MFT tables - do you use them?

[OscarG]

I was on a bit of a youtube journey last night watching people use this rather nice looking Axminster parf kit to accurately drill holes to make their own MFT table.

I've seen loads of vids people making them, but none actually showing the benefit of these holes. If it's just to stick a clamp through the holes, why do they have to be so accurate?

There's obviously something I'm missing here! Do you have one, how do you use it?

Apologies if this is a ridiculously daft question.

 

[Iestynd]

I have a Festool MFT3.
I'm mainly classed as a DIY'er, but largely is property renovation/self build projects I do. I do do some general wood working, very basic, especially when you see what others on this brilliant forum are capable of.

I love it, the height and conveniance of the table means it gets set up at every project house, or in my single garage and is used for all sorts.
I have "dogs" for the table which are spaced to give paralel cuts, or 90 degree cuts off hence the accuracy. That said, the main thing about them for me is the ability to clamp overhanging wood through the table with the Axminster f type clamps.

I do love the rail system for my Festool TS55 plunge saw as well, this twined with the table is a magic formula.

:mrgreen:

 

[ScaredyCat]

90/45 degree angles are easy. If you're cutting sheet goods, perhaps to a more managable size, and you want the cut to be 90 degrees it's trivial. You can hook tracksaw track over the dogs to guarantee it doesn't wander and it's straight. You can also put dogs in at any point and use low level clamps to secure the wood. You're not limited by where a vice is on your bench for size and or shape of the wood you're using.




.

 

[OscarG]

Cheers!

Do you think they're useful even if you don't have a tracksaw?

 

[transatlantic]

Watch the NewBritWorkshop, all is explained.

You can get most of the benefits by just buying a replacement MFT top from ebay (about £50)

 

[custard]

Generally in woodworking you get what you pay for. But there are exceptions.

This is my table saw,

This is my MFT set up,

In terms of accuracy of cross cutting I can't tell the difference between them, they're both as precise, at 45 and 90 degrees, as I'm able to measure. In terms of how clean the cuts are, again it's difficult to judge one better than the other. The table saw has a scribing saw facility, but the anti-spelch features on an MFT work so well that, with care, it can handle brittle veneered work equally well.

If it's so brilliant why doesn't everyone use one?

Well, there are limitations. It's probably at it's best with man made sheet goods, it's not great for ripping, in fact it's pretty poor in that respect. The thickness capacity is more restricted. Cross cut stops are less convenient. And the range of angles you can work with isn't as convenient outside a small number of pre-specified angles.

I used to work in the US and had the chance to see how woodworking was done differently there, I was struck that there was a definite sub set of hobbyist woodworkers who consciously decided to work primarily in sheet goods (ply, MDF, etc). They'd often have an MFT table and a track saw, along with a Domino and a biscuit jointer, as their main tools; and they were very productive! Kitchens, built in units, fitted furniture, you name it. These guys were churning out stuff at a rate of knots to a pretty high professional level.

I wondered why their counterparts don't really exist in the UK? I think the answer is because sheet goods raw materials are expensive. They're not much cheaper in the US, but somehow that was a bullet that American hobbyists were prepared to bite. Where as spending several hundreds (or even thousands) for multiple sheets of Birch Play or veneered MDF is too much of an up front commitment for UK hobbyists.

 

[porker]

I don't have a tablesaw or room to put one at the moment. I don't have the funds for an MFT but made my own Paulk type worktop. It normally sits on trestles. I'm renovating a large house so a lot of built ins and wardrobes etc from ply and MRMDF. I break the 8x4 sheets down on a knockdown cutting table outside and use the small table to accurately cross cut small sheet components. The tool storage below is also great as I can keep the top clear. Makes my life easier and I get more out of my TS55.

Peter Millard recently did some videos on how he uses his MFT.

https://youtu.be/0V-p5F7SjO4

 

[powertools]

If you don't have a track saw there is no reason to have the mft table top, if you do have a track saw you don't need the mft table top.

 

[Eric The Viking]

If you don't have a track saw there is no reason to have the mft table top, if you do have a track saw you don't need the mft table top.

Pardon?

I have a 3rd party MFT and it's jolly good and wasn't expensive. Add-in the cost of the track saw (mine is Makita), and it's still a lot cheaper than a good mitre saw, and probably equally versatile. I'm not suggesting it replaces one (obviously), but it has a lot of the same functions, and many more that don't overlap.

