MFT/3 Fence Protractor (Angle cuts)

[gnlman]

Hi. OK I'm finally getting a chance to really use my MFT/3 and my rails, saw ect.
I am trying to use only my Festool system to make a woodrack, but the woodrack required some angles to be cut, which brings me to my question.
Does anybody really use the angle protractor on the MFT/3????
The MFT is giving me great straight cuts, but when I tried to use the angles I found it very unfriendly and well just plain unusable...
I was trying to cut around a 40 degree angle and I had to pull the fence forward a fair bit so the end of the fence under the rail would clear the end of the rear hinge....by the time I pulled the fence towards me enough to accomplish this, the fence became very "unstable" as I felt it was overextended from the rear of the table......
I have searched the forums for info on this with no luck.
In addition, everytime I tried to use the protractor and set it back to zero, I had to square the fence up again...
Am I missing something here.....does anyone have a few pics or a video using the protractor?

I'm a very novice woodworker, but have owned a radial arm saw,chop saw for many years so I have built a few things in my time. I ended up marking and cutting the angle on the first one then using that as a template with some scraps and qwas dogs to make the other 5......I know this worked, but if the protractor is not really usable, I'd probably think of replacing it with some sort of straight fence or something like that....
Thanks in advance for any help, and for all the knowledge I've been gathering from the posters on these forums...I can't believe what I've learned in the past year or so, and also very thankful for the safety tips I've picked up.....
Once again, Thank you all.
Greg

 

[peter halle]

Greg,

You can do what you want to do.  I am going to look for a video that someone else recently used in a post and I will edit this post and insert the video.  Getting used to the MFT/3 takes just a little time, but once you are ...

Peter

EDIT:  Moderator is currently ashamed.  He can't find the post with the video.  He needs your help.  Steve Bace, 2008 AWFS, showing how to set up the MFT/3.  Posted within the last week.

HELP!!!!!!!! our poster and me.

Peter

 

[hockey_magnet]

If you go straight to YouTube and search "how to set up mft/3" Steve's videos come up first

Chris

 

[Brice Burrell]

MFT 3 setup

 

[gnlman]

Hi. Thank you both for responding. I've seen that video many times and have it saved on my "YouTube" I keep a laptop in my shop so I can go and look at many videos and posts and have printed out many supp manuals....all of it great info for sure.
I certainly am not unhappy with the table, and realize that in a way I'm doing everything a bit backwards to what I'm used too.....having not too much experience doesn't help, but I'm so happy with the Festool system I wish I'd had it (like many people) 20 or 30 years ago. For straight crosscuts it's incredible. For breaking down big sheets of plywood it's what I always dreamed of and over the years bought many "straight edges" to use with my skill saw but with not too great of results......
I just watched the video again after reading your post and while I use his method to square up the fence/rail and find it very quick and easy I still find the angle part of the fence less than accurate.....What I am going to go try ( I never thought of this before) is to move the fence so the protractor moves the wood more towards the front of the table....(does that make sense...lol).....or instead of moving the protractor counter clockwise to get say a 45, I'll try moving it clockwise and have the cut more towards the front of the table. Still this won't allow the use of the "locking device" on the end of the fence which really keeps it from moving.
I guess I'm so used of my radial saw where I can set a stop, cut an angle flip the board over and cut the second angle (say to make a picture frame) and I have all the same measurements......I watched "Qwas" do this on the MFT with the dogs and while he made it look easy he must have been using pencil marks since he had the angle, there were no stops to make each piece the same size....Sorry if this doesn't make sense to all you pro's, like I said I'm a bit of a novice and used to doing things a bit different plus don't have the same Logic that you all have....lol
Then again maybe I'm just "Cranky in Canada".....it's still a bit cold here....haha

I really want to replace my radial arm saw in my bench with this table and to be honest if it only does the crosscuts well, it is much more accurate than the radial, and the cuts the saw makes are just wonderful. I'm looking forward to making some furniture with it all, and well if the angle cuts are not the greatest it will force me to get a Kapex....lol
Thanks again to all of you for sharing your knowledge, I (like many I'm sure) read a lot and post a little......We live in very interesting times with the big old WWW and can learn by watching so many talented people!!
Best Regards, Greg.

