Author Topic: My custom built expandable MFT on rolling cart (Read 181837 times)

squarecut · « **on:** February 04, 2014, 08:22 PM »

Just finished my custom built mobile expandable MFT and thought I might share it with the FOG community.
My shop shares a two bay garage with one car. One bay houses all the shop equipment, most on wheeled carts to allow ease of transition into various working configurations utilizing the second bay. Needless to say, space is at a premium & I find it necessary to constantly try to get 10 pounds of stuff into a 5 pound bag. Instead of purchasing two MFT's for maximum working surface I decided to build a custom MFT that would fit my needs. I am a hobbyist, so mobility out of the shop was not a requirement.
I wanted a unit that would be as compact as possible and still house my TS-55, CT Midi Dust Collector, MFT accessories, custom accessories, guide rail components, and other MFT usable tools. I also wanted a rest platform for the TS-55 between cuts, vac hose & power cord management and fold away in-feed / out-feed extensions that would expand the working surface to that of two MFT's side by side.
Converting the unit from storage mode to full expanded size with all components in place takes less than ten minutes.
The following photos show the end result. Hope you find it interesting.

See an improved modification to the dust extraction hose & power cord management on this unit as of 6/24/15 here

Unit standing in its designated shop storage location.

Front view of unit in storage mode showing TS 55 rest tray, non-Festool tool storage and 3 drawers for component storage.

Rear view of unit in storage mode showing Systainers for TS 55 & married vac hose/plug-it cord storage, CT Midi compartment with space for extra vac bags, vac power cord & mini-boom storage.

Unit in basic mode for crosscutting operations.

Unit in basic mode for crosscutting operations showing TS-55 pull out rest platform.

View of custom outboard fitting with indexing holes for 1400 rail cut line placement between 20mm holes.

Unit in basic mode with custom outboard fittings for rip cuts up to 48" using the 1400 rail & Qwas rail dogs.

View showing 1400 rail using Qwas rail dogs in rip cut mode on a 42" board.

View showing out-feed extension wing in storage compartment.

View of extension wing folding out of storage compartment.

View of extension wing in locked position.

Rear View showing paired power cord /vac hose entering custom Mini-Boom

Partial expanded mode with out-feed wing for off-cut support

Partial expanded mode with out-feed wing showing off-cut fence for repetitive off cuts

Full expanded mode with in-feed / out-feed wings

View showing setup to rip a long board with unit in full expanded mode

View showing variable placement horizontal support for working on panel edges

JerrySats · « **Reply #1 on:** February 04, 2014, 08:37 PM »

That's an awesome set up you came up with .

Michael Garrett · « **Reply #2 on:** February 04, 2014, 09:07 PM »

Wooden Skye · « **Reply #3 on:** February 04, 2014, 09:16 PM »

I will second what the others say. Fantastic job!

Don T · « **Reply #4 on:** February 04, 2014, 09:28 PM »

Great job!

Yukonal · « **Reply #5 on:** February 04, 2014, 09:29 PM »

Thank you for sharing. Great setup! You have given me some ideas for a similar project that I am planning.

Paul G · « **Reply #6 on:** February 04, 2014, 09:31 PM »

Very nice!

wow · « **Reply #7 on:** February 04, 2014, 09:31 PM »

Love your fold-out extensions. Are you gonna offer plans for others who might want to copy it?

TomGadwa1 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 04, 2014, 09:32 PM »

Brilliant!! Very well thought out. All bases covered AFAIK!!!

rnt80 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 04, 2014, 10:11 PM »

Great job!

SRSemenza · « **Reply #10 on:** February 04, 2014, 10:18 PM »

Wow, very nice!

Lot of great design and function work there.

Seth

Claimdude · « **Reply #11 on:** February 04, 2014, 10:53 PM »

Squarecut,

That is just way too cool!!!

Jack

neilc · « **Reply #12 on:** February 04, 2014, 11:18 PM »

welcome to FOG. Great job on the workstation. Lots of terrific ideas!

neil

Kevin D. · « **Reply #13 on:** February 05, 2014, 12:15 AM »

Great job. Well thought out.

Guilliaume woodworks · « **Reply #14 on:** February 05, 2014, 01:21 AM »

Wow! You are my hero. The fold out ext. wings just about made me cry. It's beautiful . I suggest you might think about selling plans for your custom mft. A big welcome to FOG!

Festoolfootstool · « **Reply #15 on:** February 05, 2014, 03:47 AM »

The indexing feature is a great idea

Peter Parfitt · « **Reply #16 on:** February 05, 2014, 05:09 AM »

A brilliant piece of work with some great design ideas and very nicely put together. I particularly like your flap extensions as it gives you so much flexibility without a permanent loss of workshop space.

