MFT/3 for cutting accurately small plywood sheets with fine cuts

[Birdhunter]

Whatever method you choose, be careful with the smaller pieces. They can become awesome projectiles.

I have two MFTs joined together. I added an extension to mount a heavy vise. It all works. But, if I were starting over, I’d buy just the MFT top and build a workbench using the top and incorporating a nice vise.

Have you thought of using a bandsaw to cut these pieces? A good bandsaw can make very accurate cuts and won’t throw stuff at you. Bandsaws are compact and a 14” one can handle a wide variety of tasks.

 

[blues]

I have an MFT3. Only because i have it..i use it. And that too not the way it was intended because it has so many issues. No matter how you calibrate it.. the hinge has so much slop that your second cut will be an exercise in approximation. (Dashboard has designed a much much better hinge.. dont know why festool can't). One can't expect to calibrate the mft for every cut. Secondly if you don't have the stabilizer bars (sold separately) the table has quite a bit of wobble.. and for the price one would question the investment.
Look at dashboard.. or build your own using the mft top.

 

[afish]

Yes, if it was made by ryobi and cost 200 it wouldnt be bad.  However at the price premium Festool charges you should expect a premium product.  My hope by posting about the shortfalls in the Festool line is not to bash but hopefully encourage Festool to Improve these items. 

 

[Michael Kellough]

I have an MFT3. Only because i have it..i use it. And that too not the way it was intended because it has so many issues. No matter how you calibrate it.. the hinge has so much slop that your second cut will be an exercise in approximation. (Dashboard has designed a much much better hinge.. dont know why festool can't). One can't expect to calibrate the mft for every cut. Secondly if you don't have the stabilizer bars (sold separately) the table has quite a bit of wobble.. and for the price one would question the investment.
Look at dashboard.. or build your own using the mft top.

If the MFT is set up correctly the second cut will be identical to the first if all other factors remain the same. If you don’t change any setting from one cut to the next there is no reason for a difference unless there is an error in setup or you have a problem with your technique.

A common mistake is to do what I did first time I set up my first MFT twenty years ago. I noticed that the rail did not fall directly over the front bracket pin. With over twenty years experience working wood with machines I assumed that was a factory assembly mistake and readjusted the bolts that hold the rail to the rear bracket. Then the rail fell right over the pin but since the pin is not as wide as the slot in the rail the front of the rail can easily move left and right. Trying to get consistent cuts in that orientation is futile.

Thanks to the FOG I learned that the rail is supposed to be sprung to the right (about an inch) so that when you pull it to the left enough to slip over the pin it stays put. Then you can run the saw along the rail without risk of the angle changing.

 

[Peter_C]

And are the resulting workpieces with a perfect 90 degree angle?
My intention is to make small boxes, so can I make it with 4 resulting workpieces, without any major adjustments?

I have no issues with getting a 90* cut repeatedly. I did add a Slop Stop to my rail which seems to help. Setting the rail to 90* at cutting height works for me, and I just have a larger 26" Woodpeckers square. I keep a sacrificial 1/4" thick board around to cut thinner material on as the fence is 1/2" so anything thinner needs to be lifted. The 1/4" board lifts the Woodpeckers square up just enough to make squaring the rail at say 3/4" height easier. Just as important is using stops so the widths are repeatable, and multiple flip stops are nice to have.

One of the biggest benefits for the MFT/3 is it's portability, and it's ability to store with a pretty small foot print. Plus it is fairly quick to setup and take down. The MW1000 table nests inside the folded MFT/3 too. If I did it over again, I would buy the DashBoard rail hinges, but right now they are not available I do believe, but would recommend verifying. The Festool rail hinges could be easily resold at any time for almost full price. Along with all the other parts like the Festool fence. Or fence dogs can be used to hold the factory Festool fence instead of the Miter Gauge assembly the MFT/3 kit comes with. You can buy the MFT/3 bare bones too. Since my dang table saw takes up so much space, I still find the 2 MFT's I have along with a MW1000 tucked inside one, work well for an overfilled garage. Originally I started with a holey slab cut on a CNC. Accuracy was good, but I am far happier with an MFT/3. Much of the time I only use 1 or 2 at a time. The top I consider sacrificial, and have no qualms about cutting into it lightly.

I don't use the Festool fence either and am happy with a Woodpecker track and Precision fence dogs. Lots of options on the market today.

Not sure why others keep saying their track saws are throwing projectiles as my table saw has hurt me far more on a kick back. I consider the track saw far safer as a kick back would launch the projectile away from the user. The new TS55REQ F or whatever it is even has electronics to help alleviate a kick backs.

