jmatz
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Location: Chicago, IL Member Since: Feb 2007
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« on: July 24, 2007, 11:18 PM » |
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Finally had time to put together the base for my MFT - works fine, nothing fancy. I will be adding shelves or drawer slides for each individual systainer, plus drawers for supplies. My requirement for this thing to have a small footprint has worked out great, since I'm working out of 1/2 of a two car garage. Future modifications will include a hook mounted inside the CT33 storage area so I can loop the hose 3 or 4 times and hang it from the hook. Might also drill some vent holes for the CT exhaust and air intake if it overheats. When the casters are locked, the unit is very solid with no play. JM Original Post HereEdit: Added rear view of cabinet. Roland Chung brought up a good point that two of these cabinets could be joined together, with the "back" sides facing each other. Since the rails of the MFT are flush with the outer dimensions of the base cabinet, it would be easy to attach the two MFTs together using a couple Table Connectors (online catalog item #484455). Then maybe just temporarily clamp the cabinets together or have a couple of holes for bolts to be threaded through the cabinet backs. The double-sized unit would still be easily be moved around. Edit: Added front and left side diagrams. MEASUREMENTS ARE APPROXIMATE !! I often make on-the-fly changes during construction, so don't take these measurements too literally... |
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« Last Edit: November 09, 2007, 05:36 PM by jmatz »
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Chicago, IL
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Eli
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Location: Melbourne, Australia Member Since: Jul 2007
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« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2007, 11:29 PM » |
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That looks great J. Are you thinking just a drawer bottom (systainer footprint) sized piece of ply with the slides mounted to the side of it, and a lip in the front and back?
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jmatz
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Location: Chicago, IL Member Since: Feb 2007
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« Reply #2 on: July 24, 2007, 11:37 PM » |
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Thanks Eli. Just a drawer bottom sounds good. Maybe 1/2" birch ply. I'll live with it for a week or two until various options come to mind, along with the usual great suggestions on this board. Was considering screwing the slides into the sides of the systainers, but not sure.
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Eli
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Location: Melbourne, Australia Member Since: Jul 2007
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A Yankee in Kangaroo Court
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« Reply #3 on: July 24, 2007, 11:42 PM » |
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I thought the same thing at first, bolt thru the sys side, but what if you wanted to take just one? I work on site. 1/2" would be good, but I'd worry about slide screws splitting the lams. Some of the tools are heavy. Maybe a hardwood frame with chewy nougat 1/2" ply center? Maybe just the frame even? You don't really need a bottom, just somewhere for the edges to sit. You could put louvers all across the bottom  |
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jmatz
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« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2007, 11:50 PM » |
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Maybe just the frame even? You don't really need a bottom, just somewhere for the edges to sit.
There's an idea - maybe some aluminum angle stock welded into a frame. |
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« Last Edit: July 24, 2007, 11:54 PM by jmatz »
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Eli
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« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2007, 01:18 AM » |
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Or for that matter, who needs a frame? a piece of angle mounted on each slide would do the same job, nothing to do but cut to length, drill the holes and get bolts (machine screws) with heads that clear the slide assembly. Maybe a strip of rubber matting on the top of each. Or one hole through each corner of the systainer to drop a bolt through. If you still want the ply you can add it on top of the angle, depending on vertical clearance. Yeah, that sounds easy and strong.
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Ned
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« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2007, 09:29 AM » |
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...1/2" would be good, but I'd worry about slide screws splitting the lams.
I would too. So I'd use slides that mount to the cabinet walls but have built-in angles so that they're attached to the bottom of the drawer plywood. Ned |
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Overtime
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Location: Eastern Iowa Member Since: Jan 2007
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Eastern Iowa USA
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« Reply #8 on: July 26, 2007, 01:33 AM » |
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Wow, that is a fine looking set up! Great idea and a fine job on the design. Looks like a great functional addition to your shop.
If dust becomes an issue you got a vac as close as you can get.
But if it gets real bad you could add a 2-4 inch strip of thick mill (firm but soft) clear plastic around the entire top edge of the cabinet kinda like a mud flap only for dust. So it falls more to the floor instead of into the cabinet.
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Patrick
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woodshopdemos
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« Reply #9 on: July 26, 2007, 08:27 AM » |
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JM,
A very nice shop add. Today is a day when I actually had planned to "invent" a caster foot for the MFTs...all of a sudden, your idea looks way better.
As t o slides, dont screw, bolt or anyting to the systainer. I think you would regret it. SImply make a tray with a one-half inch lip from and back. This will keep the S. from moving and will still allow you to remove as neccessary.
Thanks for posting.
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woodwrights_corner
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« Reply #10 on: July 26, 2007, 09:18 AM » |
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Referencing your comment: "I'll live with it for a week or two until various options come to mind, along with the usual great suggestions on this board."
I love this comment and strategy. So many times stepping away from a project for just a few minutes, hours, or days can yield great results. I am certain with all the suggestions you get from others your final project will be even greater. Thanks for the photos!
