I'm building a large assembly table and need advice on the best material for the top. I have a CNC vendor who will rout matching MFT holes and pattern, etc. for a very affordable price, so no... I won't be spending $600 to buy 3 perforated panels from Festool. Can someone identify the "type" of MDF which was used on the MFT/3? All of the MDF I've used to date, is gray in color and does not seem as dense, or high-quality as Festool's. On-line, I found a German product called LITE-MDF which is made of spruce and looks – can't tell much from their tiny photo – like Festool's. Or, should I consider plywood or counter material instead.  Note: my shop is in my unheated barn so humidity and temperature variations are important considerations. Your thoughts/advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your assistance!

Have you considered Richlite?

It machines much like wood and is very stable. It's used for countertops and also by Boeing for fixtures.


Tom

I did look at a material that my local lumber yard merely identified as "counter material" Maybe it was Richlite. Thanks Tom, I will investigate that option further.

Not all MDF is the same, there is a big different in density and stability between Home Depot MDF and say Plum Creek MDF. I would steer clear of big box MDF and also Ultralite MDF as it is a bit friable and I think would easily get damaged when putting clamps in it.  Considering you are using it in your barn I might go for Medex, which is a water resistant variety.  You may also want to check out Extira, which is a new(to me) exterior rated MDF product that has a similar density to Plum Creek MDF.

Buy the good stuff, considering you are looking for a workshop application the higher density the better.

i think deep rout mdf is greyish

As stated above obtain the most dense material available due to the aforementioned clamping issues. Remember that Festool is using a very high quality grade of material for the MFT tops. Sometimes supplies like this are not available to the general public. If they were then why would anyone want to buy from the Pros such as Festool. I. E. Why go to a Steakhouse and pay more for a steak than one that I can buy at a supermarket. Because the Steakhouse and restaurants normally obtain higher quality cuts of meat. This is done to encourage people to go out and spend their hard earned money on something that someone else prepares. This is what employees people at restaurants and also at Festool. So good luck trying to find comparable material for your endeavor.

Use either HDF (High density fibreboard) or moisture resistant MDF.
 If you use a laminated board such as ply it stands a good chance of de-laminating in a damp or moisture laiden environment. Plus it's not as dimensionally stable as HDF or MR board.
With ply you also run the risk of breaking the timber around the holes and also damaging the surface of the board if you over tighten your clamps. 
If you use standard MDF you can literally put a cup diwn on the top and if it's got a wet bottom it'll blow the surface if not sealed.

HDF would be my choice.

My CNC company quoted me $77.00 to rout the hole pattern in a 4'x8' sheet of 3/4"regular MDF. They CAN get 3/4" Medex and do the job for an additional $50.00. I realize that Medex is water resistant – therefore a better choice than regular MDF – but is it any more dense? They can't get Richlite or Extira and haven't yet found High Density Fiberboard. I visited 2 other lumber companies and they don't stock HDF and can't order-in just 1 sheet. I know that some of you have a lot more experience with these materials than I. What would you do? Keep searching for HDF or go with the Medex? Thanks again for all your great advice.

Joel

No, he is getting a much larger MFT top, 4' x 8'. The beveled edges are easily added with a router afterwards. 

His CNC holes should be just as accurate as Festool's holes. 

His research and efforts could pay off in future jobs, knowledge is priceless. 

If he goes with the Medex, he may have found something better than Festool. No way of knowing until someone tries. 

Keep going Joel, there's lots of us out here still rooting for you. 

My apologies gentlemen. I did overlook that fact. Based on your cogent observations I applaud the OP's efforts. And considering the size mentioned it really sounds like a super deal!!

Try MDO

Well, my large MFT-like table is nearly finished! 

Material I selected is 3/4" Moisture Resistant MDF. Final cost for the drilled 4'x8' sheet, $127.00. 20mm holes were CNC drilled and are clean and very accurately positioned on 96mm centers.