Well done.

Peter

Stoli · « **Reply #17 on:** February 05, 2014, 07:26 AM »

I agree with all the comments above.

I'd also like some more details. In particular, did you use an actual MFT/3 top? It looks like it with the screw holes in the corners. What t-track did you use -- I like how it works with the clamps. More close ups of the guide rail mount as well. A listing of the Festool part numbers used. Are the holes down the sides filled with threaded inserts or is there some hidden t-track behind for the knobs to tighten against?

greg mann · « **Reply #18 on:** February 05, 2014, 09:38 AM »

Our own Guido Henn!!!

ali · « **Reply #19 on:** February 05, 2014, 09:41 AM »

Genius!! Brilliant work

badtastex · « **Reply #20 on:** February 05, 2014, 01:18 PM »

As others has already said - brilliant!

Is this the first version of your MFT? I have built a simpler design and I already have lots of things that I will try to incorporate in the next version. Your table looks pretty finished to me.

I guess that you use dogs to align the guide rail in both rip and crosscutting operation but I am wondering about the Qwas rail dogs - how accurate are they with thick material?

squarecut · « **Reply #21 on:** February 05, 2014, 01:57 PM »

Quote from: Stoli on February 05, 2014, 07:26 AM

I agree with all the comments above.

I'd also like some more details. In particular, did you use an actual MFT/3 top? It looks like it with the screw holes in the corners. What t-track did you use -- I like how it works with the clamps. More close ups of the guide rail mount as well. A listing of the Festool part numbers used. Are the holes down the sides filled with threaded inserts or is there some hidden t-track behind for the knobs to tighten against?

Yes, I used a replacement MFT/3 top.
The track was Lee Valley 48" with 5/16" T-slot. Cat# 12K79.38
Festool #494071 MFT 1080 Hardware Kit for the basic unit
Festool part # 448841 (Stop Profile) for off-cut fence with part # 490555 (Adjustable Stop) for flag stop on off-cut fence
I used 5/16" tee nuts in a backer strip of poplar behind each face board. Mounted backer strip with 3 screws first. Using a template I drilled 10 - 5/16" holes into each face board, then removed backer strip, enlarged holes in backer strip to 3/8" then installed tee nuts & refastened backer boards.
Both the MFT/3 top & the hardware kit I managed to find on eBay for a great price.
Some close up shots of the guide rail mount adapters I built to interface the Festool components to my design (please forgive poor quality on photos but I did not want to dis-assemble the adapter again) -

squarecut · « **Reply #22 on:** February 05, 2014, 02:10 PM »

Quote from: badtastex on February 05, 2014, 01:18 PM

As others has already said - brilliant!

Is this the first version of your MFT? I have built a simpler design and I already have lots of things that I will try to incorporate in the next version. Your table looks pretty finished to me.

I guess that you use dogs to align the guide rail in both rip and crosscutting operation but I am wondering about the Qwas rail dogs - how accurate are they with thick material?

Yes, my first version - not planning to build another version as I gave this one a lot of thought. Your correct, I used the Qwas dogs for alignment. Cannot tell you if any problem using rail dogs with thicker material as I have only used them for 3/4" stock, but I do not think there would be a problem. What is your concern? Deflection? They are quite solid, I do not believe they would move as long as they penetrated the 20mm holes by about 15 to 20mm

lemonstr · « **Reply #23 on:** February 06, 2014, 04:34 AM »

Very nice! Great details! This design addresses issues I've been thinking about for the garage shop MFT - storage, mobility and flexibilty. Why didn't you make the "boom arm" taller?

squarecut · « **Reply #24 on:** February 06, 2014, 09:02 AM »

Quote from: lemonstr on February 06, 2014, 04:34 AM

Very nice! Great details! This design addresses issues I've been thinking about for the garage shop MFT - storage, mobility and flexibilty. Why didn't you make the "boom arm" taller?

A taller boom arm would have shortened the overall length of reach of the hose which would have impacted long rip cuts.

dutchie · « **Reply #25 on:** February 12, 2014, 05:56 PM »

I'd love it if you could post some close up pictures of the Festool 448841 stop profile? I'm curious to see how it attaches/works!

squarecut · « **Reply #26 on:** February 12, 2014, 08:26 PM »

Quote from: dutchie on February 12, 2014, 05:56 PM

I'd love it if you could post some close up pictures of the Festool 448841 stop profile? I'm curious to see how it attaches/works!

I fabricated the off-cut fence module to be easily attached & removed from the MFT frame.

