Thread: What's a Kapex?

Originally Posted by Lignum

.....

18. I want one
....

Me too...
Alltough I wasn't planning on replacing my scms yet, (but my ls1013 is starting to annoy me more and more lately ) this one made my wishlist.( just too bad there are a lot of things on the "need"list I have to save for first). Anyway I'll bring my tapemeasure to see if it will be mountable on my dewalt stand just in case it rises to the top of the list faster than I expect...

You do of course realise Frank, that the Kapex will probably have a magnificent "must have" saw stand that will be able to do more than you ever thought possible, & boil the morning tea billy at the same time?

Originally Posted by Carpenter

You do of course realise Frank, that the Kapex will probably have a magnificent "must have" saw stand

You get a free one (check out No13) what a great idea.

Originally Posted by Lignum

You get a free one (check out No13) what a great idea.

Well yeah, in a pinch you could work off the ground using systainers as supports, but after living with the Dewalt stand, its worth every penny to have a stand you can whip out of the vehicle & work from a comfortable height. Not to mention the ability to extend or reduce the support wings which, when coupled with the support piece that has a built in flip up stop & it becomes an adjustable stop for repitition cuts. You can also slide the saw to any point on the stand & this comes in handy when the workspace gets tight & your trying to cut longer lengths. I can't wait to see what Festools solutions will be & I reckon the excitement is going to keep me awake at night. I've just about had the magnifying glass over the pic in your link Lignum, & it looks to have all the benefits I think are important. I'm hoping its a dual bevel design, (surely thats a given?) & its not clear what the cut length is. I recon she'll be closer to $2000, & I'm watching the US Domino release because if they decide to give the Yanks a special release price, then I reckon we faithfull Aussie's who have done so much to promote that tool should be given the opportunity to take advantage of a special introductory price when the Kapex is released here.

What interests me is their is a "Systainer1" that is the same height as the saw base? So what goes into that systainer? It must be small, because this must be a decent size saw if its 12" and will cut a whopping 120mm in thickness. The sad part for me is my Festool dealer told me 4 or 5 months ago that a 12" SCMS will be here early in the first half of the year and i didnt know it was called the Kapex and ive been hanging to find out what that was. The same

Lignum,
I think what they're saying is that the Systainer 1, which is the size that the battery drills, jigsaw etc come in is the same height as the saw base (by design)so that in a pinch the Sys 1 can be used as a support for the material being cut. Thats how I'm reading the fuzzy translation.

Somewhere else (some discussion group) I read that festool suggest to use the mft for a sawstand (there was something about the base that will fit in some of the holes or something). But if I ever buy a mft, it will be for the guiderail system and the clamping abilities not to use it as a sawstand. (Good thing those things have a mdf top, that won't be able to deal with a little rain, or else I would have had one already) And I really hate to work with support rollers on uneven ground.

@Lignum About that Bable fish thing, now I know how a lot of manuals by Asian production companies end up the way they are

Anyway, the fair where they'll introduce it starts tomorrow, so maybe the product information site will be up and running then too.

Now Frank, you have to appreciate that your in the box seat here, your our front man! We need information mate, so we'll be waiting anxiously for some juicy news.

"Mine eyes have seen the Glory of the Coming of the Lord."

Until recently, I thought that Kapex was the planet Kevin Spacey came from, I now realise that that was Kipax.

It would be interesting to know what lasers will be mounted on the beast. I'm betting woosy little pulsed diode 635nm Helium Neons emitting red light just powerful enough to read barcodes. Would it be possible to mount something with more Grunt (sorry Grunt)? Such as a couple of Coherent Innova 305 series tunable Argons, putting out 5W at a number of lines, from UV through to green and possibly red and the option of adjustable power. A couple of these and you don't need a blade, you'll get a good clean cut every time, very fast. Tunable wavelength means you won't lose the red in the backround of RG, RB, BG and some of the other darker woods. A lasing tube lifetime of 2000hrs should be suitable for most peoples needs and they can be replaced, but the cost of chillers and three phase power may add a little bit to cost.

Regards,

Rob

This thing has got me spending way too much time online. I finally figured the number 12 thingy on the pic out: it's an angle divisor that can be stored in the base, clever. And the number 16 thingy is a lever to unlock so you can change the bevel (first I thought it was a bit flimsy looking carry-handle). The German site says it will give more info the first of March, so I 'll scan whatever stuff I can grab (flyers etc, I'm not that good at theft )at their stand on Wednesday and take a few pics.

I just read that some pr*ck from a Dutch DIY TV show will do a demonstration with it, so I doubt I will get to play with it myself

I'd like to change my guesstimate of the cost of the Kipax.
Based on the cost of their current "toy"; 8" blade, tight angle capability and some other whirlygigs at about A$1,700 then add the laser guidance system based on about A$800.00 from Gills Tools and then the extra 4" blade width and accompanying structural/engineering adjustments, I'd say about A$3K. But I'd still buy it.

Originally Posted by Flowboy

"Mine eyes have seen the Glory of the Coming of the Lord."

Until recently, I thought that Kapex was the planet Kevin Spacey came from, I now realise that that was Kipax.

It would be interesting to know what lasers will be mounted on the beast. I'm betting woosy little pulsed diode 635nm Helium Neons emitting red light just powerful enough to read barcodes. Would it be possible to mount something with more Grunt (sorry Grunt)? Such as a couple of Coherent Innova 305 series tunable Argons, putting out 5W at a number of lines, from UV through to green and possibly red and the option of adjustable power. A couple of these and you don't need a blade, you'll get a good clean cut every time, very fast. Tunable wavelength means you won't lose the red in the backround of RG, RB, BG and some of the other darker woods. A lasing tube lifetime of 2000hrs should be suitable for most peoples needs and they can be replaced, but the cost of chillers and three phase power may add a little bit to cost.

Regards,

Rob

Geez Rob, maybe you could get a high paying job with a military/industrial weapons manufacturer or something! Actually, a laser cutting SCMS would be fun!

So...
the Kipax is due for release 01/03/07 in Espana at least. Had a look at their "translated" site under "sawing with the rounded mountains" (I think that's circular sawing) but it wasn't there. It had its own home where you could view his own very first pictures (really a mouse driven peep show).

Regards,

The lemming what changed its course.

I was just surfing for the Kapex and after reading your posts, I found this site:
http://www.gewema.de/adr.php?id_kunden=85&id=656
I think it's the official release-flyer from Festool and has all the details and price-information.