MFT/3 advice

[dance]

So I'm in the market for an MFT/3 and I'm wondering whether to go for the base/bare model and just accessorise with the clamp accessory pack or whether to go for the MFT/3 with the hinged track and the mitre angle gauge thing ?

Any advice?

I am not a kitchen fitter, I'm going to be using it for projects around the house.

 

[adidat]

The mitre angle isn't all that great to use had one for years and never used it in anger. But the bare mft table is very good and versatile. Just add to it as you need, get a rail, some dogs and some festool clamps.


Adidat

 

[Simou1]

Just get the standard table. I cannot remember when I last used the angle guide.

Spend the difference on the clamps, I have a mix of the lever and screw ones and the lever style, though more expensive, is well worth the cost for convenience.

 

[adidat]

Yes the quick clamps are brilliant. The extra you spend will be worth the frustration you would have using the threaded ones!

Adidat

 

[Nelsun]

The protractor (or whatever they call it) is good in theory but mine just gathers dust as I never trust it. I use dogs to create a rear fence instead.

The hinged track on the other hand I find extremely useful, accurate and reliable. I added a "Slop Stop" though as without it there's a wee bit of play. It's expensive for what it is but worth every penny/cent IMO. I know some are more than happy with just using dogs all round but I like the convenience and solidity of having the track fixed in place.

All that said, if you're thinking to be moving it around a lot; keep in mind that just the table itself isn't heavy-heavy but it's also not the easiest thing to humpf around. If you're moving it you'd likely be taking any rail and protractor off before moving it and then refitting them at the other end... so you may get bored of doing that and checking calibration each time. My MFT stays put 90% of the time and I made some heavy duty saw horses that take an MFT style top fixed on top. It's way easier to cart around and tidies away no problem.

As others have said, the ratcheting clamps are better than the threaded ones (they are slower and can sometimes work themselves free if you're not careful). Axminster do their own version of the ratcheting ones which, AFAIK, are near identical to the festool ones... just a different colour and a good whack cheaper.

For dogs the Axminster "Parf Dogs" are lovely (they're stainless steel so have a good heft to them) or there's plenty aluminium ones on the bay pretty cheap.

 

[MikeJhn]

Comments beneath the Festool U Tube video.

rusty cartman
Bought a MFT/3 yesterday after years of wanting one. Very disappointed in how out of square it was out of the box. I'm working out of town and didn't have a good square with me. Setting this up by way of trial and error (making a cut, then flipping piece over, make adjustment, repeat, over and over) was very time consuming. Later in the day I had to slide the fence back to allow for a wider cut and had to repeat the whole process. This morning it was out of whack again. After stopping work to go back to the tool store and dropping another $100 for a woodpecker 1281 it was super simple and quick to set up, but why in the F do I need an additional tool to make this work?!? When I forked out $688 for a precision table I assumed it would include what was needed to make this work correctly. Why can't they include a simple square, or a 12" square chunk of wood, or something similar to make this work properly. Between the time I wasted yesterday and the time spent traveling to purchase needed tool today I'm quite annoyed. On a side note, for some reason my fence does not line up with the holes worth a hoot. Table/saw is currently cutting perfectly square, but hole closest to the guide rail has about .5 mm between fence and hole, the hole farthest to the left is about 3 mm from the fence, and the guide rail brackets are tight against stoppers. Any help in solving this would be appreciated. 

hammer60481
Anyone interested in buying this POS? It is sitting in the corner of my shop gathering dust.

GARBAGE - do not buy, never square just bad design, errors accumulate at every step of the way - even rail supports (holders) never position the same way (they tilt) and you have to recheck every few cuts

Make up your own mind.

Mike

 

[Nelsun]

It does take some setting up to be accurate. Like just about everything else. I'd love to see the same folks reviews for hand planes

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Distinterior]

I bought the full MFT set a few years back but since getting the 2 x Tall & 2 x Short Parf Dogs, I havent used the protractor.....!
Axminster brought out a pair of Rail Clips not long ago that fit in the rail and then clip onto a pair of Tall Parf Dogs. http://www.axminster.co.uk/ujk-technolo ... air-102973 They work a treat and I find them more accurate. Far less of a worry than the hinge system for the rail going out of square and/or the Protractor/Fence.

 

[Nelsun]

^Do the rail clips foul the motor at full plunge depth? I have some rip dogs that use incra track and they just get in the road at full depth meaning you have to bump over them which is a bit annoying.

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[Distinterior]

^Do the rail clips foul the motor at full plunge depth? I have some rip dogs that use incra track and they just get in the road at full depth meaning you have to bump over them which is a bit annoying.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Hi Nelsun,

The saw doesnt hit the clips as far as I know. But, I havent cut anything thicker than 40mm on my MFT's. The Tall Parf dogs are 70mm high including the shoulder, so if the saw was going to hit anything, I think it would be them. It will all depend on the thickness of the material you are cutting. I only tend to use mine for sheet materials, the maximum of which is 40mm.