There is 5" of space on the rear face of the frame at the rear right corner. (Photo 1)

The module is built from the same stock as the MFT frame and has a 5" deep rabbet at the attachment end. Utilizing two pieces of 1/8" thick aluminum stock I created a "C" channel that would engage with the rear face of the right rear corner & butt tightly to the lead edge. It is secured via a 5/16" t-bolt & threaded knob. (Photos 2, 3, 4, 5).

The cut-off fence is mounted to a 1/2" aluminum angle section with 6mm cap screws & nuts to allow for re-calibrating to the off-cut face of the saw blade (Photo 6)

Photos 7, 8, 9 show stock set up for an off-cut at 10" (254mm)

pmarcusm · « **Reply #27 on:** February 13, 2014, 08:22 AM »

thanks for the awesome cart and detail photos. I am in the planning and drawing stages of a similar cart and you have given me some great food for thought. I am glad that I have an eraser, so I can change some of the design that I have already put on paper.
I have an extensive array of CAD programs at my disposal at work, but still love to layout drawings by hand.
I am glad now that I haven't started building yet. I am really going to rethink the whole concept now.

Marcus

Sparktrician · « **Reply #28 on:** February 13, 2014, 08:46 AM »

I'm very positively impressed by the functionality that you built into that workcenter. Well done!!!

Michael_Swe · « **Reply #29 on:** February 13, 2014, 09:39 AM »

Great thinking and great build!
Will the bench fit a full sheet good? When I use my bench for ripping sheet goods I'll have to over-hang the sheet on booth sides of the table. This would not be doable with a boom arm like yours. But it seems to be detachable which would solve this, is it?
//Michael

squarecut · « **Reply #30 on:** February 13, 2014, 10:07 AM »

Quote from: Michael_Swe on February 13, 2014, 09:39 AM

Great thinking and great build!
Will the bench fit a full sheet good? When I use my bench for ripping sheet goods I'll have to over-hang the sheet on booth sides of the table. This would not be doable with a boom arm like yours. But it seems to be detachable which would solve this, is it?
//Michael

I had not designed the unit with that option in mind as I have an I-beam setup for initial sheet-goods ripping into manageable widths. In full expanded mode the surface area of the top measures 84-1/4 long x 28-1/4 wide so I would be able to place a full sheet of stock on top with overhang, but that would limit control over support of long off-cuts which I would find undesirable.
Yes, the boom arm is detachable.

CarolinaNomad · « **Reply #31 on:** February 13, 2014, 10:37 AM »

Quote from: greg mann on February 05, 2014, 09:38 AM

Our own Guido Henn!!!

This is definitely nominated for the Guido Henn Award. But before we give him the Award, he needs to publish plans, an article and a you tube video starring . . . . . . . .. . Squarecut. Are you up for the challenge Squarecut?

Very nice build. Thanks for sharing. And welcome to the FOG.

NuggyBuggy · « **Reply #32 on:** February 13, 2014, 11:02 AM »

Squarecut, I'm curious about the Bosch table saw in the background of one of your pics, under the mitre saw. It looks like it might be on an extendible shelf, but that's not clear. Does the saw slide out for use, or do you store the saw on a shelf and put it somewhere else when needed

squarecut · « **Reply #33 on:** February 13, 2014, 11:57 AM »

Quote from: NuggyBuggy on February 13, 2014, 11:02 AM

Squarecut, I'm curious about the Bosch table saw in the background of one of your pics, under the mitre saw. It looks like it might be on an extendible shelf, but that's not clear. Does the saw slide out for use, or do you store the saw on a shelf and put it somewhere else when needed

The Bosch TS is mounted on a wheeled cart which stores under the mitre saw. It has a lower compartment that houses TS jigs, blades & Dado set. The overall height is set to match a mobile variable function table I built to house my dust collector and serve as an out-feed table for both my TS & DeWalt planer as well as an assembly platform.
Here is an old photo of the TS & mobile table before I added a pullout drawer to contain saw blades -

sicd_steve · « **Reply #34 on:** March 11, 2014, 06:38 PM »

Excellent work and well done I AM IMPRESSED

rrmccabe · « **Reply #35 on:** March 31, 2014, 11:00 PM »

Just saw this. Nice job!

ryansmythe · « **Reply #36 on:** April 01, 2014, 08:39 AM »

Great job. Definitely put a lot of effort into that.

bigchas · « **Reply #37 on:** April 15, 2014, 05:03 PM »

Squarecut are you of Scottish descent?

squarecut · « **Reply #38 on:** April 15, 2014, 05:11 PM »

Quote from: Bigchasbroon on April 15, 2014, 05:03 PM

Squarecut are you of Scottish descent?

