Festool MFT/3 missing bolts

[NuggyBuggy]

When I got my first MFT/3, the box was kind of banged up.  When I took it out of my car, I happened to hear a bolt (a socket cap screw, used to fasten the side extrusions to the corner brackets) drop out.  It had fallen right out through a hole in the box.  Since it was easy to figure out where it went, and because there were no other parts missing, I didn't think much of it.  I mentioned it to my dealer who seemed surprised.

I just got my second MFT/3.  I bought it used but the box was completely unopened by the previous owner.  When I opened the box up, lo and behold the same bolt drops out of the box ! I checked the table and it seems I'm still missing one more bolt.  The nuts didn't come out because they were captured in the slots of the extrusions.

So on my first table one bolt came loose during shipping; on the second two of the same bolts came loose.  The weird thing is, in both cases, all the rest of the bolts were tight.

Has anybody else noticed this problem ? If it happened to me twice in a row, I have to think that it's happening to other people out there.  But why ?

And, does anyone know the dimensions and threading of those bolts, so I can order a replacement from a fastener supplier ?

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Well, that's a bit of a bummer.

Check out the electronic part catalog for info on the part(s) you're missing.

http://ekat.festool.com/EKAT_USA/jsp/main.jsp?doAction=start&partLang=en&docuLang=en&locale=en_EN&viewerType=6&k_vari_top=495462&k_ver_top=&verticalLayout=1&HOOK_URL=&currency=USD&filter_F_Typ1=on&filterValues_F_Typ1=US&currencyKey=US

If you don't see the part diagram, make sure you have the latest version of Java installed, www.java.com.

You can order parts directly from our service department, the number's below in my sig.

Edit to fix link, oops.

 

[Sparktrician]

That's REALLY curious.  I recently found one such screw on the floor under one of my MFT/3s, and as yet, haven't found where it came from.  Looks like a small expedition to find where it goes tonight. 

[huh]

 

[NuggyBuggy]

Sparktrician,

In both my cases, the socket cap screws bolted through the corner brackets and through the side and front  extrusions.  Each bracket has four staggered bolts, two on each side of the corner, and they tighten against a square-ish nut that is retained through a slot in the extrusions.  The nuts will slide freely through the slots if you tilt the table around, and may be "hidden" under another bracket.

So just looking for the corner/side that doesn't have two of these bolts will tell you where you're missing yours - if your found piece is the same as the ones that I lost.

Shane - thanks. I know I could order the part from Festool but I figured it would just be much faster to get it from a fastener supplier.  What I really can't determine is the thread pitch, I could measure the length and width of the bolt.

 

[NuggyBuggy]

Interesting.  I consulted the parts diagram.  I assume it is the M8x14 (228639), but what is odd is the diagram only appears to show two of these parts per corner bracket ("angle base"), one per corner side, whereas mine clearly has two per side, total of 4 per bracket.  The parts list does show a total of 16 parts.  I guess the artists just ran out of space.