The hole sizes however do vary very slightly – about the same tolerances as my MFT/3 table's holes. I used a very tight fitting custom Qwas dog to check hole sizes. Since it's a perfect "friction fit" in some holes and has the tiniest wiggle in others, it serves as an amazingly sensitive feeler gauge, identifying even the slightest variations. Curiously, I found alternating tight and loose entire "rows" of holes in the new sheet. I called the CNC vendor and learned the explanation... these CNC holes were drilled simultaneously with 2 bits. Both are new Amana 20mm bits which, while I'm sure within Amana's tolerances, are infinitesimally different. Still, they should prove OK since the dogs are always pushed to the "back" of the holes anyway when in use. At least, that's my theory.

I'll report back in a few months about how the material is holding up. It's so pristine... I hate the thought of making that first cut in it.

Thanks for your input along the way. It really did prove very helpful.

Scot, the CNC vendor obtained the Moisture Resistant MDF for me and I never asked for the brand name. I'll inquire and let you know. And, I'll snap a few pictures after I add the top trim next week. I've tried to post photos here before without success. I'm on a MAC and that usually calls for a workaround. So, I'll probably need a little advice.

I thought about this thread a little bit over the past few weeks.   These above statements seem to support my thoughts on this, which are that I would buy the big box MDF and not worry about it.  One, it is a workbench and it is meant to be used. So, it should not be viewed as a "pristine" anything.  Sure I like to keep my shop nice and presentable, but when it comes down to it, I do not want to worry about my workbench, especially if I am cutting into it with my TS55 ( I do not remember if you plan on using it for that purpose).

Second, I can get 4 sheets of MDF (lesser quality) for $127.  That just means, I can use it for its purpose, which is a workbench and replace it when it needs to be replace. If it gets wet by accident and unusable, I would just lift it up and replace it and continue on.  Even if I bought 2-3 sheets and had the CNC drilled so you get the exact spacing, it still is around the same amount.

Ultimately it does not matter, it is your shop and money, do what you want.

Joe, the original price for a standard MDF drilled was $77.00. It went up $50 for the Moisture Resistant type. This is not meant to be a work bench. It was built to serve as my assembly table so the holes for clamping, etc. As such, the highest priority to me was flatness over time. My shop is in my unheated barn and humidity, my main enemy. Therefore, I felt that an additional $50 was a worthwhile "long term flatness" insurance investment. So, far, I haven't fastened the top down and it seems to lie there "flat as can be" under its own weight. I'm letting everything acclimate for a while so that I can plane or adjust the top framing if it decides to move before final fastening. So far, so good – even through a below freezing night, rainy days and 78 degree days, etc. No hot, humid summer yet... so we'll see.

To the OP  I too am  a MAC user and have no issues posting pictures. Please keep in mind the size limitation of the picture. If you are using a digital camera then I have found using the VGA setting for photo size works very well for posting ones pictures. If the picture is too large it will not post regardless of the type of personal computer that one is using. On iPhoto view the picture you want to post and click on the little i and the size of the picture in pixel dimensions and kilobytes will be displayed in a preview window. This will help to determine if the picture is one that can post or not. Try this out and I think you will g\have success in sharing your very good ideas with your fellow FOGGERS!

Picture of my KAPEX posted using 2010 vintage MAC MINI.
TO post click drop down for insert inline image. A bracketed box will appear like this:  . After the # type in an integer value for the number that will represent your picture. I.E. 1 for the first picture that you want to post, 2 for another one. You must have a bracketed box for each subsequent image that you wish to post. 
Click on Additional Options.
Next to Attach click on the Choose File button. Now iPhoto should let you preview the image that you would like to select. After confirming that the picture is not too large to post select it and it will appear next to the choose file button. If you want to post more than one image then click on more attachments and follow the above procedure.

Scot,

Yes, the material IS Medex!

Thought I would pass on the contact info for my CNC vender for anyone in the Maryland/Pennsylvania area that might be interested in something similar. They said to mention that the price will reduce if they are drilling more than 1 sheet at a time.

Reisterstown Lumber Co.

Chuck Cray, PE, Structural Engineer, RLC Design and Engineering, LLC
13040 Old Hanover Rd, Reisterstown, MD 21136
phone 410.833.1300 / fax 410.833.6803 / cell 410.812.6851

Also, thanks Peter and Tom for the photo posting advice and link, etc. I'll be shooting and posting a few photos early next week.