 

[harry_]

remember, there is no requirement for the fence to be under the rail at all. So you can slide the fence and/or protractor to the left as needed so you can get the fence clamp attached or put the protractor on the left end of the table and work it that way. You can also disregard the provided fence clamp and use a different clamp through the holes in the top to secure the fence. The system is all about options!

 

[Qwas]

I agree with Harry, there is no need to keep the fence under the guide rail. When I was using the MFT fence, I never liked having the fence under the rail.

......I watched "Qwas" do this on the MFT with the dogs and while he made it look easy he must have been using pencil marks since he had the angle, there were no stops to make each piece the same size....

If you watch the video again you will see at 6:13-6:30 I use a dog and a spacer as a stop for the first 45 degree cuts, and at 7:50-8:00 I use a dog as a stop for the second 45 degree cut. If you look at my table you will notice I move the guide rail rather than always keeping it in the same spot. Some people prefer one kerf line cut into the table top but I see no problem with multiple kerfs.

I don't have an MFT/3 so I'm sorry I can't help with your problem.

 

[gnlman]

Hi.
Brice, thank you for posting the video.
Harry,
Hmmm I never thought about moving (shifting the fence or whole protractor) left or right.....I guess I setup the table according to the video and have not spent enough time playing with it to realize nothing is "fixed" on this table. I gave this a try and can see where doing this will really make the protractor more versatile.
One thing I did try was mounting the protractor on the front of the table.( I didn't cut anything ) I realize that the stock would have to be held down via clamps as you'd be pushing the wood away from the fence when cutting instead of against it. What it appears to do is clear the back hinge on the guide rails without extending the protractor allowing shorter pieces to be cut...(does that make sense...lol) I also didn't think to use a different type of clamp to steady the protractor...

Qwas. I watched the video again, and while I did see the stop when I watched it the first time, what I failed to see was "2" dogs that the wood was against, I thought there was only one...What puzzled me was how would this stay constant once you put the cut angled piece against your stop....I realize now that there were 2 dogs you were pushing it against thus making the position where the wood touched the stop a constant.
Also never thought of moving my guide rail....just set it up against the factory stops but can see where moving it would be very handy and with the dogs very quick to square up.
I also noticed that you had a link to your website ( I didn't know you had one ) and that you have other inventions. I have the bench and rail dogs (ordered thru your Canadian distributor) I will definitely be adding a few more items to my collection.
I noticed you had a neat looking little tray on the front of your mft, I know I read (somewhere) what people were using, something like office baskets...or something like that. Where did you get your white tray in that video?

Thanks all for responding. Your answers jogged my mind enough to "get it out of the box" lol
I think I should have approached the shelf supports differently which would have made the angle cutting much easier on the mft.
( I'm trying to post a pic of them to help with my explanation)

Thanks again, ( I'm sure I'll have more questions.....lol)
Greg.

 

[Qwas]

The white tray is an old mod. You can read about it and other mods I did here: Some MFT Mods

[attachimg=1]

It is a plastic rain gutter that was cut to length, the ends added, and 2 bolt holes drilled to attach it to the MFT's side extrusion slot. If you don't tighten the bolts, you can slide it off and on as needed. The only problem is this tray collects sawdust.

[attachimg=2]

A few years later, another FOG member came up with this tray. I have 2 of these to replace my rain gutter tray. I don't remember the manufacturer of these trays but they can be found in Walmart's kitchen accessories area.

 

[greg mann]

Hi.
One thing I did try was mounting the protractor on the front of the table.( I didn't cut anything ) I realize that the stock would have to be held down via clamps as you'd be pushing the wood away from the fence when cutting instead of against it. What it appears to do is clear the back hinge on the guide rails without extending the protractor allowing shorter pieces to be cut...(does that make sense...lol) I also didn't think to use a different type of clamp to steady the protractor...

If you keep just a small amout of pressure over the workpiece when cutting away from the fence you should have no problem with this technique. Jerry Work does it quite regularly and, BTW, his site is another one you should check out for ways to use your MFT. I believe you can find him at  thedovetailjoint.com.