When it comes to making precise cuts, a Festool Kapex KS 120 REB sliding compound miter saw does a fantastic job, but there is always room for improvement. One of my biggest complaints has been its fence, which has a very large throat that can allow the blade to fling offcuts across the room. These small pieces of wood shrapnel can be a danger to the saw, the user, and anyone standing nearby. The standard approach to combating this problem is to fit the saw with a sacrificial fence, but when you do that, you lose some depth of cut, which can be frustrating.

Jack Colliflower, a woodworker and owner/designer of Colliflower, in Cheney, Wash., has fixed both problems in one swift step with the Cube for Kapex Zero-Clearance Fence. This accessory consists of a black powder-coated fence base milled from 6061 aluminum that completely replaces the original Kapex fence base while still employing the existing mounting holes and bolts on the Kapex.

The Colliflower Cube system, comprising a black, powder-coated aluminum fence base and a plastic block.
The Colliflower Cube system, comprising a black, powder-coated aluminum fence base and a plastic block.
The system marries easily to a Festool Kapex saw using the saw’s existing bolts and holes.
The system marries easily to a Festool Kapex saw using the saw’s existing bolts and holes.

At the heart of the Colliflower system is the Cube, a 3 1/2-inch-by-3 1/2-inch by 2-inch-high clear PETG (thermoplastic polyester) block that occupies the once-empty space between the auxiliary fences. This block is slotted around all four sides to fit snugly within the Colliflower replacement fence base and becomes its own sacrificial fence without sacrificing depth of cut or dust-collection capability. With the Cube in place, safety and accuracy are enhanced, and tear-out on the back of the cut is eliminated, regardless of the angle of cut.

Since the Cube is symmetrical, you can rotate it to use all four sides when making sacrificial cuts, extending its life. To replace it, you can buy new PETG cubes from Colliflower for about $20 each, but it’s easy to make your own cubes with offcuts from a 4x4. It’s possible to make custom cubes taller than the PETG cubes, but you’ll get better dust collection by limiting the height to about 2 inches.

The Cube fits the fence’s throat completely to prevent fly-aways and reduce material tear-out but doesn’t impede dust collection or limit depth of cut.
The Cube fits the fence’s throat completely to prevent fly-aways and reduce material tear-out but doesn’t impede dust collection or limit depth of cut.
Adjustment bolts ensure that the Cube remains aligned with the front of the fence.
Adjustment bolts ensure that the Cube remains aligned with the front of the fence.

The price for the U.S.-made Colliflower Cube for Kapex system—which includes the replacement fence base and a PETG cube—is $170, which is well worth the increased safety and accuracy the system brings to the Kapex. colliflower-zci.com