MFT/3 with CMS fence cuts strips 2 - 200mm

[Woodwork Wizard]

Has anyone ever tried doing this? Using the fence that comes with the CMS table saw modules and the CMS router table sliding table as a fence on an MFT/3 to the right (offcut) side of the blade? I've never seen or heard of this being done before, so I tried it and it works brilliantly. I can easily cut wood in to strips from 2 to 200mm wide. I tried it with sheet materials first then cross cutting and ripping some wide oak and each cut was as perfect as could be expected when using the MFT in the usual way and felt just as safe. Provided there's plenty of material under the guide rail to cut from this works really well. I should point out I have a hardwood fence (see top of photo) which to my mind is a brilliant and vital addition to an MFT.

The hardwood fence gives support on each side of the cut, zero clearance so breakout on the end is significantly reduced, a very precise kerf marker and better dust extraction as when the saw exits the cut the dust will not escape. All of these advantages also apply to a router equally as well as a saw. The idea for the hardwood fence I saw in a YouTube video where it was described as "a game changer" - which it really is, so thank you Peter... I also use this as the setting point/stop for my MFT/3 fence which has a measurement scale attached. The idea for the measurement scale on the fence I saw in another YouTube video, so thank you Paul. Both of these ideas makes the very very brilliant MFT/3 table even better, they're both very simple to do and was less than a tenner. I can now get extremely precise measurements in an instant, with all the advantages when sawing and routing as previously mentioned. If you use your MFT mostly for 90 degree sawing and/or routing I would highly recommend you try this. It's just a piece of wood screwed to the table perfectly in line with the fence. It can be removed in a minute if you ever want to do angles or work on thinner material than 18mm which are the only disadvantages I can think of. 99.9% of the time my MFT is set to perpendicular and I mostly use 18mm sheet materials anyway. I have been trying this 'fence' for about 2 months and have been getting consistent and very very accurate results ever since. My guide rail has a Slop Stop (it stops the rattle which suggests some movement - however miniscule) I leave bench dogs behind the MFT fence and having full support on both sides of the cut can only help. I've never seen a mitre saw with a fence that was only on one side...

 

[Grasshopper]

Wow, that is a good idea.  Looks like a very cheap replacement to the Parallel guides for those who don't need to do really long strips.

 

[sae]

Wow, that is a good idea.  Looks like a very cheap replacement to the Parallel guides for those who don't need to do really long strips.

You just said cheap in a thread that requires a CMS and a MFT.

Just sayin'.  [tongue]

 

[peter halle]

Of course you could also look out in the classifieds for someone who got a full MFT/3 and doesn't need the fence and the angle head.  Then if you needed the extra travel of the parts you could go to the ekat system and look up the area for the CMS fence which is longer and order that from Festool.

Peter

 

[peter halle]

Neat idea!  I'm going to try it out.  Also glad to see someone else making a fence to the right of the rail.  I've been an advocate of that for years and if you use the flag stop and a tape measure you have something to stick the end of the tape in to pull measurements.

[thumbs up] [thumbs up] [thumbs up]

Peter

 

[rmwarren]

First thought in my mind is "kickback". Is this an issue/does it concern anyone else?

RMW

 

[Drich]

Maybe I need more pictures as I'm not seeing what's under the rail. I like the idea but a video would be great. 

 

[Grasshopper]

Cheap for those who already have the combo

Wow, that is a good idea.  Looks like a very cheap replacement to the Parallel guides for those who don't need to do really long strips.

You just said cheap in a thread that requires a CMS and a MFT.

Just sayin'.  [tongue]

 

[Woodwork Wizard]

First thought in my mind is "kickback". Is this an issue/does it concern anyone else?

This worried me and I was surprised as I have never seen it done before so I was dubious but tried it anyway. So long as there's plenty of material beneath the rail, the rail is set at exactly 90 to the MFT fence and the CMS fence is exactly parallel to the guide rail it really does work a treat - though like I say I also use a hardwood fence as a continuation of the MFT fence. This will 'contain' the cut strip and prevent it from being shot away when the cut is finished. I have never had a problem with it.  Anyway, whether using the CMS fence on an MFT is a good idea or not, the hardwood fence and measurement scale really is absolutely brilliant and like I said earlier, makes the brilliant MFT even better...

 

[Grasshopper]

That was actually my first thought too.

I then went and watched a video with the parallel guide extensions to see that it acts as a "fence" Or stop to the right of the blade similar to this.

I'd think as long as you aren't providing pressure from the right like the clamping elements as an example, chance of kickback is probably diminished.

Course I could be wrong here. I'd love to see a video and better understand whether or not kickback is a concern.

First thought in my mind is "kickback". Is this an issue/does it concern anyone else?

RMW

 

[anthonyz]

I like this idea, since I cut a lot of smaller pieces and this would be a great option. I don't use my miter guide on my table as I have set it up so my table is primarily for 90 deg cuts like Paul Marcel's (half-inch shy) set up which maximizes the cut width of the table. I can just add a wood fence to the miter gauge and have a small strip stop. Thanks for the share.

