MFT 3 or Miter saw

[donw]

Hello,

I own a small cabinet shop. My Sliding CMS finally went belly up and im thinking about replacing it with a MFT. The CMS was primarily used for repetive cuts for door parts so the repetetive cut stop would be important. I dont do alot of actual mitered cuts and have another small CMS that handles that job when needed. I really just need reliable square repetetive cuts for face frames and doors. Is this something that the MFT can handle quick and easy or should I just give dewalt another $600 for a new 12" saw. I do need the width since we buy alot of wide rough stock and  break it down into usable sizes.

Thank you
Don

 

[nickao]

I love the MFT table, but you need a miter saw first. Then maybe the MFT second.

It's just is to time sensitive to use the MFT for what you propose.

And I would give Milwaukee 600.00 and not DeWalt 600.00

http://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-6955-20-12-Inch-Sliding-Digital/dp/B001BBTZY4

If you look you can get this saw for 500.00.

Read the reviews and I agree with them too.

 

[tiralie]

If you leave it set up it's an efficient way to make repeat cross cuts particularly on anything larger than 11 wide".
If you have to move it around a lot it's a bit inefficient to have to set up all the time. It can be a bit of a pain getting and keeping it square but there are plenty of work arounds posted on the FOG here.
If you have stock that is longer than say 6' you will need another support.
Tim

 

[tbellemare]

The MFT/3 is designed to have the hardware for the guide rail taken off and remounted, while returning to the original position, just by using the feather keys that come with it as stops.

If the fence was once square to that original position, securing it to the same side profile again, (anywhere along it), will return it to square assuming you haven't gotten debris in the groove.

It's also really easy to square up because you can turn the fence so that it is parallel to the guide rail (after you like where and how the guide rail is mounted). With it parallel to the guide rail, you just slide it over and use some sort of gap gauge (like a credit card). When the gap at one end is equal to the gap at the other end, you are parallel.

Now, being parallel, you can slide the fence mount anywhere along the same side and it will remain parallel. You can turn it 90 degrees and it will be perpendicular. You can take the fence off the table and return it anywhere along the same side profile and it will still be squared up.

Tom

 

[donw]

It seems to be a love hate reationship with the MFT. Some say its easily knocked out of square and others sware by it. My thinking was I could gang cut 8 or 10 parts at one time. I do still have the little 10" saw to do narrow stuff and of course the sled on the table saw. I contacted a local dealer and of course they say the MFT is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but they also sold me that kit with the goofy angle untit.

Don

 

[Corwin]

It seems to be a love hate reationship with the MFT. Some say its easily knocked out of square and others sware by it. My thinking was I could gang cut 8 or 10 parts at one time. I do still have the little 10" saw to do narrow stuff and of course the sled on the table saw. I contacted a local dealer and of course they say the MFT is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but they also sold me that kit with the goofy angle untit.

Don

Ha ha ha.  Good one, Don!  [big grin]

One reason for such varied responses might be that some are referring to the MFT 1080, and others the MFT/3 which, as Tom has covered above, is much easier to square up. 

 

[EcoFurniture]

I had my whole shop outfitted with Festool. I build kitchen cabinets, big build in units, bed frames and much more out of a 400sqft shop! Yes, Festool is expensive, but because of it, I was able to stay in a smaller space and that saved me BIG$$$$  in rent!
If accuracy, dust collection and weight isn't that important then go for a "cheap" mitersaw. No need for a Kapex. The MFT/3 is a different story... I did all my cross cutting/assembly/sanding and other machining on it. I just loved the fact that I put place hold down clamps just about anywhere on that table. I had three of those table on wheeled cabinets and just loved them!

I'm now working for someone else again and let me tell you, I really really miss my set up! I was as fast and as accurate but easier to work with, safer and dust free then with with anything else I'm dealing with right now!

Cheers,
Andreas

Here is one unit I build: Big storage cabinets made by EcoFurniture

 

[Kevin Stricker]

MFT's are great, portable flexible workbenches but will never replace either the tablesaw or mitersaw in my work.  I could see having a dedicated MFT for dimensioning your sheet goods into carcasses but only if I had a few others I could use for clamping and working on.  I always remove the fence and rail when I am not crosscutting as I find they get in the way and I tend to bump them out of alignment.  I have also had the rail do a guillotine move on me once when I bumped into the MFT3.

I also do not think the stock fence or the flip stop for the MFT3  are "production" quality.  They are great for what they are, but are not going to give you the reliability of a well tuned SCMS with a good stand and fence.  You can probably approach that level of consistency with an Incra fence and rail dogs on your MFT3, but not with equal speed.

If you mostly cut cabinet parts, I would consider looking into the Makita 0714 SCMS.  It is more accurate than any 12" saw I have used and has good dust collection and a small footprint. 

 

[timcgibbs]

Hey Don,
If you don't care about the miter/bevel capacity of the cross cutting saw, you might want to check out a good old RAS.  They are cheap, sturdy and once set to square, you are all good. My local craigslist has them all the time for $100-$200.  No frills, but solid motors and bases. Save the other $450 for a vacation! 

 

[tiralie]

I contacted a local dealer and of course they say the MFT is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but they also sold me that kit with the goofy angle untit.

Don:
The angle unit is goofy but if you had to buy the systainer and the rest of the stuff (clamps, chip gaurd, and connector bars)  in the kit separately you would probably pay more...not that I have priced them out.
There are some great YouTube videos on setting up the MFT/3. Watching them gives you a good idea of what's entailed in setting up.
MFT 3 setup: MFT 3 setup