festool mft table vs the benchdog ultra mft style table
- Thread starter haggis
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Those benches are very expensive and as a really good exercise to help you get into woodworking why not make your own bench. Here is a link to one of my videos in which I describe a very simple but sturdy home made MFT style bench:
I provide the plans for this to anyone, completely free, but I need your email address in order to get them to you.
In order to make the layout of holes in the top you should consider getting the Parf Guide System sold by TSO, Axminster and many, many distributors around the world. It will allow you to make a really accurate layout and you can make as many as you like - even making them for friends and family!
Good luck.
Peter
I provide the plans for this to anyone, completely free, but I need your email address in order to get them to you.
In order to make the layout of holes in the top you should consider getting the Parf Guide System sold by TSO, Axminster and many, many distributors around the world. It will allow you to make a really accurate layout and you can make as many as you like - even making them for friends and family!
Good luck.
Peter
Haggis - Welcome to the group. The easiest way is to just buy the top, like from Benchdogs, as you noted. But as Peter said, if you have an existing bench, you can drill your own MFT style top. 20mm holes on a 96mm grid (the 96mm is centered from the center of the 20mm hole). Peter's UJK Parfitt Guide is considered to be the Gold Standard for DIY hole drilling, allowing you to readily make a grid of your own design.
Or, you could do it the way I did it: The Hard Way. By taking out your ruler and, painstakingly, plotting out a grid, punching holes and boring out the 20mm dog holes individually free-hand. It's kinda misery. It's not CNC or Parfitt Guide perfect (some holes are several mm out of alignment), but it can be done.
Or, you could do it the way I did it: The Hard Way. By taking out your ruler and, painstakingly, plotting out a grid, punching holes and boring out the 20mm dog holes individually free-hand. It's kinda misery. It's not CNC or Parfitt Guide perfect (some holes are several mm out of alignment), but it can be done.
waho6o9
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Welcome to the FOG Haggis!
Purchasing MFT tops and making your own workbench is a viable option.
View attachment 1
I use a MFT and have MFT tops to dimension sheet goods as well.
Enjoy your journey!
Purchasing MFT tops and making your own workbench is a viable option.
View attachment 1
I use a MFT and have MFT tops to dimension sheet goods as well.
Enjoy your journey!
Attachments
I'll add that if you just want dog holes in a bench to clamp things and care less about squareness, diy dog holes on a diy bench are simple. If you want the dog holes perfectly square for aligning, say, a track and back fence, then it's not trivial to create a really perfectly square layout without something like the parf guide system; with small templates that I've tried to use incremental errors creep in and build up. For me I position fence and rail on my cutting bench using parts that slide in t tracks, have not prioritized squareness of dog hole layout - my sometimes slightly off-parallel and square dog holes work fine for clamps. Any purchased cnc'd bench will be better for accuracy there. Depends on needs.
Crazyraceguy
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The Parf Guide System can indeed make a perfectly square grid, of virtually any size. The limit is really just your patience. Mine 4' wide and over 8' long, 324 perfect holes. I can take the TSO triangle, from the set and drop 3 dogs through it, anywhere on it. They slide right in.
It does take some diligence/attention to detail, but it is achievable, and you can make custom sizes. You are not stuck with manufactured products and can replace it at any time.
If I could get ahold of some of that cool colored Valcromat, I'd definitely make another one. The best tip I can give you is to put some kind of oil/wax finish on it. Water is the enemy of MDF
It does take some diligence/attention to detail, but it is achievable, and you can make custom sizes. You are not stuck with manufactured products and can replace it at any time.
If I could get ahold of some of that cool colored Valcromat, I'd definitely make another one. The best tip I can give you is to put some kind of oil/wax finish on it. Water is the enemy of MDF
I’ll second the recommendation of the Parf system. It’s not just more accurate than using templates, it’s more accurate than tops manufactured by most hobby-grade CNC machines. If you’re serious about wanting an MFT surface that’s reference-grade, it’s the only way to go in my opinion.
ElectricFeet
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I haven’t used the Benchdogs bench, but I have a Festool MFT with all the bells and whistles. If I were buying today, I would go for the Benchdogs ultra.haggis said:
Peter Millard did a really good review here:
Note that he’s an affiliate, so not entirely unbiased, but he has a lot of experience as he has a couple of MFTs and also did reviews of the Wolfcraft and Metabo benches recently.
Again, I’ve not used it, but would say that on spec, the Benchdogs bench wins on:
- ease of setup — quick levers instead of endless handle turning;
- a way-better cross-cut hinge system — Festool’s design is aged and notoriously sloppy (though there are 3rd party fixes, of varying quality);
- much better cross-bracing — which allows you to quickly brace the legs out to the max on the terrain du jour, rather than just brace to pre-set points on the MFT.
You can also buy the whole thing without the top, and get the top CNCd locally, to save on shipping costs, if you want (according to Peter Millard, Benchdogs supply the CNC file on a USB). Or make your own top, as suggested above.
haggis said:
I haven't used both, but I bought the mft/3 a few months ago.
I am very pleased with it. It is at a good height for various tasks (e.g., cutting mortises with a Domino), and the fence and track hinge make cutting square panels very fast.
I have a few bench dogs and a couple of the quick ratcheting clamps. They make certain tasks faster also.
But if you are looking to just be able to square things up and have flexibility with placing clamps and stops, you could make a work table surface with plywood and add T-tracks. I did this a few years ago and it has been very handy. I laid out the locations for the T-track with a straight edge and square, and then routered in the slots for the T-track using a track saw rail and a router. I used two sheets of 1/2 inch plywood.
mino
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For a newbie, I must give a vote to the smaller version of the Ron Paulk "Smart Bench" line and related. See his youtube for details.
The MFT/3 is a great piece of engineering, but it is not the thing for your average hobby user. The Paulk-style bench design is both cost-effective AND, more importantly, gives one a stable bench that is very suitable for static shop use which the MFT/3 is not really meant for.
The biggest part of MFT/3 cost is to allow for portability, it pays for that not only in price but in stability. Great for on-site work. Not so great for a small shop user that will mostly use it statically. And certainly not a slam-dunk "starting woodworker" kit.
The MFT/3 is a great piece of engineering, but it is not the thing for your average hobby user. The Paulk-style bench design is both cost-effective AND, more importantly, gives one a stable bench that is very suitable for static shop use which the MFT/3 is not really meant for.
The biggest part of MFT/3 cost is to allow for portability, it pays for that not only in price but in stability. Great for on-site work. Not so great for a small shop user that will mostly use it statically. And certainly not a slam-dunk "starting woodworker" kit.
