Ruthless Review of the Festool Kapex Miter Saw!
The Festool Kapex KS 120 REB is one of the most accurate and easiest to use miter saws that you can buy for woodworking or carpentry work. But that doesn't mean it's not without its faults. Is the Festool Kapex worth the price?
Watch Next: Ruthless Review of Milwaukee M18 Trim Router - • Ruthless Review of the...
Greatest Free Gift in History story4.us/731Woodworks
Tools in This Video:
Festool Kapex - amzn.to/3tlVAez
Festool 80 Tooth Blade - amzn.to/3v08Zte
Festool CT36 Dust Extractor - amzn.to/46Xpwvq
Festool Blast Gate - amzn.to/4aiPwUR
Festool Bigger Hose - amzn.to/3Nu3U2R
Festool Bluetooth Adapter - amzn.to/47VJcBb
Festool Y - Splitter - amzn.to/3uXTpOX
Festool Hose - amzn.to/48kutzd
Festool Floor Cleaning Kit - amzn.to/48fZS5T
Woodpeckers Stealth Stop Stop Blocks - amzn.to/47Yuol7
Omniwall Weekend Warrior XL - amzn.to/3RfZ7Da
Colliflower Zero Clearance Insert - amzn.to/4awKy78
Miter Station Plans - www.731woodworks.com/store/mi...
TrueWerk T2 Work Pants I Wear - truewerk.pxf.io/GmbJjE
T-Shirt I'm Wearing - www.roguefitness.com/compete-...
📲 Text DEALS to 1 (731) 207-7151 I send out regular texts to let you know about great tool deals.
Be sure to add DEALS to your text to me so you get added to the proper list. You can also click this link my.community.com/731woodworks Add the word VIDEOS to the text to be alerted when I post new content.
Disclaimer: Please see the link for our disclaimer policy for all of our videos on The Outlaw Effect KZhead channel www.731woodworks.com/youtubed...
Some product links are Amazon and other affiliate links, meaning if you buy something, we'll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support my channel so I can continue to make content like this.
#mitersaw #powertools #toolreview
Click "read more" to see all of the links. Watch Next: Ruthless Review of Milwaukee M18 Trim Router - kzhead.info/sun/a9mll71xZ5qVoas/bejne.html Tools in This Video: Festool Kapex - amzn.to/3tlVAez Festool 80 Tooth Blade - amzn.to/3v08Zte Festool CT36 Dust Extractor - amzn.to/46Xpwvq Festool Blast Gate - amzn.to/4aiPwUR Festool Bigger Hose - amzn.to/3Nu3U2R Festool Bluetooth Adapter - amzn.to/47VJcBb Festool Y - Splitter - amzn.to/3uXTpOX Festool Hose - amzn.to/48kutzd Festool Floor Cleaning Kit - amzn.to/48fZS5T Woodpeckers Stealth Stop Stop Blocks - amzn.to/47Yuol7 Omniwall Weekend Warrior XL - amzn.to/3RfZ7Da Colliflower Zero Clearance Insert - amzn.to/4awKy78 Miter Station Plans - www.731woodworks.com/store/miter-station-build-plans 📲 Text DEALS to 1 (731) 207-7151 I send out regular texts to let you know about great tool deals. Be sure to add DEALS to your text to me so you get added to the proper list. You can also click this link my.community.com/731woodworks Add the word VIDEOS to the text to be alerted when I post new content. Some product links are Amazon and other affiliate links, meaning if you buy something, we'll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support my channel so I can continue to make content like this.