Edit: Used wrong word.

 

[antoniomcs]

Whatever method you choose, be careful with the smaller pieces. They can become awesome projectiles.

I have two MFTs joined together. I added an extension to mount a heavy vise. It all works. But, if I were starting over, I’d buy just the MFT top and build a workbench using the top and incorporating a nice vise.

Have you thought of using a bandsaw to cut these pieces? A good bandsaw can make very accurate cuts and won’t throw stuff at you. Bandsaws are compact and a 14” one can handle a wide variety of tasks.

That was my main intention, to use the bandsaw for those cuts.
The blade that came with it is 1/2" 4 TPI, and I realised that it makes rough cuts, specially crosscuting 5/8" plywood.
I'me very new to this, so I'm searching for bandsaw blades that have a very fine cut. My intention is that the resulting cuts are 90º, very fine and clean, so that I could join the boards together right out of the bandsaw and make small boxes, without wasting to much time sanding the edges, removing the tear out, etc.
Do you think it's possible to that only with the bandsaw?
If so, what kind of blade do you recommend?

I don't know if that's possible, so, that's why I thought of the MFT/3, since I already have the TS55 for cutting a whole plywood into quarters.

 

[antoniomcs]

I don't know if that's possible, so, that's why I thought of the MFT/3, since I already have the TS55 for cutting a whole plywood into quarters.

I meant a whole plywood sheet.

 

[jeffinsgf]

I don't believe you will ever get the results you're looking for from a band saw. At least, not with any of the dozen or so I've used over the last 40 years. A circular saw of some sort is better suited to your goals.

I guess I'm not as picky as some members here. I consider the MFT (mine is an older MFT-1080) a pretty reliable way to cut sheet goods. Sometimes you have to fiddle with the set up to get the results you want, but once dialed in, you can make repetitive cuts that will have little if any variance.

I'm going to take another look at my hinge. I have to say I have never experienced any change in the angle of the cut when making a height adjustment. Maybe I've just been lucky.

 

[dashboardpws]

For the record our Guide Rail Brackets ("rail hinge" as some refer to them generically) HAVE sold out again but are available to reserve on a relatively short backorder now. They all ship with our custom Pinsert™ that installs in your rail to fit precisely over the locating pin on the front bracket, so the variable width of your rail's slot is irrelevant. We offer several options for fences and setups to take the place of OEM gear. If the MFT3 itself is the issue, we also have you covered.

 

[MaineShop]

To answer the OP's original question the MFT does this and does it very well. I have several of them and use them almost every day but at least several times a week for my full time business. I find them extremely useful. Your mileage may vary. The accuracy can be kicked out of square for sure but you can resquare it in a matter of a minute once you are use to it. It is very mobile which helps even in a fixed shop in my opinion unless you are only going to build and set up for one project only. The accuracy is very good if calibrated. I use a 45k altendorf at one shop I work in part time, I would say the altendorf is faster for sure breaking down sheet goods, but in terms of accuracy and quality of cut I can do the same with my ts55s and tracks, just takes a bit longer. But I can do it anywhere with the tracksaws and mfts. Have build a lot of kitchens right on the job site, due to a lot of island work in our area. I know a lot of folks rave about the dashboard unit and it may be better for sure, but that doesn't take away from the value of the mft set up.

 

[blues]

For the record our Guide Rail Brackets ("rail hinge" as some refer to them generically) HAVE sold out again but are available to reserve on a relatively short backorder now. They all ship with our custom Pinsert™ that installs in your rail to fit precisely over the locating pin on the front bracket, so the variable width of your rail's slot is irrelevant. We offer several options for fences and setups to take the place of OEM gear. If the MFT3 itself is the issue, we also have you covered.

Ya.. i wrote to your company wanting to buy the brackets couple of months ago.
Here is the reply i got from Rob .. and i quote
"Anyone who buys brackets and selects the Bosch/Mafell option gets special adapters to make that rail work. If you remind us after ordering that you also need the Festool hardware we can send an additional, small invoice for those parts, too. Switching between them is easy but takes a few minutes"
There is already an extra charge when we choose Mafell. And on top of that you will send an additional invoice?.. for the festool parts that are already included in the original price?! So I pay twice for the festool parts that go into these brackets? ... was not comfortable with the pricing. So have not ordered.

 

[dashboardpws]

The adaptors are so expensive to produce that the surcharge barely covers our cost even without including the standard hardware. So yes - if you want the adaptors and also the standard equipment, we need to add an additional, small fee so we can at least break even. We are a young, small company, and we can not continue to operate without at least covering our costs. 

