Woodworking #53- Miter Saw Safety (Festool Kapex)

[soulvibe2007]

HAHAHA the tee shirt .... great choice for a safety video :)

[elimelech12]

hey bro, did you pick your nose @ 3:00??? lol

[TheWoodWhisperer]

@elimelech12 yes

[ak99372]

Great video as always! One thing I always struggle with is cutting very small pieces. Especially if you have like a 3"-4" inch molding that needs to have 45 angles on both ends. What is your recommendation with those?

[TheWoodWhisperer]

@ak99372 Honestly, there's a point where it just isn't feasible to make a cut on a power saw. So if you can't some up with some sort of jig to clamp the piece securely, you might be best off going to a traditional hand miter box.

[nztransportgeography]

@rx7dren these saws come in a range of prices and specs, down to $100 or less, the same safety rules apply to any priced saw.

I appreciate these resources greatly as it being the first time I have owned a circular saw of any kind and needing to get up to speed with the safety hazards.

[fairspares]

excellent video , keep it up .

[TheWoodWhisperer]

@rx7dren Why so much explanation? Its a safety video man. What did you expect?!?!

[WillyWonkaIsSatanic]

@rx7dren I'm not a professional, and I was using a miter saw when I was in middle school.

[frisbeel0l]

using the miter saw on the same piece of wood later. what does the jig-saw do first, to make it easier to cut that same piece of wood by using the miter saw later?

[TheWoodWhisperer]

@frisbeel0l Its a matter of taking the tool to the wood, or the wood to the tool. Rough wood is usually a little wobbly on the surface. This is not a good thing at the miter saw. So the jigsaw is much safer and much more forgiving. Also, if the board is large and heavy, it can be tricky to get it up on the miter saw. But cutting it down first with the jig saw gives you a much smaller piece that is easier to manage at the miter saw.

[frisbeel0l]

does the stop-block side have a clamp also? or couldn't you just hold that stop-block side with your right-hand, and use the left hand to operate the saw? i'm prolly missing your whole point, otherwise. i just don't understand where the "danger is intended to be illustrated by your example. this part of your video is at the 5:00 minute mark. SECONDLY, i can't figure out what you are referring to by a rough piece of wood being cut preferably by a jig-saw and then

[TheWoodWhisperer]

@frisbeel0l No the stop block side does not have a clamp. In most cases, a miter saw is going to come with only one clamp. So you need to choose which side get the clamp. If your piece is stable enough on the surface, you certainly could use the clamp to secure the cut off piece between the blade and the stop block. But you still need to be very careful b/c those clamps are not foolproof and the piece could still move.

[frisbeel0l]

problem because at this point you haven't told us how you plan to hold the wood. if you held-down the left-side [which is already clamped] with your left hand and used your right hand to operate the saw-blade, i suppose the right side of the wood, [fitted against the stop-block] you are cutting could potentially become "jarred" since you are holding the "wrong" side of the wood with your [left] hand. why are you holding the left-side of the wood which is already clamped?

[TheWoodWhisperer]

@frisbeel0l Your left hand has nothing to do with the cut at this point. But I usually do use my left hand for extra support while I make the cut. But my hand is pretty far from the blade at that time. 

[frisbeel0l]

you started out by explaining how the miter saw can be used by a left-hand person or right-hand person. then when you gave the caution of clamping the left end of the work-piece (of wood to be cut), you illustrated the "danger" of clamping the left-side of the wood to be cut while "fitting" the right-side of the wood to be cut against the stop-block (on the right side of the saw-blade). NOTICE, at this point when you said, "does anyone see a problem with this?" i don't see the

[frisbeel0l]

i wish you could make two of your cautionary instructions in this video a little more idiot-proof for people who don't really have a perspective on this saw. i do admit i'm the idiot in this case, 'cause i am just learning how to use the miter saw for the first time. here are the two instructions which seem to me, at least, a newcomer, to be somewhat vague and confusing:

[roncabezas]

Please let me give you a warm thanks for how well you explained everything. You rock!

[MsContractor13]

I'm looking at getting my husband a new saw for his birthday, any advice on what one? I heard of a new one coming out called the straight flush, do you know who makes it?

[TheWoodWhisperer]

@MsContractor13 There are lots of great saws on the market so its going to be hard to give you advice without knowing how he's going to use the saw and what your budget is. Never heard of the Straight Flush.

[MsContractor13]

@TheWoodWhisperer He is a general contractor so he does a little of everything. Just a versatile circular saw. Do you like the safety on the omni dual blade circular saw? The king double cut...

