MFT 1080: Updating and Existing Setup?

[Hotwheels]

I have two MFT1080’s connected for my work station.  The primary use is cross-cutting and shorter rips. Longer rips I go to the table saw and I do any cross-cutting I can on the Kapex.

One side of the table is the original MFT 1080 top and the other side is a replacement made by a CNC shop.  The holes in the CNC top were made to fit TSO dogs that I acquired after the second MFT top was damaged.  The TSO dogs as well as some older Veritas PARF dogs do not fit in the original 1080 top.  When I ream them out using a UJK 20mm reamer then the dogs have some play in them.

I’m going to have a second CNC top made that will also fit the TSO dogs fixing the problem of dogs working in some holes and not others. 

My original fence was lost when I moved in 2020 and I considered different options but eventually just settled on using some seldom used MFS parts to make a fence.  I square the rail to the MFS fence using a large machinist square. There are some issues with things staying square, but it just takes time and fiddling to readjust.

I have some plans to make some cabinets and a couple of furniture projects and the MFS parts will come in handy for some of what I want to do, so I’m thinking of getting a fence and replacing the guide rail brackets with the ones from Dashboard since I think they will fit my 1080 whereas it is my understanding that the TSO kit does not work for the 1080.

Any other ideas about how to update this setup short of just doing something different like Tracktubes or the Dashboard bench.?I’m trying to work with what I have as much as possible.

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[Jim_in_PA]

My MFT is an old 1080, also. The only mod I made was to make the legs longer to get it to the same height as the current MFT design. I turned some dowels for a slip fit to do the deed. I think, but don't quote me on it, that it now sits at 900mm height, as I'd have to get it out to confirm and that's not going to happen soon due to lifting restrictions after wrist surgery. I made a new top a few years ago with my CNC to replace the original which was worn on both sides. (it had been previously flipped)

 

[peter halle]

[member=296]John Russell[/member], you are now experiencing the headache that Steve Qwas ran into when he produced the first dogs for the mfts.  Here is part of a post he wrote: "The reason for the design was because these dogs came out before the MFT/3. The older MFT-1080/800 has hole sizes that changed every production year. So I had to come up with a design that worked on all the different size holes or custom make dogs for each table. This last option wasn't very good because many customers didn't have any way to accurately measure the holes. So the design came from necessity."

He came up with the concept here of the dogs because the older 1080's had fence squaring issues and by totally relying on the hole pattern more accurate cuts were achieved for most users.  You might be best served to go the custom MFT top to fit your 1080.  Steve Qwas no longer produces the Qwas dogs.  You might also keep an eye out on eBay for your missing parts.  The 1080 is no longer sexy since the MFT/3 came out and the popularity increased of the 20 mm on 96 mm pattern sort of tabletops.

Peter

Peter

 

[dashboardpws]

As long as you can arrange a fence that will fit the holes (and our surface mount fences will work), then you only need to consider that our Guide Rail Brackets and Universal Track Stars can be readily adjusted to be square to the fence, regardless of any lack of squareness in the table itself.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Greetings fellow old timer! I have the same square. It was recommended by Jerrry Work if I remember correctly.

As an owner of 1080 and 800 MFT’s I’m not a big fan of dogs unless they fit perfectly.

I’d go with the Dashboard stuff if I wanted to upgrade.

 

[Hotwheels]

Thanks for the replies.  I'm having a CNC shop make a second top to match the one he previously made for me and I'm hopeful the dog holes will be the same.  Dog diameters seem to differ enough to make a difference in how things fit. Right now I am using mostly TSO dogs with some legacy Veritas Parf dogs and a few old QWAS ones.  Moving forward the issue is the compatibility of the hole diameter to use with other accessories like fence dogs or Dashboard's surface mount fence.  I guess with threaded dogs I can use knobs to tighten them up.  The CNC shop asked if I wanted the dog holes chamfered and at this point I can't see any reason not to do that.

While I mostly rely on the rail and fence to make square cuts, I like to have the option of using dogs for alignment so having an accurately make top with snug dogs is useful.  If it made financial sense I would just buy the Dashboard tables and accessories since for me I see that as the logical upgrade, but the table I have still mostly work other than the fiddling with keeping the rail square to the fence.

Ah yes, the Ed Bennett square.  I believe it was Jerry Work who pointed out Ed's precision square many moons ago here.  I still find it useful and see no need to upgrade to some of the other popular options often recommended here for squaring things up.

The most useful upgrade I can see at this point (other than a second CNC top) is to replace the guide rail bracket with one from Dashboard.  I communicated with Rob some time ago and I believe he assured me his brackets would fit the profile on the MFT 1080 sides.

Thanks again for the replies.

 

[sancho57]

id forget about trying to. get a fence that will work and using dogs for squaring up your fence.

Instead go with the TSO GRS and their parallel  guide set up. I think it will be a more accurate and easier way to get accurate cuts. I very seldom use my MFT with fence and guide rail set up for cuts anymore. Though after buying their MFT mod kit I was surprised how accurate cross cutting is now.

They sell PG with up to 50" lengths for ripping and cross cutting....

 

[Hotwheels]

id forget about trying to. get a fence that will work and using dogs for squaring up your fence.

Instead go with the TSO GRS and their parallel  guide set up. I think it will be a more accurate and easier way to get accurate cuts. I very seldom use my MFT with fence and guide rail set up for cuts anymore. Though after buying their MFT mod kit I was surprised how accurate cross cutting is now.

They sell PG with up to 50" lengths for ripping and cross cutting....

Maybe I have just been using the rail/fence for too long, but the parallel guide system isn't for me.  I tired parallel guides a long time ago and gave up because of how fiddly I found them to be. I more or less know how to problem solve squaring the rail/fence now so I think I will stick with that and try the Dashboard brackets and maybe their surface mount fence if it will work with my tops.  Good luck with your system, seems to being working for you.