Initial set up of a MFT table?

[sprior]

Just picked up an MFT table for my TS55 saw.  I've assembled it, but haven't checked angles or alignment of anything yet.  Is there anything I should know before I ever come near it with my saw, any tips?  I'm planning to use the table for general hobby workshop projects and some cabinetry.  Is the default cutting line at the far right edge of the table good for most work or should I consider moving it before making that first cut?  I have to admit that I'm kind of a neat freak about my tools and am not really comfortable yet with the idea of the MFT top being a consumable which is going to have various marks put into it.

Also, the MFT top feels a little tacky, not slippery like MDF usually feels to me - does Festool treat it with anything to give a non-slip surface?

 

[johninthecamper]

I've been had mine for a few weeks,hundreds of cuts,not one in the table,takes a little more time, using a sacrificial piece underneath and clamping is hard sometimes.I do see myself cutting it,just cannot bring myself to actually doing it.it has almost all of the the "new" still.

 

[Stone Message]

I am sure that everyone is reluctant to even scratch their MFT top and I spent a week or two trying to avoid making too many marks on it. I have had mine for at least a year and I am on my second top. Here are some pointers:

Always remember to check the depth setting of your saw before you make any cuts. I do wood thickness plus 7mm to allow for the guide rail thickness.

Check the squareness of the guide rail setup and adjust if necessary (there are plenty of FOG threads to cover that).

If you feel energetic, replicate your MFT top and put the original somewhere dry and safe from damage (again loads of advice available).

Contact Bob Marino and get some Qwas Dogs - once you look at some of the other MFT threads you will see why).

If you want to protect the top from glue and stuff give it a coat of Osmo PolyX or Top Oil.

Peter

 

[Guilliaume woodworks]

Guys...its just mdf....show it who's boss & rip into it!  [big grin]

 

[RDMuller]

The default cut line is the best way to go.  I have made hundreds of cuts on it.  I use a protective sheet of 1/4" or thinner plywood if working other lines.  Just a hint -- do not move the front and back position stop for the guide rails.  You will never get them more precise than the way they  come from the factory.  If you have to move them, make some sort of "memory stick spacer" or whatever you want to call it.  Simply measuring with a tape measure or square is not accurate enough and you will be fiddling with them forever to get them back to factory settings.  From my perspective, I almost wish they were welded in place.  I have never moved mine.  I also work at a location where a table it is shared and certain folks move these around without a second thought.  The table top is a mess and we have to fiddle around to get the stops back in the correct position.

I assume you could buy additional stops as parts from Festool if you have to have stops in some other location or on the other edges.

 

[Sean7a]

The default cut line is the best way to go.  I have made hundreds of cuts on it.  I use a protective sheet of 1/4" or thinner plywood if working other lines.  Just a hint -- do not move the front and back position stop for the guide rails.  You will never get them more precise than the way they  come from the factory.  If you have to move them, make some sort of "memory stick spacer" or whatever you want to call it.  Simply measuring with a tape measure or square is not accurate enough and you will be fiddling with them forever to get them back to factory settings.  From my perspective, I almost wish they were welded in place.  I have never moved mine.  I also work at a location where a table it is shared and certain folks move these around without a second thought.   The table top is a mess and we have to fiddle around to get the stops back in the correct position.

I assume you could buy additional stops as parts from Festool if you have to have stops in some other location or on the other edges.

Good suggestion, extra stops, if there is the need to move the factory stops.

 

[sancho57]

I am sure that everyone is reluctant to even scratch their MFT top and I spent a week or two trying to avoid making too many marks on it. I have had mine for at least a year and I am on my second top. Here are some pointers:

Always remember to check the depth setting of your saw before you make any cuts. I do wood thickness plus 7mm to allow for the guide rail thickness.

Check the squareness of the guide rail setup and adjust if necessary (there are plenty of FOG threads to cover that).

If you feel energetic, replicate your MFT top and put the original somewhere dry and safe from damage (again loads of advice available).

Contact Bob Marino and get some Qwas Dogs - once you look at some of the other MFT threads you will see why).

If you want to protect the top from glue and stuff give it a coat of Osmo PolyX or Top Oil.

Peter

What not recommending Parf dogs????

Peter Peter peter…  [eek]

 

[sancho57]

Get a good square, woodpeckers or pinnacle from woodcraft for example.

You'll need it to set up the guide rail and fence.

 

[mouppe]

There is a set of videos on youtube showing how to calibrate the fence with the rail. Well worth watching.

 

[peter halle]

Here are some of the videos.  These videos were from a training class for end users at the Festool USA Headquarters in Lebanon, Indiana.

Setting up the MFT/3 - Part 1

Setting up the MFT/3 - Part 2

The instructor is Steve Bace of Festool USA.

Peter

 

[Stone Message]

.......

What not recommending Parf dogs????

Peter Peter peter…   [eek]

I only designed them and gave that design free to anyone who wanted to make/market them. I get nothing back at all. Anyway I wanted the thread originator to discover the beauty of Parf Dogs all by himself.

I do use my Parf Dogs all of the time and no longer keep the guide rail (and its attachments) fixed to the MFT3. This has opened up the MFT3 and makes it even more useful in the workshop. I now have the MFT3 like an island unit (as in a kitchen). I can work at it from any side and the guide rail is not in the way.

Good to hear from you again.