[TheWoodWhisperer]

@MsContractor13 OK well we are talking about three different things here. This video was on a miter saw, you mention a circular saw, and then you asked about a dual saw. I know it can get really confusing with so many types of tools but they are all quite different. I think we are better off taking this to email. Head to my site or email me at thewoodwhisperer at gmail and I would be happy to give you more info on this.

[fremond05]

Moi J'achète mes festool chez E-KILIBRE-OUTILLAGE COM j'y trouve le conseil les prix la disponibilité et le stock

[007cn]

you are a very good instructor, thanks for information and teaching.

[natyavaruval]

thanx for the tips,,,

[jaimebenavides12]

After marking for your cut, you then use a utility knife and cut on the pencil mark. This will help with the splinters.

[tansaf1997]

Very informative video, thank you very much.

[jackjay1]

i have a kapex 120 and find if i am cutting a 150mm high gloss plinth i need to put the blade down at the fence & pull the blade back. otherwise the cut splinters. any tips?

[TheWoodWhisperer]

I would recommend trying a new blade with more teeth. The greater tooth count should yield a fine, splinter-free cut.

[jackjay1]

its a 60 tooth festool blade i'm using. some of the kitchen plinth & trims i'm fitting are painted some a high gloss paint & it does chip how many teeth are in the blad you use for fine work. festool do an 80 tooth blade but it's very expensive.

[TheWoodWhisperer]

Well you could always try wrapping the piece with blue masking tape right at the cut line. See if that prevents the chipout.

[gold555555]

i have the kapex and also am a kitchen fitter try using masking tape pulled tight and cut the plinth upside down ,move blade slow an consistent hope this helps works for me...

[zaratustrachile]

great.... thank you very much for this funny safety video

[paulfreefall]

thank you, picked up some very good tips - as well as safety tips. I just bought a very loud compound saw - haven't used it yet but switched it on. scary! cant wait to start building my new kitchen.

Thanks again.

[fratsman]

I'm not sure the chick at the end adds much to the overall benefit of this video; in fact, the whole thing could be about half as long...

[admec1]

Some compound mitre saws are designed to be used as a pull saw (DeWalt DW 701 and Metabo KGS 303 are just two) I use both of these saws and others makes of mitre saw at times too. I checked with both manufacturers, DeWalt said and it's down to which model is used. And Metabo said although the manual shows a pull method for the KGS 303 both, pull and out down with push-in motion are acceptable. Confused now?

[TheWoodWhisperer]

haha. Clear as much now! Thanks. :)

[simonp800]

yer good folks!

[TheWoodWhisperer]

1- It may impede the dust collection a bit, yes. But it wont completely negate it. 2- Unfortunately that fence is not available in the US. Its one of Festool's products that they sell in Europe but haven't yet brought to the states.

[ger2676]

Good, instructional video. Two questions.

1) Won't the double stick taped kerf cut backer board negate the dust collection aspect of the saw, and 2) is the fence I see in your video part of the saw or is it an auxiliary fence, and if it is an auxiliary fence where can I get one?

[lonestar1775]

very helpful, 5 stars and i loved the end.,....lol @$#%

[Peter7Paul]

Thanks for posting this, very helpful.

[jws54]

I learned a few things here today.

I like the way you teach.

I would've pulled the saw through the pc for all I knew about it.

Seems backasswards, so I guess that shows I need to learn some new ways. thanks

[TalismanRocks]

Nice Saw! I got my Kapex a few weeks ago, easily the most accurate saw I've ever used -and I've tried them all at one point in time.

[Swindlehurstguy]

Great saw, really enjoyed the video and found it most helpfull. Keep up the great work, warmest regards from South Africa!

[hopper1]

Great video, I learned a few things from it. I agree with the points made about cutting rough stock. I've been using a crosscut saw for that task lately. It accomplishes two tasks at once. I get to practice sawing to a line, and the stock gets cut to the rough lengths that I need :)

[otto5656]

The safety tips are great and all but let's get started on a project.

[hammerofharpel]

Great vid. Now I solved the old 'why does the piece splinter a bit -- shut the saw off before lifting the blade. I felt stupid -- and excited to learn the mistake! Dave...

[Deano999111]

Good video,

Learned some good tips there

[rcwc3]

nice infromatioinal video. helped me out. ive seen some nasty kickback before. im in house carpentry and my friend started the miter box blade on the work piece. it went flying.

[guitarninja83]

lol.. the intro to this is the same as a guitar instructional I had up 3 years ago. I have the same program lol

[jeanseborg]

You're such a good teacher! Good work!

[aldfaglkjg1231]

Thank you.  Great tips.