No - married to a Glaswegian Scottish Lass 50 years this April 11th - so I have heard a lot of Scots sayings!

bigchas · « **Reply #39 on:** April 19, 2014, 05:30 PM »

A Glaswegian lass eh? I married a Dundonian they're much the same. I'm glad she's taught you the finer nuances of our language

iamnothim · « **Reply #40 on:** July 03, 2014, 01:37 PM »

That is a work of art.

I'd build one myself, except I need to have one to build it.

VW MICK · « **Reply #41 on:** July 03, 2014, 04:47 PM »

That's really cool

I like it

squarecut · « **Reply #42 on:** August 31, 2014, 08:28 PM »

Finally got around to arranging my Festool components drawer on this unit. Also created a movable standoff for hose & power cord management & thought I would add some photos to this thread.

alkaline · « **Reply #43 on:** August 31, 2014, 08:43 PM »

This is pure beauty!

Wooden Skye · « **Reply #44 on:** August 31, 2014, 08:46 PM »

Great ideas.

squarecut · « **Reply #45 on:** September 21, 2014, 07:14 PM »

The out-feed fence on my out-feed flip extension was flexing when cutting wider off cuts resulting in them being a few mm out of square. I decided to add an additional support bracket at the very end of my out feed flip extension to prevent movement. Thought I would add some photos of this modification to this thread for general information.

Fence attachment

Underside slide

Lockdown Knob

Bracket in slide

Bracket

Fence square to flip extension

Fence square to qwas dogs

Charlie Mac · « **Reply #46 on:** September 21, 2014, 11:50 PM »

Just really impressed with your design skills. I think I will never develop that ability. Nice execution too!

PreferrablyWood · « **Reply #47 on:** September 22, 2014, 01:59 PM »

Neccesity is the mother of all invention as the saying goes.. LIke this setup very much!

squarecut · « **Reply #48 on:** November 16, 2014, 03:50 PM »

OK, this topic just reached 25000 views on this forum in a little less than 10 months.

When I initially posted this thread I hoped that it would generate some interest, apparently it has.
Now I do not imagine that the 25000 views are from 25000 individuals, so I must assume that many members of FOG have made multiple views of my expandable MFT unit. That begs some questions -
Are there FOG members out there that have built a copy of my expandable MFT?
Are there members that have built their own version of my expandable MFT utilizing some of the design components from my version?
I would really be interested to find that others have produced similar or exact copies of my unit. I have seen many types of custom MFT's on this forum, but not one true expandable version other than my own.
So how about it - If you have built something similar or even an exact copy, why not post some pictures of your unit. Especially if you have improved on my version with some new ideas that I could steal.

gary in texas · « **Reply #49 on:** November 17, 2014, 09:02 AM »

Squarecut, uh, sorry, I keep coming back to this thread to check out the design.... To date, I've probably revisited this thread, oh, like, 24,673 times. LOL.

Seriously though, nice design, and a few months from now will undertake a similar design. Well thought out design! Thanks for sharing.

squarecut · « **Reply #50 on:** November 17, 2014, 11:22 AM »

Quote from: Cochese on November 17, 2014, 09:37 AM

Has anyone asked how you are storing your rails in the first pic?

No, never was asked about that - very simply, I lucked out with the overall length of my 2 x 8 shelving support being long enough for two 1400 rails so I just utilized the existing holes in the rails by placing a round head screw at each end backed out 1/4". It works very well, I just pop the rails on or off with a slight drop or lift.

squarecut · « **Reply #51 on:** November 17, 2014, 11:29 AM »

Quote from: Baremeg55 on November 17, 2014, 09:02 AM

Squarecut, uh, sorry, I keep coming back to this thread to check out the design.... To date, I've probably revisited this thread, oh, like, 24,673 times. LOL.

Seriously though, nice design, and a few months from now will undertake a similar design. Well thought out design! Thanks for sharing.

Wow - 24673 times - and here I thought I had gotten a lot of interest in this unit - only you & 327 others!
Seriously, would love to see photos of your version when you complete it

fesmule · « **Reply #52 on:** November 19, 2014, 05:18 PM »

This is the very first time I've read this thread, I can say categorically it won't
be the last time.
Very fine work indeed, and thanks a bunch for generously sharing it with the community.
Great thread indeed [big grin

KasualObserver · « **Reply #53 on:** December 28, 2014, 10:45 PM »

Squarecut - I know this is an old thread, but I have to express my admiration. So many great ideas, and such outstanding execution.

Dan Clark · « **Reply #54 on:** December 29, 2014, 12:33 AM »

Squarecut,

This may be an old thread to some folks, but to me it's a excellent reference guide for building maximum functionality in minimum space. What impresses me most is your ability to see the value in traditional woodworking concepts and adapt them to a modern Festool tool set.

I'm in the design stage of building my own version of a workbench much like yours. Mine will have many of your brilliant design elements.

