Guide Rail not parallel to the table on MFT/3

[Festool Fool]

The bad news is that I still can't cut straight.. the good news is that I finally have a legit excuse  

I just got around to setting up and attempting to use my new MFT/3 table and accessories...     [aside:  for those who have recently got the table-- or may soon be getting one-- the youtube video from the wood show is far better than any documentation]

So I cut a couple of pieces to check out my new tool and the pieces aren't even CLOSE to square.   I check out suggested fixes, etc... and they all seem to point towards adjusting the "miter gauge" with the two adjusting screws and get it square to the rail.  

Would make sense except that I have tested the guage against the holes in the table and it is dead on across them.   Hmmmmm....     If I adjust the gauge, then it won't be square to the table or holes, which is not good.

Then it dawned on me that if the table is square (assumed) and the gauge is square to the table (proven) then the guide itself with its PRESET factory stops in the extruded grooves must be off.

PLEASE CHECK MY LOGIC HERE:  So I measured from the edge of the extruded rail on both sides of the table to the edge of the factory installed stop-- and it is different by nearly 1/2".    

So two questions:  (1) Am I correct in thinking that if all else is square and these stops are off by 3/8"+  that the rails would then be not square?   AND EQUALLY AS IMPORTANT:  if so, does anyone have a clue on how to move/adjust those stops?

Apologies in advance for the long (and probably confusing) post-- just tired and frustrated as I am traveling a lot and I am trying to finish up the only project my wife has actually expresed interest in!

Thanks as always for any suggestions.

 

[djwong]

When I received my MFT/3, I needed to adjust a factory stop to bring the saw guide square to the holes in the table.  There may be better methods, but what I did was to loosen and adjust the front factory stop to bring things into square.  The stop can be loosened with a hex key.  Before I loosened it, I butted up and clamped something against the factory stop (in my case a guide rail connector bar).  I did this to give myself a reference point and to let me reset to the factory setting in case I screwed up.  I used the "4-cut" method with 24" square piece of mdf.  My fence was referenced to the holes with two 20mm dogs I purchased on ebay.  The amount I needed to adjust the factory stop was small, so I used paper shims against my reference stop to fine tune things.  I think it took me 4 tries to get things where I was happy with them.  I do not use the miter gauge attachment - only bench dogs to reference the fence.

 

[Corwin]

When I received my MFT/3, I needed to adjust a factory stop to bring the saw guide square to the holes in the table.  There may be better methods, but what I did was to loosen and adjust the front factory stop to bring things into square.  The stop can be loosened with a hex key.  Before I loosened it, I butted up and clamped something against the factory stop (in my case a guide rail connector bar).  I did this to give myself a reference point and to let me reset to the factory setting in case I screwed up.  I used the "4-cut" method with 24" square piece of mdf.  My fence was referenced to the holes with two 20mm dogs I purchased on ebay.  The amount I needed to adjust the factory stop was small, so I used paper shims against my reference stop to fine tune things.  I think it took me 4 tries to get things where I was happy with them.  I do not use the miter gauge attachment - only bench dogs to reference the fence.

If you used your 20mm dogs to reference your fence, why didn't you then place the dogs in a set of holes perpendicular to those and set your rail to the dogs too?  This was the hole idea behind using these dogs...  Two dogs in one row of holes to set your fence, then move them to a column of holes to locate your rail.  This may not place the cut line where you prefer.  If not, place two like-sized shims between the dogs and backside of rail to adjust to your liking -- you probably want the cut line in the middle of two columns of holes.

 

[peter halle]

Before you move your stops, I have a story to tell.  Maybe you did something similar.  The stops are actually installed at the factory with a special gauge or tool to ensure accuaracies.  Two weeks a go I was using the MFT/3 to cut pvc for a project.  At the start of the day as we got to the site, I had to talk to the customer.  By the time I made it to where we were setting up, my assistant had set up the MFT and the TS-55 and the CT-22 and we were ready to rock.  I was impressed that he had paid attention to my setting it up in the past.  As I got ready to make the first cut, I noticed that the rail was not parallel to the holes.  I asked him to show me how he had set it up.

Here is what he did.  He remembered that if you look at the front of the MFT, the stop should be towards the right.  CORRECT.

He then installed the front rail holder from the left and slid it aginst the stop and tightened the black knob.  CORRECT.

He then went around to the back of the table and installed the rear hinged rail holder attached to the rail from the left.  WRONG.  He should have slid it in from his right when standing behind the table.

That didn't look correct to him, so he went to the systainer in which I store all the clamping elements, clamps, fence parts, etc and found a set of allen head wrenches, etc. and proceeded to move the rear stop.  VERY WRONG.

I showed him how he should have set it up and then proceeded to move the stop back into place.  It is a little off right now and I will adjust it before using it again.  He did explain why he installed the rear holder the way he did.  His logic - which I can't really fault him on was: "With the rail on the hinged holder it was a little difficult to get it to slide.  I figured that Festool had thought of that, so I thought that installing it from the other end would be a shorter distance and faster, smarter, and easier.  Isn't that one of Festool's slogans?"

I offer this true story just in case it might help.

Peter

 

[justinmcf]

Thanks Peter. I don't own an mft 3 yet. But when I do buy one, I will print this out so I get the setup right everytime.
Cheers Justin.

 

[tbellemare]

The easiest way to set the fence square to the guide rail is to set the guide rail where you want it and adjust the stops to the guide rail mounts so that you can return to that position if you take the guide rail off the table.

Then, and this is so silly easy it is embarrassing...

• Turn the fence to 90 degrees, so it is parallel to the guide rail.
• Slide it over to the guide rail and clamp it with the big black knob.
• Loosen the angle unit adjustment screws.
• adjust to parallel with guide rail
• tighten guide rail adjustment screws

Now you can move the angle unit anywhere along that same table profile that you want. You can take it off the table and put it back on and it will be square.

I have to revise my website - the method I have on there uses the holes and they aren't necessary.

Tom

EDIT: This works for the MFT/3 only.

 

[Brice Burrell]

I don't have the MFT/3 but I know the front and rear guide rail brackets mount opposite each other. So the the right end of the bracket butts to the factory stop on the front and the reverse on the back. This could explain the difference in stops spacing.

EDIT: I just saw Corwin already offered this explanation in another post.

......The stops on the older tables were not the same distance from the end of the table.  This is because the rail sits offset somewhat on the brackets.  And, since the base portion of the brackets that mounts onto the rails is the same -- not separate left and right versions -- the stops need to be offset from each other too.  I suspect that this is also true of the stops on the MFT/3s......

 

[Corwin]

...  He did explain why he installed the rear holder the way he did.  His logic - which I can't really fault him on was: "With the rail on the hinged holder it was a little difficult to get it to slide.  I figured that Festool had thought of that, so I thought that installing it from the other end would be a shorter distance and faster, smarter, and easier.  Isn't that one of Festool's slogans?"

Years ago, I also felt that sliding the brackets on the far end was slower, dumber and harder than sliding on from the other end.  So, with the guide rail brackets locked in place against the stops, I removed the stops and relocated them to the other side.  Now is is faster, smarter and much easier for me.  I see no reason to not perform this simple change to your stops.