ITM Fence & Incra on MFT3

bryanjtx

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Feb 13, 2018
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Just received a link from Precision Dogs that the ITM Fence for MFT3 is in stock.  Looks very interesting.
https://precisiondogs.us/collections/frontpage/products/itm-fence

Anyone have any experience with this?  I have the Incra LS fence on my table saw and router table so this would be a great addition.  I searched for prior posts on this, but didn't see any so apologies if this has been discussed before.
Thanks,
Bryan
 
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I ordered a fence from Incra awhile back after seeing someone modify some 8020 extrusion to provide support under the rail and did the same to mine. Works great.

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I see you have the dashboard mount as well as the incra fence.  Did this replace your MFT/3 fence system and if so are you happy with it or is this your own version of the MFT/3?
 
bryanjtx said:
I see you have the dashboard mount as well as the incra fence.  Did this replace your MFT/3 fence system and if so are you happy with it or is this your own version of the MFT/3?
No, I have a bench I made from 8020 extrusion.

I wanted a bigger table with storage underneath. I was going to do a Ron Paulk style bench from wood, but later changed to something similar using 8020. I made the top 3’ wide x 5’ long.

Love the Dashboard flip mount though!  Highly recommended.

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[member=71544]08G8V8[/member] How did you mount the Incra fence to your 8020 top?

I have a similar table, with the MFT top sitting about 1/2” above the top of the 15-series 8020. I want to order the Incra fence, but want to mount it using the 8020 sides, not in dog holes, to maximize cutting space.

Your setup is basically exactly what I want, curious how you achieved it.

Thanks!
 
Is there any reason I couldn't just screw a pice of 80/20 to the face of a wooden workbench and take advantahe if the dashboard point to make cross cuts?
 
odessaboots said:
How did you mount the Incra fence to your 8020 top?

I have a similar table, with the MFT top sitting about 1/2” above the top of the 15-series 8020. I want to order the Incra fence, but want to mount it using the 8020 sides, not in dog holes, to maximize cutting space.

Your setup is basically exactly what I want, curious how you achieved it.

Thanks!
If you mean setting the fence flush with the 80/20, why not just put some holes in some scrap aluminum plate, and cut it to fit. 1/4" bolts should work, but there are lots of options.
 
guybo said:

Right, except I am using 80/20, and that bracket does not have slotted holes, so the top of my table would need to be EXACTLY the same height as the stock MFT in relation to that t-slot in the MFT. I doubt mine is.

I will likely just order some 15 series angle brackets, and drill an oversized hole in it where I can attach it to the back slot of the Incra Track. The play won’t matter, since it is just holding the Incra track to the bracket, and will not effect its squareness.

Been thinking about this one a lot today….
 
There was a good thread awhile back about this. HERE Keep in mind that the hinge is squared to the fence so the fence doesnt need to me "perfectly" positioned. You can simply drill some extra 20mm holes to mount the fence. I used anchor dogs by UJK back when but I really like the new TSO power lock dogs but they are limited on clamping thickness so that needs to be taken in to account. I will say I do not like the looks of those aluminum plates odd the back because of deflection issues. 
 
If you guys prefer to set up your MFT equivalent that way have fun but to a long time Festool MFT user it looks like you doing it backwards. As designed you leave the rail where it was when first set up and you change the fence angle to suit the task. It’s trivial to do so unless working with very thick stock.

Working this way for 20 years my MFT’s still have the original mdf slabs and they only have one or two kerf slots each.
 
odessaboots said:
Right, except I am using 80/20, and that bracket does not have slotted holes, so the top of my table would need to be EXACTLY the same height as the stock MFT in relation to that t-slot in the MFT. I doubt mine is.

I will likely just order some 15 series angle brackets, and drill an oversized hole in it where I can attach it to the back slot of the Incra Track. The play won’t matter, since it is just holding the Incra track to the bracket, and will not effect its squareness.

Been thinking about this one a lot today….
Are you going to mount to the top of the 80/20 or to the side? Seems like an angle bracket would be for top mount and a plate would be for flush mounting to the side.
 
afish said:
There was a good thread awhile back about this. HERE Keep in mind that the hinge is squared to the fence so the fence doesnt need to me "perfectly" positioned. You can simply drill some extra 20mm holes to mount the fence. I used anchor dogs by UJK back when but I really like the new TSO power lock dogs but they are limited on clamping thickness so that needs to be taken in to account. I will say I do not like the looks of those aluminum plates odd the back because of deflection issues.

I found that thread after I posted, thank you. I like the idea of the undermount dogs that [member=60777]Bugsysiegals[/member] ended up getting to work. It is interesting though that the particular INCRA track they use does not simply use the standard 1/4-20 T-track slots on the bottom, as his M6 bolt picture would indicate a smaller track groove on the bottom. I have reached out to INCRA to see if they can speak to the dimensions.

How would I attach a fence with the Powerlock dogs from TSO? Those seem great for locking the dog down from above, or joining work pieces, but not sure how to use them to hold the fence on.

I also agree that ideally, I would be able to square the fence, so that I don't ever have to worry about moving the track relative to the kerf cut across my bench. I think drilling some holes special for the fence might be a fine solution, if I don't want to give up much space on the top using the regular holes.

 
IMO bugsy went a little overboard on attaching the dogs.  I would have just drilled a coupe spots out to 8mm and transferred those down to the mft top and add a couple 20mm dog holes to match. Once the rail hinge is squared to the fence you are good the fence can come on off as long as you use the same holes you should be good.  Truthfully knowing what I know now I would probably just use 3/4 fence with 20mm holes with the power loc dogs.  Maybe add a t track to it if you want to get fancy.  It really just comes down to what type of work you do and your needs. 
 
Hi guys. I’m new here. I signed up to the Festool owners group after seeing Odessaboots’s MFT3 design on Pinterest. I’m in the process of building my own MFT3 and I came here for inspiration. Regarding making wider crosscuts. Are you guys familiar with the Dashboard Portable Workshop accessories? They are a young company out of Colorado they make top notch accessories. Rob the owner/inventor used to be a cabinet maker. Here or drop a link to one of his videos regarding increasing Crosscut while using the incra fence.
 
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