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Kapex 120 - infuriating feet

E

Eric the Viking

Nordic Pine
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In the downstairs shower, trying to fix the leak.
All I want to do is use the 6mm holes provided, to fix my Kapex to a mounting plate for a Makita stand.

I am beginning to realise what a terrible heresy this is, but the underside of the saw seems to have been designed by a small child playing with Lego.* There's a dearth of flat surfaces, and the clamps for the extension wings project below the bottom plate of the saw. This is not helpful.

If I could remove the rubber feet it would be better, as at least there would be the ability to firmly clamp a plate underneath, but, despite them having an Allen bolt head above the frame, they cannot be released with an Allen key, or so it seems. Here are the above and below of my predicament:
IMG_0633.JPG
IMG_0632.JPG

Has anybody worked out how to remove these feet without breaking them? I've tried a wooden wedge into the corner of the frame and using a Jubilee clip to stop the foot spinning, too. Neither worked. Next up is probably a big soldering iron on the bolt head, then a Dremel. You can hear the desperation in my typing.

Why does Festool make a lovely, beautifully accurate saw that won't easily mount to anything else? And before anybody says it, I am NOT paying considerably more than 1000 quid for a wheely tea trolley and two slabs of extrusion.

E.

PS: there are bolt-on raiser feet for the Kapex 60, which might fit the 120, but I fear the accursed rubber feet prevent this. Bonus points for anyone who made that work!

*other toys you really, really regret standing on with bare feet are available...
 
Could you eliminate the effect of the rubber feet? Take a bit of flat wood bigger than the base and thicker than the exposed rubber. Drill clearance holes where the feet go.

Then put woodscrews through the 6mm holes into the board and fix the board down with something else beyond the metal base of this tool.

Or use bolts through those holes and whatever you're fixing to.
 
I’ve read that you tend to damage the rubber feet trying to get them off, a couple of folks on FOG have fitted their Kapexes to DeWalt stands & have ended up leaving the rubber feet on & incorporating them into their mounting solution.
 
I'm missing something here. What's wrong with longer bolts or screws through those holes ?
 
I had mine on a DeWalt stand for a while and I'm sure I took the feet off but think I put them back on when I got the proper stand and wings, will have a look/play tomorrow.
The proper Festool stand is really good, think it was about £350 when I got mine and yes it's twice that now!
 
Thanks everyone!

To answer a few questions:

I have some 6mm aluminium plate (bar stock), which I want to use as the adaptor for the new Kapex-to-Makita clamps. This is because I can drill and tap it for M6, which gives me a strong and neat solution, and it's suitably rigid. If I fix it to the underside of the saw, I only need two matching strips of plate (in theory!), which will be less cumbersome, lighter weight and more durable than, say using a slab of MDF or ply underneath.

The underside of the Kapex is infuriatingly not-flat. In particular there are casting sprues on the outer edge, which I don't want to file flat as it would compromise the corrosion-resisting paint on the chassis, and the clamping system for the saw's own outriggers are proud of the main frame by about 1 to 2 mm (but rely on this for their clamping effectiveness). They are very close to the line between the front and back mounting points.

If I can remove the rubber feet, I get a well-supported strip front-to-back on each side that's about 30-35mm wide and doesn't foul the outrigger clamp mechanism or the casting sprues. I also have two machine-screw holes at each end, so they can attach the adaptor plate rigidly and securely. This is ideal.

If I leave the feet in place, either I make clearance holes (which weakens the adaptor and only lets me have one machine screw at each end), or they tilt the plate (you can see the feet are right next to the empty mounting holes. My picture above is a bit deceptive - the feet project by an annoying 1-2mm max. - just enough to be a jolly nuisance.

Doug's link to replacement feet gives me a possible clue however - there are nuts (or threaded inserts) inside each foot, and the machine screws that secure them seem to come pre-loaded with Loctite or simlar.

Loctite is usually amenable to heat, so If I heat just the bolt head (big soldering iron), I might get them loose without wrecking the paint job! I can also try grabbing the foot with a better-fitting jubilee clip, close to the upper end (where the threaded insert is). I think earlier I had the clip too far down, away from the insert, and it needs to be higher.

I'll try to add to this thread as I go, so anyone following on knows what to do, or what not to!

Thanks again chaps, as always.

E.

PS: if the feet survive, and ever need to go back, it will be with removable Loctite, not permanent!
 
Mines on a Dewalt stand, I don't recall it being a big deal to get the feet off, but then I'm probably a bit pragmatic about these things, mind you at the price they charge for new one's I'd best find them.
 
Would this not be a suitable project for 3D printing an infill for the Kapex base, that would make it flush or have whatever shape you need to mount to a stand?
 
9fingers":1vvji5wv said:
ETV
Don’t automatically think your aluminium plate will be flat. Nearly always has some twist in it and could easily pull the saw out of true.
Bob
Click to expand...
Thanks Bob,

I made a bit of progress today, but got interrupted by an apparent gas leak (not one on our side of the meter, it turns out), which delayed things. Also delaying things is that I've mislaid my dividers somewhere, so can't get the measurements I need easily. As soon as I find them...

Anyway, the aluminium flat bar is 6.45mm thick (I have no idea why - 6.35mm would make more sense!), and pretty flat. I think it will serve, and it will struggle to distort the Kapex baseplate, which has more ribs than a very ribbed thing. I'm more nervous about the apparently puny clamps on the saw stand itself. we'll see.
 
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