The blades arent proprietary, they are a euro size, a 30mm arbor is very common on larger Euro-Tools (like sliding table saws, which can use a 250mm or larger blade). There are plenty of 3rd party options. Oshlun, Tenryu, CMT, Forrest, Infinity, Freud, Amana
I am just a DIYer and went through 3 miter saws before making the plunge. That was 11 years ago and I have NEVER looked back. The old Cry Once theory. Over those 11 years the saw has worked flawlessly with absolutely no issues. Just made a 100 or so 30 degree miter cuts making Xmas trees and the saw is as accurate today as it was when I purchased it. And... it has NEVER been recalculated or readjusted. As was said, the hold down is something that I actually use all of the time. In fact I purchased a second one for the other side to help prevent pinching and binding if a board is not perfectly flat. All in all, I am very happy and please with my purchase over 11 years ago. Another plus, if I have a question about the product or any product, Festool customer service is ALWAYS helpful and they always answer the phone. regretted any purchase for a moment. JimE
I just bought a 10 year old kapex with a broken motor for $220. I've got a brand new bosch axial glide and although I obviously haven't used the kapex yet i gotta say it feels super solid even after 10 years
@@AwesomeActsOfRandom Once you fire up the Kapex I don't think you will look back. I found working with Festool easy and productive. JimE
I have one and love it. For the blades you can buy a regular blade and use a step bit to size it up for the festool. I have a Bridgeport so its short work for it, but my neighbor uses the step bit and it works fine. Everyone complains about the price BUT, before, I needed a table saw sled for 90 cuts and I have a beautiful old Dewalt radial arm saw that was set up for 90 cuts only. Now I don't need either, put on the Festool saw and cut,- perfect every time. Edit to add. The handle works equally well, left or right handed so you can comfortably cut on either side of the blade. I think thats why the keep it. I thought it would be a problem too, but like you said a couple of day and I didn't event think about it again
The blades aren't really proprietary, they're just the metric standard size like someone else also mentioned. If you have a shop that sharpens blades they usually will punch out any 5/8 arbor blade to the 30mm for a very fair price.
One important thing about the handle is that you can use it for both hands without trying to dislocate your left hand. Thanks for the review.
I borrowed one and after test I decided to buy it. A big reason, my girlfriend loves it. She is a leftyand has no problem using one. I won't have problem spending on tools, I guess....
Had the saw and returned it for the KS60. Battery life is ok to good and it is not as feature rich but it does the job supremely well. So for those in garages or work sheds where electricity is an issue the KS60 is a solution. Also, purchased the hold down separately and rigged it up to work on the KS60 as it is a superior hold down clamp. Thanks for the review.
Tenryu makes excellent blades for the Kapex
The price might be high, but you went for almost 8 straight minutes showing innovative, and in many cases, unique features for this saw.
Thanks for the review.... a couple of points I'd like to make. Regarding price.... you get what you pay for. I sold some of my 10 year old Festool products for more than what I paid... and they held up beautifully over the years. Also, the price covers the excellent warranty and Festool's investment into R&D ensuring that their ecosystem improves over time.... protecting your investment. Also, let's be completely real here.... miter saws throw a lot of dust.... there is no perfect way that I've found over the years to eliminate or greatly reduce miter saw dust. Full Stop. Last point. I not sure where you shop, but I don't know where you can get a quality table saw and miter saw for $1600! High quality tools cost money and last. Cheaper ones cut corners, typically have to replaced just at the worst time possible, sacrafice ease of use....can be under-powered and are often less safe. You get what you pay for. Be informed before you buy into any given platform. Cheers
"The Funny Carpenter" channel recommends Oshlun and Freud Industrial (not Diablo) blades over the stock Festool blades. Your sharpening service can bore the hole on any blade to fit the larger arbor.
I’ll take the Makita for 1/2 the price, And get better blades. And I prefer the bigger table face Makita has returned to like they used to have in their older models, way more stable, especially on job sites.
I have a 25 year old Makita LS1211 - It's a fantastic saw, it has cut miles of wood from floor boards to crown and never let me down. Makita has amazing product support too, all the parts can be found online. As the kids say these days- 'Yeah bro I'm good'
It is so satisfying to see all of these Utubers who have said oh you don’t need Festool, Festool is BS, Festool is too expensive are almost all now hip deep in Festool.