Right now, the biggest issue for me is whether to use my current MFT (old version) with the legs removed or to make/buy an MFT top. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks,

Dan.

Mickfb · « **Reply #55 on:** December 30, 2014, 05:30 AM »

That is a awesome bench. Bet many hours of thought went into the design.

squarecut · « **Reply #56 on:** December 30, 2014, 05:13 PM »

Quote from: Dan Clark on December 29, 2014, 12:33 AM

Right now, the biggest issue for me is whether to use my current MFT (old version) with the legs removed or to make/buy an MFT top. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks,

Dan.

Dan,
Thanks for your kind words. When I built my unit, not having an existing MFT made the choice simple. In answer to your question, I would still go with a complete fabrication & save your existing MFT as an auxiliary table or sell it to absorb some of the costs of building from scratch.
My reasoning is as follows -
Your existing MFT is probably a 1080 and you will get some necessary Festool components from it for use on the new unit.
By building your own table frame it will be easier to utilize some of my design components such as index holes for alignment of the 1400 rail for rip cuts and index pins on the extension wings where they mate to the table frame
Of course the main reason is that buying a replacement MFT-3 top gives you more real estate than with a 1080 top.

When I built my unit I only purchased one MFT-3 replacement top and fabricated the wings myself. Only after spending 16 man hours doing so, did I realize that I could have bought a second top and cut it in half, saving myself much time & anguish over hole alignment.

Bob (aka Squarecut)

Dan Clark · « **Reply #57 on:** December 31, 2014, 12:36 PM »

Quote from: squarecut on December 30, 2014, 05:13 PM

Quote from: Dan Clark on December 29, 2014, 12:33 AM

Right now, the biggest issue for me is whether to use my current MFT (old version) with the legs removed or to make/buy an MFT top. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks,

Dan.

Dan,
Thanks for your kind words. When I built my unit, not having an existing MFT made the choice simple. In answer to your question, I would still go with a complete fabrication & save your existing MFT as an auxiliary table or sell it to absorb some of the costs of building from scratch.
My reasoning is as follows -
Your existing MFT is probably a 1080 and you will get some necessary Festool components from it for use on the new unit.
By building your own table frame it will be easier to utilize some of my design components such as index holes for alignment of the 1400 rail for rip cuts and index pins on the extension wings where they mate to the table frame
Of course the main reason is that buying a replacement MFT-3 top gives you more real estate than with a 1080 top.

When I built my unit I only purchased one MFT-3 replacement top and fabricated the wings myself. Only after spending 16 man hours doing so, did I realize that I could have bought a second top and cut it in half, saving myself much time & anguish over hole alignment.

Bob (aka Squarecut)

Bob,

Thanks for the feedback, especially about buying a second MFT-3 top. One of my goals is to cut hassle-factor. I like to save money, but getting quality and reducing hassle-factor trumps saving money.

Thanks,

Dan.

rvieceli · « **Reply #58 on:** December 31, 2014, 01:02 PM »

Dan if you are going to keep your 1080, you might want to get a replacement MFT-1080 top instead of a MFT/3. The 1080 top is actually a bit bigger and the price is 120 instead of 134.

squarecut · « **Reply #59 on:** December 31, 2014, 02:04 PM »

Quote from: Dan Clark on December 31, 2014, 12:36 PM

Quote from: squarecut on December 30, 2014, 05:13 PM
Quote from: Dan Clark on December 29, 2014, 12:33 AM

Right now, the biggest issue for me is whether to use my current MFT (old version) with the legs removed or to make/buy an MFT top. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks,

Dan.

Dan,
Thanks for your kind words. When I built my unit, not having an existing MFT made the choice simple. In answer to your question, I would still go with a complete fabrication & save your existing MFT as an auxiliary table or sell it to absorb some of the costs of building from scratch.
My reasoning is as follows -
Your existing MFT is probably a 1080 and you will get some necessary Festool components from it for use on the new unit.
By building your own table frame it will be easier to utilize some of my design components such as index holes for alignment of the 1400 rail for rip cuts and index pins on the extension wings where they mate to the table frame
Of course the main reason is that buying a replacement MFT-3 top gives you more real estate than with a 1080 top.

When I built my unit I only purchased one MFT-3 replacement top and fabricated the wings myself. Only after spending 16 man hours doing so, did I realize that I could have bought a second top and cut it in half, saving myself much time & anguish over hole alignment.

Bob (aka Squarecut)
Bob,

Thanks for the feedback, especially about buying a second MFT-3 top. One of my goals is to cut hassle-factor. I like to save money, but getting quality and reducing hassle-factor trumps saving money.

Thanks,

Dan.