 

[woodbutcherbower]

My advice would be to forget the MFT. It has some fans on here, but to me - it’s flimsy, over-complex, crazy-expensive, and significantly flawed (as other contributors have pointed out). You already have a TS55, so grab yourself an 800mm rail and a TSO guide rail square, and cut your stock to the correct width in strips with them lying flat on a sacrificial offcut of 18mm MDF sat on top of sawhorses. The cut quality from the TS55 will be near-flawless. Then - cut the strips to length using the new mitre saw you just bought for way less than the cost of the MFT. I’ve made hundreds of small boxes (spice drawers, apothecary cabinets, cigar boxes, whisky display cases etc.) and the method’s great. With a mitre saw, you can also up your game by cutting bevels at the joints instead of butting them and having visible endgrain. Looks way better and is just as quick to do with the right machine. Good luck.

 

[blues]

The adaptors are so expensive to produce that the surcharge barely covers our cost even without including the standard hardware. So yes - if you want the adaptors and also the standard equipment, we need to add an additional, small fee so we can at least break even. We are a young, small company, and we can not continue to operate without at least covering our costs.

Agreed... that's why you have priced it the way you have.  But why charge the customer twice for the festool attachment!..?

 

[Peter_C]

My advice would be to forget the MFT. It has some fans on here, but to me - it’s flimsy, over-complex, crazy-expensive, and significantly flawed (as other contributors have pointed out). You already have a TS55, so grab yourself an 800mm rail and a TSO guide rail square, and cut your stock to the correct width in strips with them lying flat on a sacrificial offcut of 18mm MDF sat on top of sawhorses. The cut quality from the TS55 will be near-flawless. Then - cut the strips to length using the new mitre saw you just bought for way less than the cost of the MFT. I’ve made hundreds of small boxes (spice drawers, apothecary cabinets, cigar boxes, whisky display cases etc.) and the method’s great. With a mitre saw, you can also up your game by cutting bevels at the joints instead of butting them and having visible endgrain. Looks way better and is just as quick to do with the right machine. Good luck.

Not a bad way to do it, but instead of a square to register with I would use a combo square set to width plus kerf, and use it to set the rail. At this point nothing needs to be square if cutting a miter or cross cut at 90*.

 

[John T.]

I recently received the Dashboard PWS guide rails and I am getting square cuts with it. They have a smaller version of their own table which seems nicer than the MFT/3. If it had been available when I bought my MFT/3 I probably would have bought it instead, and I may still replace the MFT/3 eventually.

 

[rubber_ducky]

The adaptors are so expensive to produce that the surcharge barely covers our cost even without including the standard hardware. So yes - if you want the adaptors and also the standard equipment, we need to add an additional, small fee so we can at least break even. We are a young, small company, and we can not continue to operate without at least covering our costs.

Agreed... that's why you have priced it the way you have.  But why charge the customer twice for the festool attachment!..?

I just had a look at their website and the bosch/mafell rail up charge is $18. Seems to me that you’re assuming that this is the total cost of the bosch/mafell adapters. Don’t you think it’s possible that the up charge of bosch/mafell adapter is on top of the standard (festool) kit? If so, you haven’t paid for the standard kit already. You’ve only paid for the slightly ($18) more expensive bosch/mafell kit.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[antoniomcs]

Thank you all for your extremely valuable inputs.
I received a lot of new information and I have a lot to think about and analyze.

 

[Birdhunter]

I watched a video comparing 3 MFT hinges including the Festool unit. I ordered the DashBoard unit. I’m really looking forward to trying it. For the record, I’ve only had one issue with the Festool hinge. That’s when a bolt loosened up. Easily fixed.

 

[Packard]

I've watched videos of the MFT table and the Dashboard table systems. Both are inventive and probably effective ways to expand the capabilities of the Festool saw. 

But it reminds me of someone who once said, "Sure, you can teach a thoroughbred horse to run on his hind legs standing up.  But do you really want to?  The horse will be slow, ungainly and likely to injure itself."

Surprisingly these setups cost more than a table saw.  If you need some of the table saw's capability in a one-man-portable package, then this might make sense. 

If two men are available, then a contractor's saw.

Metabo makes a decent portable for under $600.00.  Add a good miter gauge and you can cut and dado.

I really like my Festool saw, but it excels at some tasks and falls short on others.  With all the accessories shown in the Dashboard videos, you are looking at $2,000.00 or more. 

I must be missing something.