I had a homemade extension table that was made from scrap MDF. It was heavy, wobbly and not portable at all, but it served my needs- until I fell into it and broke it. Pre-finished maple with sawdust on it is slippery!!!
I started looking at the VL 700 extension and how to adapt it to the MFT/3, but the bang per buck just wasn't there for me. I was also surprised to find out that there are no extensions ( sold in NA) that utilize the V-groove which are specifically for the MFT/3. I guess the other choice would be to purchase another MFT.
I had nothing going on in the shop today, so I decided to make my own.
Home Depot roller stand: $25
Aluminum angle and flat stock: $40
nuts and bolts: $5
Used MFT top: priceless (It got rained on, so there was some serious swelling. I also just about cut through it. The salvaged dimensions are roughly 20" x 30")
Time: 5hrs - A lot of this time was spent figuring out the design I wanted, changing things, and going back to the store to get more material. If I were to build this again, it would probably take an hour, maybe less.
Final product:
1/8" x 2" flat stock bolted to 1/8" x 1" x 1.5" angle (started as 1.5 x 1.5 and ripped down size) I zipped off the top and bottom of the bolts for a semi-permanent connection and so that that it would sit cleanly in the V-groove.
3 holes were drilled in the T and I tapped 3 corresponding holes in the MFT side profiles.
The two pieces of aluminum made it so that the old MFT top was now proud of the surface. A rabbet, roughly 3/32" x 2" was needed to get the top flush. I ended up shimming the cut with a scrap of edge banding and it worked out perfectly.
The anchors from the old MFT top were scavenged, and reused as a way to bolt the MDF to the aluminum angle supports.
The space between the angle and the edge banding is where the flange of the T-section will slide in and connect to the MFT.
In order to fold flat, the angle sections need to be mounted on the outside of the brackets. The back end of the angle supports are also through bolted into the anchors from the old MFT top. Notice the hol3 drilled adjacent to the MFT hole directly above the bracket. This hole lines up with the center bolt on the stand and allows for the stand to fold up. In retrospect, I could have moved the assembly up 1/4" and it would have landed in the MFT hole - next time. Folds up flat for easy transport and storage.
Cannibalized Workforce adjustable height roller stand
The top is bolted through the angle, T-flange and anchored into the MDF top.
The width of the bracket with the angle attached just barely clears the MFT holes, which turned out through nothing other than dumb luck.
All of the hardware works with the hex key found in the TS55 in order to make things simple. I also attempted to line up the holes with the clamping element dogs and the miter fence. I don't use the holes for aligning cuts, but they are close enough for government work.
For $70 and a few hours, I have an arguably better extension than the VL 700.
I hope this one holds up, and these ideas can help someone else here.
-Vinny
I started looking at the VL 700 extension and how to adapt it to the MFT/3, but the bang per buck just wasn't there for me. I was also surprised to find out that there are no extensions ( sold in NA) that utilize the V-groove which are specifically for the MFT/3. I guess the other choice would be to purchase another MFT.
I had nothing going on in the shop today, so I decided to make my own.
Home Depot roller stand: $25
Aluminum angle and flat stock: $40
nuts and bolts: $5
Used MFT top: priceless (It got rained on, so there was some serious swelling. I also just about cut through it. The salvaged dimensions are roughly 20" x 30")
Time: 5hrs - A lot of this time was spent figuring out the design I wanted, changing things, and going back to the store to get more material. If I were to build this again, it would probably take an hour, maybe less.
Final product:
1/8" x 2" flat stock bolted to 1/8" x 1" x 1.5" angle (started as 1.5 x 1.5 and ripped down size) I zipped off the top and bottom of the bolts for a semi-permanent connection and so that that it would sit cleanly in the V-groove.
3 holes were drilled in the T and I tapped 3 corresponding holes in the MFT side profiles.
The two pieces of aluminum made it so that the old MFT top was now proud of the surface. A rabbet, roughly 3/32" x 2" was needed to get the top flush. I ended up shimming the cut with a scrap of edge banding and it worked out perfectly.
The anchors from the old MFT top were scavenged, and reused as a way to bolt the MDF to the aluminum angle supports.
The space between the angle and the edge banding is where the flange of the T-section will slide in and connect to the MFT.
In order to fold flat, the angle sections need to be mounted on the outside of the brackets. The back end of the angle supports are also through bolted into the anchors from the old MFT top. Notice the hol3 drilled adjacent to the MFT hole directly above the bracket. This hole lines up with the center bolt on the stand and allows for the stand to fold up. In retrospect, I could have moved the assembly up 1/4" and it would have landed in the MFT hole - next time. Folds up flat for easy transport and storage.
Cannibalized Workforce adjustable height roller stand
The top is bolted through the angle, T-flange and anchored into the MDF top.
The width of the bracket with the angle attached just barely clears the MFT holes, which turned out through nothing other than dumb luck.
All of the hardware works with the hex key found in the TS55 in order to make things simple. I also attempted to line up the holes with the clamping element dogs and the miter fence. I don't use the holes for aligning cuts, but they are close enough for government work.
For $70 and a few hours, I have an arguably better extension than the VL 700.
I hope this one holds up, and these ideas can help someone else here.
-Vinny