Thanks for the review. I'd love a Kapex but I'm with you on the price. I really like my 12" Makita slider. For half the price, it's very accurate and gives me tablesaw-quality crosscuts. The Kapex implements some of the finer features brilliantly but with the difference in cost I bought a couple of other tools I needed.
Long live the LS1211, mine is 25 years old.
Thanks for the review Mr. Matt. I think I will stick with my Terminator style Bosch 10 inch miter saw. The articulating arm on that thing has served me well. Funny thing about the Bosch is that the 10 inch is actually more expensive than the 12 inch. Go figure. It may be because the 12 inch blades are more expensive, who knows? The Bosch saws on Amazon both have 5 stars which is pretty cool. I once saw a review of this Festool Kapex and the guy who bought it did a lot of interior work at places like bars when they were closed. He stated that the reason he liked the saw so much is that there was basically NO dust at all when using it. Thanks for clearing that up. I can see paying a premium price for a Sawstop table saw. The safety feature alone is worth the price. I should have enough saved to get mine in about 1 year. This saw however....think I'll pass.
The bevel adjust is better than makita.
Best saw ever once you've used one you'll never want to use another saw again. At least I don't lol
The reason Festool products are more expensive than their competitors is that they are made in Europe. DeWalt, Makita etc, etc are all made in China. The cost of labour is far cheaper in China. Another example of how damaging globalisation has been for humanity.
FINALLY! Someone pointed this out. I also wonder if the employees at festool are making an actual living wage.
Not true, Makita is made in Buford Ga.
@@michaeldayringer4030some, not all.
That, plus the stellar warranty that even covers theft replacement.
@@michaeldayringer4030more than 90% of Makita tools are made outside the US, mostly in China. Anything at Home Depot or Lowes is a no-go unless Festool, Woodpecker & and few others simply do not make the tool… It is not just about quality, it is about principles. All the brands you can buy at HD or Lowes are making china rich - that is a big reason to pause before you buy there and look for an alternative. Always.
What about accuracy and blade deflection?
I’ve recently acquired the CSC SYS 50 table saw and the TS 60 K track saw. Would there be any benefit in me getting this mitre in addition? I don’t want to get it and to find out that the table saw (which appears to have pretty good mitre capability) makes it redundant. Any thoughts?
Depends on what you're cutting. If you're cutting a lot of longer stock to break down into smaller pieces, the miter saw will be best I think. But if you already have the table saw and track saw, and don't find yourself missing a miter saw, I wouldn't worry with it.
be thankful for you are in the usa, in australia its price is $2349.00 as a bare tool
I like the way he slips in those extra products at the end there. Once a marketer always a marketer, sometimes a woodworker. personally I'm going for the 60 cordless, ridiculously overpriced but money was your only objection and money comes and goes but good tools last forever.
I think the high price kinda negates the exceptional warranties.
I was disappointed with the dust collection too, it’s good but not like my other festools
Thank you for the review Matt. Unless I was a professional using my miter saw for hours every day I couldn't possibly justify the price, even though it has many fabulous features! Thanks 👍 again. 😊😊😊😊❤❤❤❤
I bought my Kapex about a month ago & have loved it! I upgraded from a DeWalt DW717 and have noticed a huge difference! The biggest difference is how straight my curs have been, both straight & miter cuts. The positive 0 degree stop on my DeWalt wasn’t true & I tried several times to reset it to no avail. I’m glad you pointed out the dust collection as that was something I was a lil disappointed in myself; but like you say it’s far better than my DeWalt was. Overall, I fully agree with your review & am confident I’ll never need another miter saw again.
Great review ! There green and red tools are beyond my budget . My lady Kenmore table saw is 35 or so years old and I use it daily . Love the channel . Cheers
Are you kidding..."cause deflection?" left it there
Great Review!