Quote from: rvieceli on December 31, 2014, 01:02 PM

Dan if you are going to keep your 1080, you might want to get a replacement MFT-1080 top instead of a MFT/3. The 1080 top is actually a bit bigger and the price is 120 instead of 134.

Dan,
Just to clarify as I do not want to mislead you. I was always of the impression that the replacement top I purchased for my build was an MFT-3 top. Now I am confused as to which top I did purchase - so here are the dimensions 43-3/8" x 28-1/4" with a field of ~~11 holes by 5 holes~~. Correction - 11 holes by 7 holes
Bob

gary in texas · « **Reply #60 on:** December 31, 2014, 02:41 PM »

My MFT/3 top equates to the above dimensions, however, hole pattern is 11 x 7, not 11 x 5.

rvieceli · « **Reply #61 on:** December 31, 2014, 03:16 PM »

Yup - the 1080 top is 28 X 45 - not a big deal

squarecut · « **Reply #62 on:** December 31, 2014, 03:17 PM »

Quote from: Baremeg55 on December 31, 2014, 02:41 PM

My MFT/3 top equates to the above dimensions, however, hole pattern is 11 x 7, not 11 x 5.

Baremeg55
Thank you for the correction - I updated the post.
(I have got to be careful when counting & drinking Manhattan's at the same time)
Bob

Dan Clark · « **Reply #63 on:** January 01, 2015, 01:08 AM »

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the additional info. I've never measured my MFT, so out of curiosity, I checked it. It's 45-7/8" X 28.5" with 12 holes long and 7 wide. I never realized that the MFT3 is slightly smaller with less holes. That said, whether the MFT3 is larger or smaller is not relevant to me - both would work fine.

Bob,

One question about weight and stability... Have you used the bench for any hand tool work like planing, scraping, etc where a big solid bench is usually required? How well did that work out? Any mods you would make if you did a fair amount of neanderthal work?

Thanks,

Dan.

Mavrik · « **Reply #64 on:** January 01, 2015, 05:01 AM »

Beautiful!
Light humour at a part that has the word "right" written on the left hand side. Hehe

Tinker · « **Reply #65 on:** January 01, 2015, 09:55 AM »

I have only this morning stumbled onto this thread. I am much impressed with so many ideas put into only one space saving table. I have been looking at a lot of different tables over the past year, or so, and yours seems to address more than any other single table i have looked at. I especially like the way you have attached the end extensions.

I would also like to know if you find the table solid enough for hand planing. I think it is probably plenty solid for power plane, as are my MFT benches (1080/600/3). They are solid enough for planing as long as the wood cooperates by offering minimal resistance. Hard wood is a different story.

Also, the pipe you have the top mounted on, is that adjustable? The reason i ask is that I have very little headroom in my shop. I also have a problem with bending my body to work on a lower table. My MFT 1080 and 600 are low enough that when working for a short time, and bending over, even to use the TS 55, i can hardly stand up afterwards. I do not have overhead space to assemble large projects. The first thing I noticed when looking at your masterpiece was those plastic pipes hold the table. I have been looking at several methods for table height adjustment. Those pipes appear to be a good trade off as they might be very adjustable, but i wonder how strong. They certainly add a lot less weight than boxing with ply wood or hardwood.

I also like your boom arm design. Presently, I store excess hose & power chord overhead by suspending loosely with bungee chords. I just slide excess back overhead to keep it out of the way. Depending on whether I am ripping or crosscutting, i relocate the bungees and or feed excess/extra hose length in and out over head. I like your idea and will try experimenting a little. I used the Festoy boom for a couple of years but with so little headroom and heat ducts, light fixtures, electric lines and etc, the boom was more of a hindrance than a help.

I have bookmarked as I do not want to lose any of your ideas. thanks for sharing.
Tinker

squarecut · « **Reply #66 on:** January 01, 2015, 11:20 AM »

Quote from: Dan Clark on January 01, 2015, 01:08 AM

One question about weight and stability... Have you used the bench for any hand tool work like planing, scraping, etc where a big solid bench is usually required? How well did that work out? Any mods you would make if you did a fair amount of neanderthal work?

Dan
I have only used it for light hand planing of soft woods both surface & edge and have found with all four casters in full lock that there is negligible movement of the bench - almost none at all. That said, I do not believe this design would lend itself to Neanderthal work. Due to it's case construction and wing alignment dictates, I do not see how any additional beefing up could be employed to transform it into anything close to a solid bench. I think we are talking about two separate animals here.
Bob

squarecut · « **Reply #67 on:** January 01, 2015, 12:30 PM »

Quote from: Tinker on January 01, 2015, 09:55 AM

I have only this morning stumbled onto this thread. I am much impressed with so many ideas put into only one space saving table. I have been looking at a lot of different tables over the past year, or so, and yours seems to address more than any other single table i have looked at. I especially like the way you have attached the end extensions.