Peter

 

[sprior]

Thanks for the info so far - watching the Festool class videos made me realize I had put the rail hinge and support on the wrong side of the stop, but haven't cut anything yet so no harm done.

A little of a followup question:  What are the guarantees of the table?  I'm not talking about the refund period, but things like X is parallel with Y, A is square with B.  Are the corners of the rail guaranteed to be square?  The spacing between the dog holes is a constant, but is the actual distance significant for some use?  Almost as important is what things are NOT guaranteed and you should not assume them even it it would appear convenient (the ends of the rails not being guaranteed square is one example)?

 

[panelchat]

I just got this table and am still getting used to it. The sticky surface struck me as odd, probably a waxy stuff applied as a moisture barrier (??) but it diminished quickly, no big deal.  In my (small) world of doing 90 deg cuts 99.9% of the time, I can't imagine using it without the Qwas (or other) precision dogs for squaring up the system. The whole miter gage thingy I find optimized for weight, cost, and speed of changing settings, rather than robustness or great accuracy. The table as a whole is a superb working system though and I'm glad I bought it. I assume the hole pattern to be very accurate, the heart of the system, and use the holes as the most reliable reference points. The Qwas dogs make it very simple to square the fence. I wouldn't build a new work table without using the hole pattern...

Two questions for Peter P.- do you ever use the Parf Dogs to square the rail? I find the main weakness in the table to be left/right slop in the height adjustment system, and would like to have tall precision dogs to double check the rail for square after it is set to the height of the panel thickness.

And- if so, can I order from UK to US?

Or should I have my now Scottish sister bring them along with the canned haggis I requested for Christmas? [tongue]

 

[Stone Message]

I just got this table and am still getting used to it. The sticky surface struck me as odd, probably a waxy stuff applied as a moisture barrier (??) but it diminished quickly, no big deal.  In my (small) world of doing 90 deg cuts 99.9% of the time, I can't imagine using it without the Qwas (or other) precision dogs for squaring up the system. The whole miter gage thingy I find optimized for weight, cost, and speed of changing settings, rather than robustness or great accuracy. The table as a whole is a superb working system though and I'm glad I bought it. I assume the hole pattern to be very accurate, the heart of the system, and use the holes as the most reliable reference points. The Qwas dogs make it very simple to square the fence. I wouldn't build a new work table without using the hole pattern...

Two questions for Peter P.- do you ever use the Parf Dogs to square the rail? I find the main weakness in the table to be left/right slop in the height adjustment system, and would like to have tall precision dogs to double check the rail for square after it is set to the height of the panel thickness.

And- if so, can I order from UK to US?

Or should I have my now Scottish sister bring them along with the canned haggis I requested for Christmas? [tongue]

I assume by squaring the rail you mean get the rear fence and guide rail (fixed to the bracket) square - then yes you can but you can use ordinary dogs to do the same - Paul Marcel has a video showing that.

If you mean the position the rail (not attached to the bracket) so that it is square to the horizontal holes then yes - this is what they are designed to do.

If, as I suspect, you mean to double check settings then yes you can but check out Paul Marcel's video first.

I have already said that I get nothing whatsoever from Parf Dog sales but I use them all the time because I no longer have to worry about checking squareness of the back stop and (fixed) guide rail. My cuts are 100% square every time.

I know that Intelligent Workshop, who make and market the Parf Dogs, do ship to the US - I think the charge is less than $10 but you do need to check. I am surprised that they are not being made in NA.

Peter

 

[peter halle]

Thanks for the info so far - watching the Festool class videos made me realize I had put the rail hinge and support on the wrong side of the stop, but haven't cut anything yet so no harm done.

A little of a followup question:  What are the guarantees of the table?  I'm not talking about the refund period, but things like X is parallel with Y, A is square with B.  Are the corners of the rail guaranteed to be square?  The spacing between the dog holes is a constant, but is the actual distance significant for some use?  Almost as important is what things are NOT guaranteed and you should not assume them even it it would appear convenient (the ends of the rails not being guaranteed square is one example)?

As the MFT/3 comes shipped there is no purpose for the holes - whose spacing is based on multiples of 32mm - except for clamping.  When setting up the rear fence and the rail you are creating references off of the rear extrusion.  In this scenario it doesn't matter if the front extrusion isn't exactly parallel to the rear or square to the sides.  If you switch over to using dogs to establish your references then you are relying on the pattern which is CNC produced and most believe to be accurate.  I prefer setting my rear fence parallel to the holes and the rail perpendicular to the fence and parallel to the holes in the other direction using the dogs.  Again, this does not require parallel or square corners or sides.  

I hope that I explained this well enough.

The corners of the rail are not always square.  If you are joining 2 rails together it is often recommended that you leave a small space in between them to allow for this.

Peter

 

[sancho57]

.......

What not recommending Parf dogs????

Peter Peter peter…   [eek]

I only designed them and gave that design free to anyone who wanted to make/market them. I get nothing back at all. Anyway I wanted the thread originator to discover the beauty of Parf Dogs all by himself.

I do use my Parf Dogs all of the time and no longer keep the guide rail (and its attachments) fixed to the MFT3. This has opened up the MFT3 and makes it even more useful in the workshop. I now have the MFT3 like an island unit (as in a kitchen). I can work at it from any side and the guide rail is not in the way.

Good to hear from you again.

Peter

Ill be home soon. Before I leave Ill oder me a set of "official" Parf dogs.

Never settle for second best :>D