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jmatz
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Location: Chicago, IL Member Since: Feb 2007
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« Reply #11 on: July 26, 2007, 12:07 PM » |
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Thanks everyone. Just wondering... as a project that you are working on evolves significantly and you want to post an update weeks or months later, is it best to edit or reply to the original thread or post a new one with a link to the old thread for reference?
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« Last Edit: July 26, 2007, 12:24 PM by jmatz »
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Ned
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Location: Mountains of Southern California Member Since: Jul 2009
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« Reply #12 on: July 26, 2007, 12:32 PM » |
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JM--
If it's an update, I'd rather see it in the original thread.
If it's a significant change from what you have said earlier, I'd modify the original post so that new readers of the thread don't have to read the original and then mentally apply the changes.
Obscure reference: Microsoft Word's Fast Save was a stupid idea. Computers could barely implement it. Humans can't.
In every situation, the question should be "what works best for the reader of the thread? A new reader of the thread?"
Ned
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Garry
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Location: Fort Collins, Colorado Member Since: Sep 2007
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« Reply #13 on: October 18, 2007, 11:20 PM » |
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I am in the process of designing something very similar to this. My plan is to size it so the height of the lower cabinet is the same height as the top of the MFT (on its legs) so I set them up together if I need a larger work surface. I'll also have a top insert sized the same as the MFT top so that I could use a replacement top (or drill my own) if I really need it.
I am also thinking of making frame & panel sides for the larger flat surfaces using peg board as the panel material.
I'll use smaller casters, but a couple more, to maximize the interior space. In the spots that are too narrow for systainers, I will have drawers or shelves for other storage, and I'll do something (probably an oversize drawer) over the CT22.
There are lots of great ideas on this board. I'm glad I found it!
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Hergy
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Location: Omaha, NE Member Since: Oct 2007
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« Reply #14 on: October 24, 2007, 09:31 AM » |
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JM,
A very nice shop add. Today is a day when I actually had planned to "invent" a caster foot for the MFTs...all of a sudden, your idea looks way better.
As t o slides, dont screw, bolt or anyting to the systainer. I think you would regret it. SImply make a tray with a one-half inch lip from and back. This will keep the S. from moving and will still allow you to remove as neccessary.
Thanks for posting.
John, if you "invent" those casters, I'll be the first in line to get some. I have been racking my brain to figure out a way to make this table mobile. The OP has come up with a nice solution. |
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Garry
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« Reply #15 on: October 24, 2007, 11:35 AM » |
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John, if you "invent" those casters, I'll be the first in line to get some. I have been racking my brain to figure out a way to make this table mobile. The OP has come up with a nice solution.
I think you could find a way to attach these to the MFT legs (maybe a U bolt or something) CastersGK |
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Remodelboy
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« Reply #16 on: October 31, 2007, 12:34 PM » |
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JM,
I love your project. Right now, I am fighting my nature to overcomplicate things. I want to build an oversized MFT or assembly table and I have a ton of great ideas from this and other forums. I keep coming back to your design - clean and simple.
Instead of making one giant MFT, I am considering making more than one cabinet (similar to yours-heck, maybe exactly like yours) that I could set up in multiple configurations and that I could more easily store.
Since you posted this, have you added anything to the cabinet? Is there anything that you would change on a future version?
RC
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Hergy
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« Reply #17 on: October 31, 2007, 09:48 PM » |
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John, I thought that all I wanted to do was to put wheels on my 1080, but the more I have looked at your project the more I like it. I'm trying to figure out the partitioning that you used. I can make it out on the front side ,but I'm curious what the back side looks like. Any chance you could post a pic of the back side?
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jmatz
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Location: Chicago, IL Member Since: Feb 2007
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« Reply #18 on: November 09, 2007, 11:47 AM » |
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John, I thought that all I wanted to do was to put wheels on my 1080, but the more I have looked at your project the more I like it. I'm trying to figure out the partitioning that you used. I can make it out on the front side ,but I'm curious what the back side looks like. Any chance you could post a pic of the back side?
Sorry everyone - I went into "bicycle building and repair" mode for the summer an strayed away from this board. I've added a photo of the rear of the cabinet to the original post. If anyone wants the drawing file so that they can make their own modifications, I'd be glad to send it to them - or can I post it here somehow? I used "Design Intuition", which is available for mac or windows. Next version of the software will have more capabilities, but for now it is a simple interface and fairly inexpensive. JM |
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Dave Ronyak
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« Reply #19 on: November 09, 2007, 05:14 PM » |
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JM,
I would be grateful if you would post the photos and dimensions and a cut list or diagram or whatever you have retained that describes your design. I am contemplating making similarly designed bases, one for a MFT 1080 like yours, a second smaller one for a MFT 800, and then a narrower third unit to serve as a base for my CMS to be set between the two cabinet-based MFTs. That would provide lots of storage, decent support when cutting on the CMS, portability of the MFTs when needed outside of my garage/shop, and possibly enable me to eliminate an existing old wooden workbench that is not the best in condition or design/utility. And I could use one or both of the MFT/cabinet units are rollabout in-feed and outfeed supports for my table saw/router table and as a rollabout storage for stock preparation and work-in-progress. And if I set a lazy susan on top of one or a combination of the cabinet boxes, base dolly, and MFT units, I should be able to position work conveniently for spray finishing.