I would also like to know if you find the table solid enough for hand planing. I think it is probably plenty solid for power plane, as are my MFT benches (1080/600/3). They are solid enough for planing as long as the wood cooperates by offering minimal resistance. Hard wood is a different story.

Also, the pipe you have the top mounted on, is that adjustable? The reason i ask is that I have very little headroom in my shop. I also have a problem with bending my body to work on a lower table. My MFT 1080 and 600 are low enough that when working for a short time, and bending over, even to use the TS 55, i can hardly stand up afterwards. I do not have overhead space to assemble large projects. The first thing I noticed when looking at your masterpiece was those plastic pipes hold the table. I have been looking at several methods for table height adjustment. Those pipes appear to be a good trade off as they might be very adjustable, but i wonder how strong. They certainly add a lot less weight than boxing with ply wood or hardwood.

I also like your boom arm design. Presently, I store excess hose & power chord overhead by suspending loosely with bungee chords. I just slide excess back overhead to keep it out of the way. Depending on whether I am ripping or crosscutting, i relocate the bungees and or feed excess/extra hose length in and out over head. I like your idea and will try experimenting a little. I used the Festoy boom for a couple of years but with so little headroom and heat ducts, light fixtures, electric lines and etc, the boom was more of a hindrance than a help.

I have bookmarked as I do not want to lose any of your ideas. thanks for sharing.
Tinker

The table top section was constructed before the mobile cart with the use of pvc legs as a simple way of altering the height of the table dependent solely on which of several surfaces in my shop I chose to set up the table on. At that time I had several sets of legs of varying lengths available. So, in answer to your question - Yes, they are adjustable. But you must keep in mind, that to utilize the table top with fold out wings the top will be mated to the mobile cart, therefore setting the pvc leg height at a fixed length.
Currently, if I choose to, I can remove the table top from the mobile cart by removing 4 screws, one per leg, and setup my MFT (sans wings)on another shop surface, such as my combo sheet goods breakdown & assembly table, which in itself is totally capable of being broken down into a storage bundle measuring 2' x 2' x 4'. If you look closely at some of the photos you will see these screws at the inside base of the pvc legs where they meet the mobile cart deck.
If your thoughts are to construct a copy of my unit and wanted more height at table top, I believe the only workable answer would be to add an additional filler section at the base of the unit prior to mounting the casters.
Bob

Tinker · « **Reply #68 on:** January 01, 2015, 12:59 PM »

Thanks for the added info.
My idea has been to make something that would be at approximate (or exact) height of my MFT/3 for all cutting/planing/drilling/sanding >>>>>> Also assembly of smaller projects of which are the majority of my projects. I have a couple of larger projects that I am assembly some of the parts during the winter, but will have to await full assembly until warmer weather.
I don't have head space to assemble on any of my benches, nor to move a bench aside to work on the floor. My floor is very uneven, so i am formulating (in my head so far) something that can be lowered to somewhere around 1/2 way between normal working height and floor or to about 1-1/2 to 2 feet. I would need to move any tool drawers and shelves out of the way from underneath the work table, but I am already working with small movable tools cabinets that can be moved out from under the MFT's with the idea to do something better as I am sort of describing. One bench, the MFT/3 will probably be the permanent work bench with everything els movable in some direction whether side to side, or up and down.

Everything I have built for the shop has casters with various methods for raising and lowering and locking. that problem has just about been decided. I only have to further investigate the raising and lowering of the working heights >>> I think<<<<
Tinker

Tinker · « **Reply #69 on:** January 01, 2015, 01:07 PM »

Another experiment I am trying is to put movable cabinets and shelves on three legs and wheels. I have so far decided that the two wheels work best on the front of anything with drawers. To put the single wheel at front creates a very unstable structure when drawers are pulled forward. My bandsaw is on three wheels with the single wheel to the front and that, so far is working out fine. I don't think it would work with a workbench as forces are in all directions. For assembly, i don't think it would work as weight will be in any direction according to the project. I need to do a four legged stance with casters raised but three wheeled when moving. that is actually how BS is mounted.
Tinker

Dan Clark · « **Reply #70 on:** January 01, 2015, 03:44 PM »

Quote from: squarecut on January 01, 2015, 11:20 AM

Quote from: Dan Clark on January 01, 2015, 01:08 AM

One question about weight and stability... Have you used the bench for any hand tool work like planing, scraping, etc where a big solid bench is usually required? How well did that work out? Any mods you would make if you did a fair amount of neanderthal work?