Other people have lots more experience than me...

 

[custard]

I don't have the funds for an MFT but made my own Paulk type worktop.

I should have emphasised, when I say "MFT" I'm using it in the generic sense, it certainly doesn't have to be a Festool.

 

[powertools]

Pardon?
How did we suddenly go from mft tops to mitre saws?

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

Perhaps you do not "need" an MFT table top, but for a £50 outlay you have a quick and easy way to cut perfectly square panels with a track saw. I bought a top and made a table for it and in conjunction with a few dogs (I use 20mm plastic cable ducting which I had lying about) it is a very useful table. Of course it is possible to do this without the MFT top, but it definitely improves accuracy and efficiency (the track saw also cuts cleaner across the grain than my sliding table on my table saw). It a faff for thin pieces, both ripping and cross cutting, but I have a bandsaw and table saw for those tasks.

 

[ScaredyCat]

If you don't have a track saw there is no reason to have the mft table top, if you do have a track saw you don't need the mft table top.

You do not need a track saw to use an mft - you can use an mft for many, many things - hence the first to characters of the acronym.




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[Obi Wan Kenobi]

"hence the first to characters of the acronym."

My thoughts too :wink:

OWK ccasion5:

 

[Doug B]

I made a mft top & dogs to match, I sit it on a couple of trestles & find it most useful, I’ll be using it today fitting skirtings & architrave (mitring is a breeze) & like the fact that I can set up in the room I’m working & with the great extraction on the track saw can work with very little dust

 

[PAC1]

If you don't have a track saw there is no reason to have the mft table top, if you do have a track saw you don't need the mft table top.

I do not own a track saw but own an MFT!
I use it for routing dados, holding awkward shaped pieces that need working on and for the Domino machine

 

[Rorschach]

I made a simple MFT style top for a workmate, it's just a piece of board with 20mm holes drilled on a 100mm grid. It is not accurate enough to use like a real MFT style top but it's very handy for clamping down items to be cut using either my track saw or other tools. In the future I will get a proper MFT style board for accurate cutting but at the moment I don't need it.

If you want to saw accurately, buy the CNC cut tops or a real MFT if you want. If you want a versatile clamping solution, use any old scrap of board and lay out a grid by hand, it doesn't need to be accurate for that.

 

[OscarG]

Cheers guys, feel a bit more educated now!

What sort of clamps do you use for the holes?

 

[OscarG]

Generally in woodworking you get what you pay for. But there are exceptions.

This is my table saw,


This is my MFT set up,


In terms of accuracy of cross cutting I can't tell the difference between them, they're both as precise, at 45 and 90 degrees, as I'm able to measure. In terms of how clean the cuts are, again it's difficult to judge one better than the other. The table saw has a scribing saw facility, but the anti-spelch features on an MFT work so well that, with care, it can handle brittle veneered work equally well.

If it's so brilliant why doesn't everyone use one?

Well, there are limitations. It's probably at it's best with man made sheet goods, it's not great for ripping, in fact it's pretty poor in that respect. The thickness capacity is more restricted. Cross cut stops are less convenient. And the range of angles you can work with isn't as convenient outside a small number of pre-specified angles.

I used to work in the US and had the chance to see how woodworking was done differently there, I was struck that there was a definite sub set of hobbyist woodworkers who consciously decided to work primarily in sheet goods (ply, MDF, etc). They'd often have an MFT table and a track saw, along with a Domino and a biscuit jointer, as their main tools; and they were very productive! Kitchens, built in units, fitted furniture, you name it. These guys were churning out stuff at a rate of knots to a pretty high professional level.

I wondered why their counterparts don't really exist in the UK? I think the answer is because sheet goods raw materials are expensive. They're not much cheaper in the US, but somehow that was a bullet that American hobbyists were prepared to bite. Where as spending several hundreds (or even thousands) for multiple sheets of Birch Play or veneered MDF is too much of an up front commitment for UK hobbyists.

Cheers!

Maybe I ought to get/make a MFT one for cross-cuts. I'm struggling with that for now.

Have to say, your workshop is gorgeous! Look at that saw..wow. It's bigger than my flat!

 

[ScaredyCat]

You can use Festool quick clamps - Bessey make cheaper ones or Festool low level clamps - Festool ones are obviously expensive. Marius Hornberger has a nice lowlevel design you can build yourself.





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