Dave R.
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jmatz
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Location: Chicago, IL Member Since: Feb 2007
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« Reply #20 on: November 09, 2007, 05:20 PM » |
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I'll post the front, left, right side diagrams with dimensions... they will be added to the photos already at the top of this thread. Hope that helps.
I like the lazy susan idea - might have to try that!
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maxwell
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« Reply #21 on: November 30, 2007, 11:25 PM » |
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I was wondering if, after using your MFT cabinet for a while, whether you had any problems with dust or chips accumulating between the MFT top and the cabinet top.
I know that the CT's dust extraction is pretty good, but I sometimes use hand tools on mine and its easy to clear up when the crap just falls to the floor.
Do you find your design easy to clean?
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jmatz
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« Reply #22 on: December 01, 2007, 12:10 AM » |
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Dust hasn't been a problem so far. The CT33 seems to take care of most of it, and the fact that the MFT is at the opening of the garage helps because any breeze clears off the dust. Or I blow it off underneath the MFT using compressed air.
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Brian 57
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« Reply #23 on: December 01, 2007, 06:49 AM » |
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Neat idea.
A detail I would like to better understand relates to the four square ply "studs" which receive the right-angled legs of the MFT. I think I can see that the studs are screwed to the upper plywood surface, but am unclear if/how you then attached the MFT to those studs.
Regards
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Eli
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« Reply #24 on: December 01, 2007, 06:56 AM » |
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I don't think it's attached to them, the legs are folded and the ply pads prevent the MFT from sliding off the rolling base, by sitting around the outside perimeter of the pads.
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jmatz
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« Reply #25 on: December 01, 2007, 12:01 PM » |
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Yes... I am just relying on the weight of the MFT (with the full leg assemblys detatched) to keep it on the cabinet.
All the pressures on the MFT are downward or lateral, so the small plywood blocks work fine for keeping the MFT from moving.
You could certainly drill a hole in each of the MFT short legs and add a screw through them into the block for full anchoring.
JM
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mntbighker
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« Reply #26 on: December 02, 2007, 02:20 AM » |
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I have been watching this discussion with interest since I finally got my first 1080 today. The various ideas have been coalescing in my melon and I have one suggestion based on what I have read. Keep in mind I have a very small storage shed, car port and no real "workshop" :-( I like the idea of the cabinet having it's own MFT top, and I like the idea of the MFT and cabinet being the same height when separated. So I put the two ideas together and I propose the cabinet having a "shelf" near it's base for the MFT legs to sit on. The MFT is a pretty heavy unit and I have a bad back. This way you would tip the MFT up at an angle... roll the cabinet under... and tip the MFT back the other way while sliding it the rest of the way onto it's narrow shelf. Then all that's needed is some fairly elegant way to clamp or lock the MFT in place. Maybe all you really need is a couple of small wood blocks that rotate to capture the legs from sliding off the trailing edge? Now the MFT is a bit higher (I'm 6'2") and on wheels with some storage underneath. If I need the real estate I separate them and have a way to lock them together back to back. So this is only possible because it appears Festool designed the MFT with the legs dead vertical and lateral supports on the narrow side only. The wrinkle is the height of the leg mounts but I hope that's not a deal breaker.
--Mark
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Festoolian since November 2007
TS55EQ saw - OF1400EQ router - OF2000 router - HL 850 planer - MFT 1080 - DF 500Q - RO 150 sander - RO 90 sander - CT 22 dust extractor - Kapex - CXS drill
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Dan Clermont
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« Reply #27 on: March 25, 2008, 02:50 PM » |
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I am looking at starting an MFT cabinet tomorrow or Thursday.
has anyone who has built one like this happy with it or would you make some changes and if so what would they be?
I plan to build a drawer into it so I can store my MFS 700
Cheers
Dan Clermont
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mhch
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« Reply #28 on: March 25, 2008, 02:57 PM » |
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I've been struggling with making plans for one. Nothing satisfied me. I suggest you read my last post in http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=1223.0 to see where I'm aiming at. |
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jmatz
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« Reply #29 on: March 25, 2008, 03:00 PM » |
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Having lived with the cabinet for a while, I am thinking of adding a 4-plug outlet box somewhere. This would make it easier to plug in the saw, router, domino without running cords all over the garage or plugging/unplugging tools too much. Just one extension coming from overhead to the back of the cabinet.
That's about it. All other functions of the table have been great!
JM
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