Great video! I was wondering about that dust collector having the tool outlet AND being Bluetooth compatible. Also, first time I’ve seen that woodpeckers track! Lots of great bonus stuff in this video for me! I’m running the Festool KSC 60 and the battery powered dust extractor. Thinking of upgrading to the plug in dust extractor because of the battery runtime. Great info
How do you find the KSC 60 dust collection?
@@lesbentley4082 for me, I would say it’s very good. I can tell a big difference when the dust collector is running and when it is not.
@@adamwaldon5563 ok thanks. I have started a lot of work in finished homes, feature walls and work like that. Was wondering if I was clean enough to use in a living room without a mess.
@@lesbentley4082 I’m a DIY woodworker. I’ve had a few miter saws though and it has the best dust collection of any miter saw I’ve used. I love the shadow blade cut guide as opposed to the laser on the big Kapex. It’s a nice size also.
The PKE meter had me rolling. Great review.
Lucky you, just paying $1600. Here in Sweden I can pay that money if I get it on a sale. More normal price is 1800-2100.
I agree about the price, Matt. I can see paying $1000-$1200 because it is Festool and as long as it keeps coming with that angle finder and awesome clamp. Great review! I don't remember seeing a review for circular saws, but if not, I suggest you do one of your "vs" comparisons and include the Dewalt 60 volt. After seeing your Home Depot Tips, I bought one for $307, and it has been AWESOME!!
I wanted that saw so bad. Couldn't justify paying that much and ended up getting the Bosch.
I have the Delta Cruzer at a $1000 savings. It works great for me and has wider cut range.
And I will bet you have no problems cutting a perfectly good tubafour in half at any degree desired? 🤣
Great video Matt would have to agree with you love the FESTOOL TOOLS BUT ARE way to expensive for me 😢
We have both, dewalt for the shop and kapex for the field. Recently we have purchased makita for the field. Would not buy another Kapex. Stupid expensive. The dewalt in the shop is amazing, no way the Kapex would last in the shop. Re warranty, our domino quit. Festool would not quote repair. We have to pay to ship to the east coast, then pay to return ship. No longer going to pay a premium for a tool with lousy service.
Where do you get all your awesome t-shirts?
Most come from Kerusso.com
one thing I've learned about Festool "recommenders" is that their recommendations (especially on more expensive tools) seem to be based on the need to justify to themselves (and others where applicable), the amount of money they spent on the equipment, emotional recommendations, if you will. I've got several Festool tools (4 sanders, 2 vacs, domino, router, cordless track saw and tracks, accessories, etc.) and I love each and every one that I've purchased but this specific tool, ah.. I just don't get it.. I bought it, yes it's got nice features as you point out, but at the end of the day it does absolutely nothing any better than my Makita LS1219 for 1/3 the cost. I returned it.
Great and very fair review. I absolutely agree that it is overpriced. I can appreciate high quality tools and I own many but to me the domino is a steal compared to the Kapex. For all the Kapex owners who love the saw, that is awesome but for my money there are too many tools that are unique or more useful that I will spend the money on first.
Even in Europe Festool is an "expensive" brand, but when it gets imported to the US, it has import taxes added to it, making it more expensive than your domestic brands like DeWalt, Milwaukee and such. But then again, you'll probably still have this saw 10 years from now, in working condition, but you would have bought two DeWalts, so maybe the price isn't really that off, although tough to swallow since it's a lot of money to fork over.
They charge that much because people are stupid enough to pay, so they can have their fancy festool and woodpecker tools so everybody can see. I have been working with wood for 65 years and i will never pay that much for tools. Guys say they want precision, well this is woodworking not a machine shop! I have my Grandfathers Disston tenon saw that was made in 1880 and it cuts just as well as the $120.00 saw my wife bought for me two years ago
if it is too expensive, why did you buy it? Whey not return it and buy a saw that had the features you wanted with a price that aligned with your expectations. I think complaining about the price does not hold water. It is the right saw for some woodworkers and delivers value. And for others, the value is not there. Complaining about Festool prices is just whining. Don't buy them if you don't like the prices.