Dan
I have only used it for light hand planing of soft woods both surface & edge and have found with all four casters in full lock that there is negligible movement of the bench - almost none at all. That said, I do not believe this design would lend itself to Neanderthal work. Due to it's case construction and wing alignment dictates, I do not see how any additional beefing up could be employed to transform it into anything close to a solid bench. I think we are talking about two separate animals here.
Bob

Bob,

Again thanks for the feedback. In general, I agree that we're talking two different animals here. That said...

Almost everything on the planet is a compromise - a balance of pluses and minuses tuned to fit our individual needs. Your design is the single best MFT-oriented workbench I've ever encountered. It's balance of features are simply excellent.

That said, when I build my version it will start with your design and extend to my needs and constraints. My goal is to do woodworking within the constraints of my "workshop". My approach is a combo of a few traditional power tools (small table saw, planer, router table, bandsaw, drill press), a lot of Festools, and some neanderthal tools.

Below are two pics of my workshop - about 6 feet of space in front of our cars in the garage. I.e. very little space. (See pics below.) This raises challenges for me, including no place to put a second movable workbench.

My challenge is to create a spinoff of your workbench, leverage your creative work, and make it meet my needs - including moderate planing and other hand work. This would include making a version that is bit beefier, and perhaps adding the ability to raise and lower the work surface without compromising the integrity of the design. An interesting challenge. You sure got me thinking.

Thanks,

Dan.

p.s. This is an interesting site that is mostly focused on neanderthal tools and techniques, but he has a lot of good ideas that can be applied to a more power tool oriented approach too: http://www.closegrain.com/2011/08/intro-hand-tools-workspace.html

squarecut · « **Reply #71 on:** January 18, 2015, 07:36 PM »

john5mt · « **Reply #72 on:** January 24, 2015, 10:55 AM »

Square...whats that vertical looking jig with the dewalt plunge router?

squarecut · « **Reply #73 on:** January 24, 2015, 12:09 PM »

Quote from: john5mt on January 24, 2015, 10:55 AM

Square...whats that vertical looking jig with the dewalt plunge router?

That is a FMT Pro Mortise & Tenon Jig

Here is a link to more info - http://www.leighjigs.com/fmt.php

squarecut · « **Reply #74 on:** June 25, 2015, 09:51 PM »

This is an update to this thread.
I made what I believe is an improvement of management of the dust extraction hose & power cord on this unit.

See the modification here

Billy stray · « **Reply #75 on:** June 27, 2015, 03:16 PM »

Really nice, must have been alot of fun to build..
my wife would have complained too many times b4 I finished lol ...just based on the trips to the hardware store alone...

HappyCamper · « **Reply #76 on:** July 18, 2015, 01:19 PM »

You rolling cart is a thing of beauty! One day, could you kindly photograph the method of attaching the extension wings to the cart top. I can see that you have some kind of sliding mechanism, but the details would be great. A truly inspiring project that you might consider coming up with a set of plans for. However, I understand that that's a lot of additional work. You photo's and comments are much appreciated.

jacko9 · « **Reply #77 on:** July 18, 2015, 01:58 PM »

Nice build, I may have to copy it since I have just constructed a large shed to compliment my shop and I needed a cart to move items between the two locations and I might as well get the most utility out of it as possible.

nhall · « **Reply #78 on:** May 12, 2016, 09:42 PM »

Hi Squarecut, just as so many other have said, congratulations on your awesome MFT Cart!

Would you be able to share some details on how you designed the supports for the wings so that they end up in the correct positions when extended and retracted? If you have any, drawings would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Nic.

Vondawg · « **Reply #79 on:** May 14, 2016, 02:37 PM »

Squarecut
I've read/re-read as to not have missed it, but is the reason for the threaded coupling near the top elbow to more easily feed the hose thru ? Just wondering why the pvc pipe fit is not used...seems like it would be a smoother inside fit.
Thanks and nicely thought out and executed .

squarecut · « **Reply #80 on:** May 14, 2016, 04:06 PM »

@Vondawg The reason for the threaded pvc fittings is to allow ease of swivel of the 90 degree elbow. This way I get 180 degrees of swing on the hose

FDR · « **Reply #81 on:** November 07, 2019, 05:43 PM »

Do you happen to have any measurements for building this exquisite MFT rolling cart. I think I should build this for my small garage workshop. Any information you may have I would really appreciate. I have the MFT top (1080 size)
thanks again for such a great build, and sharing.

Fred

JSmith · « **Reply #82 on:** February 02, 2021, 05:32 PM »

This workbench is a thing of beauty and engineering excellence. Curious if you ever made plans on how to build it for the less talented here :-)

Thanks,
Mike