 

[Superstrat]

Comments beneath the Festool U Tube video.

rusty cartman
Bought a MFT/3 yesterday after years of wanting one. Very disappointed in how out of square it was out of the box. I'm working out of town and didn't have a good square with me. Setting this up by way of trial and error (making a cut, then flipping piece over, make adjustment, repeat, over and over) was very time consuming. Later in the day I had to slide the fence back to allow for a wider cut and had to repeat the whole process. This morning it was out of whack again. After stopping work to go back to the tool store and dropping another $100 for a woodpecker 1281 it was super simple and quick to set up, but why in the F do I need an additional tool to make this work?!? When I forked out $688 for a precision table I assumed it would include what was needed to make this work correctly. Why can't they include a simple square, or a 12" square chunk of wood, or something similar to make this work properly. Between the time I wasted yesterday and the time spent traveling to purchase needed tool today I'm quite annoyed. On a side note, for some reason my fence does not line up with the holes worth a hoot. Table/saw is currently cutting perfectly square, but hole closest to the guide rail has about .5 mm between fence and hole, the hole farthest to the left is about 3 mm from the fence, and the guide rail brackets are tight against stoppers. Any help in solving this would be appreciated. 

hammer60481
Anyone interested in buying this POS? It is sitting in the corner of my shop gathering dust.

GARBAGE - do not buy, never square just bad design, errors accumulate at every step of the way - even rail supports (holders) never position the same way (they tilt) and you have to recheck every few cuts

Make up your own mind.

Mike

If you don't have an accurate square to hand then you can simply set it up by placing a couple of dogs in front of the fence and then use these to align either fence using the adjusting screws (as explained in the manual) to permanently fix these settings. As others have said in this thread, if you also buy a couple of the taller Parf Dogs then you don't need the mitre fence at all for right angle cuts.

There's a good video here which explains this and helps answer the OP's question too...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX8j-eCz5Og

 

[geoffshep]

I got the complete set and hardly use the cross cutting hinged thingy, mostly using a rail set against parf dogs, with or without the clips. I have never used the protractor other than as a method of securing the fence. Later, I got an additional clamp and then secured the fence with 2 clamps rather than use the protractor at all.

The clips will not hit the saw, but the saw will conflict with the tall parf dogs. The thing to do is to set the parf dogs as far apart as possible, with the workpiece between them so that the saw will not hit either of the dogs before or after the cut. If your work piece is very wide, you can cut lengthways on the table, rathe than across.

I think if I was after a semi-portable dogged bench now I would look carefully at the Axminster version - although the supports don't get much praise. This video shows it in action, with a solid base for the workshop. Otherwise, I would think of making my own top using the parf guide system to drill the holes.

https://youtu.be/Gy738pMZVbs

 

[Roughcut]

I bought the full MFT/3 set and have had it for about 2 years now.
I've never bothered using the protractor fence thingy as I find Parf dogs quick and easy.
One of the main reasons I bought the MFT/3 set was because of the ability to hinge the track up and down easily when working for doing repetitive cuts which it does brilliantly.

 

[chippy1970]

You could always make your own like I did. I just made a quick jig and used a 20mm router bit to do the holes. Mine sits on dewalt folding stands and is a lot more solid than the MFT.

https://youtu.be/BnWQxbt4Dcw

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

 

[RogerS]

In all the time that I had my MFT I never used either the protractor or rail. Indeed, it wasn't long before I dropped a router plate into the middle and it became my router table.

While on the subject of Festool track 'add-ons', beware of buying this COS

It relies on a friction lock to maintain its accuracy (unless they've improved it with a fixed 90 degree stop). You buy one thinking it will be a guarantee of making square cuts from a sheet of, say, MDF. Only when you come to use it, by the time you've adjusted that long track, you find that the leverage of the track is enough to move the 90 degree angle out of whack.

Usually Festool stuff is pretty well thought through. This is one of the exceptions.

 

[chippy1970]

In all the time that I had my MFT I never used either the protractor or rail. Indeed, it wasn't long before I dropped a router plate into the middle and it became my router table.

While on the subject of Festool track 'add-ons', beware of buying this COS

It relies on a friction lock to maintain its accuracy (unless they've improved it with a fixed 90 degree stop). You buy one thinking it will be a guarantee of making square cuts from a sheet of, say, MDF. Only when you come to use it, by the time you've adjusted that long track, you find that the leverage of the track is enough to move the 90 degree angle out of whack.

Usually Festool stuff is pretty well thought through. This is one of the exceptions.

Have look on YouTube a company called cpo make a really good rail square.

https://youtu.be/FcPAYyZZTUs

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

 

[YorkshireMartin]

I use mine constantly. Flip down track has been extremely useful for cross cutting. It's easy to square up. I just use a parf dog and run it against that. It's spot on every time. The mitre gauge...tried it, got fed up of calibrating.

Other than that and the fact you need to keep the table top entirely clear of moisture, they are great benches, if a little unsteady for hand planing.