I’m not a fan of the laser kerf lines. In my opinion, Dewalt has a better set in the DWS780. It uses an LED to cast a shadow line. So, no worries if you are red/green color blind. And no worries for calibration of the lasers every so often.
You probably should add a dust separator to your vacuum, it saves on the expensive festool bags. The oneida has higher cfm's than the festool separator, but the Festool separator is a bit more compact. I own the Kapex and agree with your assessment of the dust collection, mostly the it just minimizes the fine dust you might breath while cutting, but a lot of the larger sawdust particles escape, i'm doing experiments on how to improve festool, but seems to me, at $1600, should already work perfectly!
Ruthless??
Thanks for the honest review. I am looking to upgrade my 25yo miter saw, but the price makes me think twice.
@theoutlaweffect To aid in better dust collection slow down the speed of the blade. The saw cuts great without being balls out on the throttle. The slower the blade spinning the easier it is for the dust collection to keep up. Keep up the great videos.
How the heck were you a trooper being red/green color blind...............LOL?
It's technically called Red Green Color Deficient. I can see certain shades of each of the colors. Fo instance, if I see a red car, it's a red car. Green car, green car. It's certain shades of colors I can't see, but things still have color and are close enough to what everyone else sees that if I call out an orange sports car, it's an orange car similar to what everyone else sees.
The craziest part is that if it was a 12" saw I would justify the price even though my job site 12" dual bevel sliding compound dewalt miter saw, stand, miter saw wings with stealth stops, and a killer blade was about the same price. The Kpex doesn't cut any better but it is lighter. For the shop this would be king if it was 12" and was around $1200.
Great honest review. I have been looking at kapex for many years but the price deters me from making the purchase. I bet they would sell out of them if they lowered it to $999. I believe there are so many other options still for less than that but I'd bet that everyone that has a miter saw would upgrade to festool for that price.
The price is reflective of paying fair wages to every employee in the company along with comprehensive benefits for them and their family and not using cheap offshore labor.
Nice tool but that price.. harbor frieghts high end mitor is less than 400$ id have to break 3 of those to match what was paid for that one and i dont think thats likely so personally would save the coin
Yeah but you're never going to be able to pass that Harbor freight saw onto future generations. IMHO.
@@davids8493 I hear that brotha.. unfortunately my kids and every other kid these days doesn't wanna learn a trade skill it seems or just too far up phones ass lol i wish they were interested in my tools and stuff
I can buy 15 10 inch factory reconditioned ryobi’s that work pretty good after squaring them up and that takes 15 minutes. If I had an unlimited money supply I would definitely buy a full collection of Festools. Until I win the lottery I’ll make do with a shop vac and a carefully adjusted cheep tool.
How dare you say something negative about the almighty Festool! Lol I had know idea this had that many features. That detachable miter gauge is pretty sweet. I sure do wish every sliding miter saw could butt up against the wall like this one does
Almost every brand has that now.
@@Thomllama Did you not watch the video? Festool’s detachment miter gauge is clearly different than any other miter saw.
@@FixItFrench I was talking about the zero clearance to the wall.
@@Thomllama Ok, the only saws I have seen be able to do that is the Festool, and the Mikita
No way! Too much money and proprietary blades. Would make a great gift for me though! Thanks for the review.
The blades aren’t proprietary, they have a 30mm arbour which is very common
Nifty. But if Festool thinks I'm paying $1,600 for a miter saw then they have lost their minds.
I have never been a fan of Festool anything, I personally can find the value in a saw at that price. To me it's just price gouging, and then Festools need to have proprietary parts pieces things and stuff, has always rubbed me the wrong way. But if you're a fan of the "Green Kool aide" knock your socks off. Now with all this said as always great job, great review, I don't have to like the product to have to respect the work put into your content, thanks for the hard work!
One thing to keep in mind when buying German products, is that you are paying for the item, plus their socialism.
You are wrong on so many points that you should be embarrassed. Please do some research before you start reviewing a product.