Has anyone ever tried doing this? Using the fence that comes with the CMS table saw modules and the CMS router table sliding table as a fence on an MFT/3 to the right (offcut) side of the blade? I've never seen or heard of this being done before, so I tried it and it works brilliantly. I can easily cut wood in to strips from 2 to 200mm wide. I tried it with sheet materials first then cross cutting and ripping some wide oak and each cut was as perfect as could be expected when using the MFT in the usual way and felt just as safe. Provided there's plenty of material under the guide rail to cut from this works really well. I should point out I have a hardwood fence (see top of photo) which to my mind is a brilliant and vital addition to an MFT.

The hardwood fence gives support on each side of the cut, zero clearance so breakout on the end is significantly reduced, a very precise kerf marker and better dust extraction as when the saw exits the cut the dust will not escape. All of these advantages also apply to a router equally as well as a saw. The idea for the hardwood fence I saw in a YouTube video where it was described as "a game changer" - which it really is, so thank you Peter... I also use this as the setting point/stop for my MFT/3 fence which has a measurement scale attached. The idea for the measurement scale on the fence I saw in another YouTube video, so thank you Paul. Both of these ideas makes the very very brilliant MFT/3 table even better, they're both very simple to do and was less than a tenner. I can now get extremely precise measurements in an instant, with all the advantages when sawing and routing as previously mentioned. If you use your MFT mostly for 90 degree sawing and/or routing I would highly recommend you try this. It's just a piece of wood screwed to the table perfectly in line with the fence. It can be removed in a minute if you ever want to do angles or work on thinner material than 18mm which are the only disadvantages I can think of. 99.9% of the time my MFT is set to perpendicular and I mostly use 18mm sheet materials anyway. I have been trying this 'fence' for about 2 months and have been getting consistent and very very accurate results ever since. My guide rail has a Slop Stop (it stops the rattle which suggests some movement - however miniscule) I leave bench dogs behind the MFT fence and having full support on both sides of the cut can only help. I've never seen a mitre saw with a fence that was only on one side...

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[sancho57]

Now that's a good idea. I'm going to have to try it.

 

[bugzboy]

It works but it is not a safe practice because of the potential for kickback. It's a big no-no set up on the table saw or the miter saw. I'm pretty sure it is a no-no here as well.

 

[Woodwork Wizard]

Here's a better photo of the 'fence' from underneath the guide rail. If you mostly use the MFT for 90 degree cuts or routing I urge you to try this. Zero clearance so less breakout, full length fence for complete material support, kerf marker, better dust extraction - and if you like the idea of a scale for precise repeatable measurements in an instant this piece of wood also acts as a setting point stop for the MFT fence. With 2 flag stops and the measurement scale the MFT table is SO useful. I even have a reference point for the router set 10mm from zero.

The idea for the wooden fence (where it was very appropriately described as a "game changer") and the mm scale on the MFT fence I found on YouTube, so once again I'll say thank you Peter and thank you Paul. I just thought it would be a neat idea to combine the 2.

I hope from the photo you can see how simple this is. Try it with a leftover of MDF or ply and I bet you'll then make one to keep.

 

[nclemmons]

You could do this with the MFT/3 as equipped.

Just use dogs along the back for holding the work and move the fence on the right as a stop. 

No extra money if you have the dogs.

The MFT proves itself everyday!  It's a system.

 

[Grasshopper]

How is this any different than the extensions on the parallel guides which provides a stop to the right of the rail?

It works but it is not a safe practice because of the potential for kickback. It's a big no-no set up on the table saw or the miter saw. I'm pretty sure it is a no-no here as well.

 

[rmwarren]

How is this any different than the extensions on the parallel guides which provides a stop to the right of the rail?

It works but it is not a safe practice because of the potential for kickback. It's a big no-no set up on the table saw or the miter saw. I'm pretty sure it is a no-no here as well.

You've got me there. The proof is in the doing, and it seems to work without issue.

RMW

 

[peter halle]

I will certainly try it.  Finally replaced my camcorder power supply (the old one ran away - that is why, in addition to the "C" word" I haven't done any of my crude videos.  Maybe a video would be in order?

Peter

 

[Woodwork Wizard]

The CMS angle guide fence works really well. I've just done these 3 strips of oak from a 19mm board about 230mm wide and 670mm long. Each piece is exactly the same. Flip one over, end over end and they are all exactly the same.

Obviously this can only be done with a wide enough board - wide enough to give the guide rail full support - you couldn't cut a 6mm strip from a 25mm piece for example - but it feels as safe and works as well as any other process on the MFT that I have ever tried. I use bench dogs to ensure my MFT fence and guide rail is set exactly, so I also use them to check the CMS angle guide fence is absolutely square too. However, yet again I must point out that my MFT also has a 'wooden fence' that continues from where the MFT fence ends to the right hand edge of the MFT top. Whether this really helps with this CMS fence idea to rip stock I don't know, but it seems to.

 

[Woodwork Wizard]

I had completely forgotten to mention this - a piece of the surplus mm scale from the MFT/3 fence was applied to the CMS angle unit arm (hence the 150cm in red on the photo) just to see how well this worked. It is crude but it works rather well, sighting down on to the v-groove clamp. I reckon I can get this accurate down to 1/3mm easily.