but it doesn't appear that is likely.

I love my domino, and 2x festool sanders, and festool vac, so it looks like I'll be going down the Festool route for the SCMS too.
I just wanted to make sure, before I invest that much money, that there was no better option out there (either value-wise or feature-wise).
Accuracy is an absolute must for me, and from what I've read so far, the Kapex is the best option out there in that space.

Horses for courses, but for my usage the Makita LS0714 is excellent. Very accurate and repeatable mitre angle settings.

I've had the opportunity to use most of the larger SCMSs currently available. I've also owned a couple too: the Kapex, which I personally regard as a rather poor choice, & the Bosch glide, which is acceptable.

What a I'll it be used for? SCMS are indispensable site saws, but there's superior alternatives for stationary or workshop use.

The "old school" Radial Arm Saws are still I believe the definitive choice for stationary work when trenching, dadoing & tenoning.

Yes they are slower to adjust, but their accuracy, repeatability, longevity and access to a vast range of accessories makes them inherently superior.

I started out on the old radial arm saws and used them daily. Although they are capable of a great deal, I advise caution to those using them today, they need a different approach and can bite if you're not careful.

That aside, Fit For Purpose. Do you really need the sliding feature? Is it going to be carried around a lot? I discussed such saws with a timber flooring contractor and he buys.... wait for it........ the cheapest GMC or similar bottom end model he can find. Floorboards. Squarecut. $60 or so. Lasts him a year. For him that's fit for purpose.



...just realised this thread is a month old.

I have Bosch, it is stationary mounted, and I used it for two years. Apart from poor dust extraction I cannot think of any problems with it, accurate and convenient to use. The glide mechanism is simply pleasant to use. I have not used Kapex, but from what I have seen it might be more convenient to set the bevel angle, and dust extraction is much better. If money were not an issue, and I was to do this all over again, I would buy Kapex. If money are in consideration, then for my hobby use Bosch is more than sufficient.

I ended up buying a Kapex, and now that i've used it for a few weeks here are my initial impressions:


- Out of the box the lasers need tuning, but once done are brilliant. Now, when docking timber, I don't even bother marking with a square on 2 sides, I just get the tape measure out, mark the length I want, and move the timber till the laser hits the mark (on top or front face, doesn't matter). This saves heaps of time.

- the hold-down is good, and easy to use one-handed. I'll be buying a 2nd one for the other side to save having to swap it over.

- the hold-downs could be a little better in terms of how much force they apply to the timber.

- when trenching, I need to put another block of timber against the fence first to space the timber to be trenched out, as the saw blade doesn't go back far enough and your trench ends up not being cut completely through.

- maximum height of trenches - already bugging me. I've hit this limit a few times in the last 2-3 weeks, and had to revert to the panel saw for these cuts. If I didn't have another machine to turn to, this would be a royal PITA.

- angle setting - a breeze - easy to set, accurate and easily repeatable.

- dust collection - currently I have it hooked up to a Festool CT26 with the standard size hose that came with it. I will be buying the larger hose because the current one is too restrictive.


Summary -
Trenching - reasonable, but could be better
Dust collection - needs larger hose connected.
Accuracy/Repeatability - good.
Cost - high, but worth it if budget allows.

TN, have a look here, re extraction:
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f58/additional-extraction-kapex-makes-difference-192458

To get a deeper trench (if that's what you want) you can just put a block of wood under the job to raise it up.

To get the terminal clamp to hold tighter is a two handed operation: push the foot down on to the job and hold it down while you push the black head upwards - hold it there and engage the lever. This will give a very firm hold on the job. The easiest way to hold the foot and head at the same time is to have your fingers under the head and your thumb on top of the shaft (I think it's a green cap).

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

To get a deeper trench (if that's what you want) you can just put a block of wood under the job to raise it up.

I think the problem is getting a shallower trench, on a thicker piece.