The reason that you may not have seen the green plate and other attachment at the bottom of the Kapex UG Cart is because they are some accessories that I crafted up on my own. As I only have a two car garage that I can fill up with tools like an MFT3, cutting table, CT36 dust extractor with WCR1000, two really cool router tables, drill press on wheels, dovetailing station, and storage for my rails and clamps and on and on. I decided that my Kapex needed to be mobi;e as well. Thus I purchased a UG cart. The thing that I found lacking on the cart for shop use was the ability to safely and easily roll the Kapex around on the UG Cart. Tipping over $2100.00 worth of saw and stand if it gets away from you while moving it about did not appeal to me. Thus I designed a set of cantilevered casters that allow me to move the saw with ease and safety. The casters set outside of the UG stands footprint for added stability. They lock to hold the saw in place whilst cutting material. Part of my design criteria was to in no way modify or violate the UG Cart. I attach my caster set with a standard Kapex mounting set that works with the MFT tables. My design requires only two bolts for holding as the cantilever design has self holding in the other dimensions and is very solid too. The green plate is a support for a CT MIDI dust extractor that is dedicated for Kapex use. The space below the saw is perfect for this use as I do not transport my saw out of my shop. BUT if I wanted to use the UG Cart as FESTOOL thought it would be used, i.e. moving the saw to different job sites , I can set the stand back to original condition in about five minutes. Let me know if you would like more details. Always happy to share. 

Okay I took some more pictures to show some details pertaining to the Cantilevered Castor set and Green Mounting Plate for the KAPEX UG Stand.

KAPEX on UG Cart with CT MIDI and Castors locked and ready to cut.

Fresh Cut.

Wheels chocked and saw leaned back for conversion to stock UG Cart.

Riser support block to ease conversion process.

CT MIDI removed from the Green Plate.

Green Plate which is held in place with UG Stand feet and lock knobs.

Green Plate removed with holders next to it.

Rear support detail on the Green Plate.

Cantilevered Castor Plate. Guess the paint on the Green Plate was not quite dry yet!

Castor Plate loose from UG Cart with KAPEX holders and UG Stand feet reattached. Castor Plate is now ready for removal.

KAPEX UG Stand in stock configuration.

Castor Plate with KAPEX hold downs.

Side view of Castor Plate.

Bottom view of Castor Plate.

Detail of castor mounting.

Three quarter view showing cantilever arm which supports the two by four castor mount.

Bottom view showing cutout detail to accommodate UG Stand clips.

Standard KAPEX hold downs used to fix the Castor Plate to the UG Stand.

Mounting hole front side of UG Stand.

Mounting hole rear side of UG Stand.
[ ERROR: SPECIFIED ATTACHMENT MISSING ]
KAPEX with CT MIDI on Green Plate attached to Cantilevered Castor Plate mounted on the UG Stand ready to rock and roll. Time to convert from stock setup to my DELUXE setup is about eight minutes. Bear in mind that no KAPEX, UG Stand or CT MIDI was harmed during the conversion process or documentation process carried out here within.
And finally the parts used to construct the Green Plate and Cantilevered Castor Plate were some offcuts that I had laying around the shop. I employed dominos throughout for rigidity of the structure and obtained the green and gray paint at my nearby Lowes. 

great job. id love  to have that kind of space to have a bench like that

The MFT on steroids!! That looks sensational. High compliments to the OP as he now has one heck of a worktable!

Scott,

It's held up beautifully. It is still lying flat even though it is not fastened down at all. Just seems to stay flat under its own weight. Of course, we'll see what happens as the coming summer humidity rolls over it.

Were I to do it again, the only thing I'd change is – fewer framing members. The rows of holes that straddle the "stretchers" keep the clamps from rotating 360º. Those extra cross braces were included on the theory that the lag screws that protrude from their top edges could be adjusted up or down as time passed to counter the top sag or bow. (You may have to review the photos to remember my "Rube Goldberg" adjusters.) However, I haven't needed to adjust them yet so they're just "semi" in the way. Of course, there are other holes to choose from. What I'm going to do is somehow mark those rows of holes on the top itself or on the holes' inside edges so I can readily identify them.

Thanks for the inquiry.  Joel