Connecting 3 MFT/3

[cconnelly2@kc.rr.com]

I am new to the forum and to festool, but I made the plunge. I bought 3 mft/3 tables, The ts55 saw, the of 1400 router, the sander I forget which one, and the ct22 dust extractor. I  was wondering what you guys think would be the best way to connect them. I was thinking on connecting 2 long side to long side and buying a 75 inch saw guide so I could get a 60 in piece between the supports. This way I could still use the miter gauge and be able to lift the 75 in guide out of the way when needed. The third table I was thinking on connecting to the left short side of the back table for more length when needed. Or just leave the third table with the short arm seperate and then just move it into position for long work.  I did a search of the forum and saw several of the 2 table set ups. One was end to end with a gap in the middle and a custom table connector. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated!!

Thanks  Charles

 

[Brice Burrell]

Charles, welcome to the forum! I only have one MFT so I can't offer any useful advice. The good news is the table are very easy to configure several different standard ways. I too would be interested in hearing about any out of the box ideas. 

 

[EcoFurniture]

Welcome to the forum!
I have 3 mft's also. I love them!

All three are mounted on wheeled cabinets. One of them is set up for cross cutting only. the two others are for everything else... For breaking down sheet goods I line two of them up, put a scrap piece of 5/8 ply on top and I'm ready to rock'n roll.

I just love that I can wheel them out of the way, line them up as needed and even just grab them for onside work.

It's a lot of money, but I'm very happy I did buy them.

 

[Daviddubya]

Welcome.  One thing to consider - how long can you comfortably reach along the MFT guide rail.  I have two MFT1080 connected on the long side with a 55" guide rail.  I can crosscut about 42".  I can also reach the length of the rail, if I stretch.  I'm left-handed, which helps.  If you are making a big crosscut with a large amount of material hanging off the MFT, it would be difficult to reach safely, I think.  I'd connect two tables on the long side and keep the third moveable to use wherever needed.  Break down large sheets with a long guide rail and saw.

 

[johnsonri]

The more MFTs, the merrier!!

Here is an older shot of my MFT3s as I was converting from 1080s to MFT3s for my main workspace.

My MFTs are connected by way of a bridge (laminated MDF). Over the years, several tools have occupied the space under the bridge. At the moment, I have an oscillating spindle sander under the bridge one side and a disc sander on the other side. The OSS raises in between the bridge much like a router would raise on a router table.

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[cconnelly2@kc.rr.com]

Thanks for the info guys. I had thought about the reach problem but with the lifting guide mounted to the long side and using the 54 in guide and with that mounted to far left or right I can always walk to the side. I got the idea from looking at Jerry Works setup and he has two or three set-up this way. I contacted Jerry by E=mail to get his ideas..  Maybe he will post here.

Thanks  Charles

 

[cconnelly2@kc.rr.com]

Correction. I meant mounting the lifting guide to the short side of the table. The reason I like this set-up is I can lay a whole sheet of plywood on the table surface . And I have plenty of room on top for clamping things for sanding and assemblies.

 

[Corwin]

I have the older style MFTs and like having two joined together to mount the 75" guide rail.  I have also added another on the left side.  The smaller 800 series MFT works nicely on the right side, as I can walk along the right of the rail up to where that 800 is and still reach the far end of my cuts.  But I know you have the newer MFT/3...

If you mount two (or more) tables together to allow for a longer rail you might want to remove the cap screws from the stops for the guide rail brackets and swap them out for some set screws so the two tables can be mounted together.  Otherwise you will need to install some type of spacer between the tables.  At least this is true of the older style MFTs...

Also, if you are spanning those MFTs with a 1900mm - 3000mm rail and the rail is too long to raise up due the height of you ceiling, you can make a board to hold the rail up off your material.  I have one that I store on top of a short stack of Systainers parked directly under the non-hinged guide rail bracket -- just within reach when needed.  The board is only about 8" x 16" with some foam-insulation tape on one end -- lift the rail and place the one end of the board against the guide rail bracket and then lower the rail onto the other end with the foam tape.    Works great to hold those rails up while you position your material...

 

[cconnelly2@kc.rr.com]

Thanks for the ideas Corwin. Did you join the short side of your tables together of the long sides?? My mf/3 tables are 43 1/2 in  by 28 in. I was going to join the 43 1/2 sides of all three together to give a work surface of roughly 43 in wide by 90 in long. This way I figured a whole sheet of plywood would lay on top with only 6 in overhand on all sides. I also thought of joining just two with the long side together and put the folding guide on the long side so allowing for the hinge braket and the one on the other side I could get a 5 ft. piece of baltic birch between them since of alot of baltic birch comes in 5 ft squares. I have guide rails in 42, 55, and 106 . I don't understand your question about the capscrews . On my table they come in from the back side of the corner brackets. There is nothing sticking out on these brackets. One post mentioned mounting the tables on wheels but I want a more permanent set up and try to align all the rails and holes so I can use like qwasi dogs to align long pieces. Any ideas??

Thanks  Charles

 

[Corwin]

Hi Charles,

My usual setup is to join two tables along their long edges making a table about 48" wide by 60" deep.  I am not sure if this arrangement will allow for those 5'x5' BB ply on your MFT/3 tables or not -- and don't forget to allow additional room for your fence...  In any event, this is a useful setup that will require a 1900mm (75") rail to span the two tables.

Setting up multiple tables to accommodate 4'x8' material is another possibility.  I've done this with 3 of the older 1080s to get a table about 110" long and mounted a 3000mm (118") guide rail on the guide rail brackets.  That worked great for me, but took up too much room in my shop.  I prefer to use a simple 4'x8' cutting table in my garage.  I don't understand why some use multiple MFTs to cut 4'x8' material when they cannot swing a long rail from the guide rail brackets -- if you can't, then why not use a simple cutting table?

As for those cap screws, I was referring to the stops that are installed in the side profiles of the MFTs that are used to locate the guide rail brackets.  On my older MFTs, the cap screws on these stops protrude from the side profiles and interfere with one's ability to connect tables along that side.  You can use a spacer between the tables that allow for those stops, or simply replace the cap screws with some set screws as I described before.

Lastly, about using Qwas dogs.  Steve made a very useful observation when he found just how accurately those holes are spaced.  My thinking is that using dogs in the holes can work great for a single table, but can be problematic on multiple tables.  Others may disagree.  But, keep in mind that the MFT tops have a little slop within the outer frame, therefore precise alignment of the holes in the two (or more) tables may prove difficult to achieve and maintain.  One problem I have with using dogs is table sag -- my tables have a little sag in the middle and therefore some of the holes are no longer perfectly vertical and the dogs do not all stand perfectly straight.  This alone is somewhat minor, but the issue is compounded when I clamp the fence down and the overall result is that my fence is off more than an acceptable amount using this method.  Making a brace to mount underneath to flatten the top(s) would help or even correct the problem for me, but I haven't done that yet.  All said, for larger material I prefer jigs that sit on top of material to position your guide rails rather than do it MFT style.

Sorry for such a lengthy explanation.

 

[cconnelly2@kc.rr.com]

Thanks Corwin .  It sounds like you think like I do . You are right cutting a full sheet would be easier another way and also probably right on aligning dawgs on more than one table.

Thanks  Charles

 

[Curiouslywhacky]

Hi, Charles-
Jerry Work's website contains a 50 some-odd page paper on Getting the Most Out of Your MFT. He illustrates several different configurations and methods of connecting MFT tables. You will probably get some good ideas there. I believe that you can access it from this site.

Good luck!
John