Michael Kellough
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Brad Evans said:
The coefficients of expansion of the cast iron and steel materials your Unisaw is made of are a bit closer than those for the aluminum and MDF of the MFT
MFT being discontinued
- Thread starter Bob Marino
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The coefficients of expansion of the cast iron and steel materials your Unisaw is made of are a bit closer than those for the aluminum and MDF of the MFT
Michael Kellough
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Forrest Anderson said:
Thanks Forrest, you're the best!
So, like Greg said, just "unscrew them".
A follow up, I just tried it and simply unscrewing the knob will more or less difficult depending on how the tapping of the two nuts syncs when they are pressed tightly together. They may both spin relatively easily (not counting the friction from the nylon insert) or they may be quite hard to turn if the threads are out of sync and the Nyloc nut acts as a jamb nut.
So...as Forrest said, "remove the Nyloc nuts, and then unscrew the knobs completely from the bolts."
Looking in Woodcraft's latest flier I see one other reason that might impact Festool's decision to redesign the MFT.
Pinnacle has released a premium Router Table Top with fence and router insert plate that replaces the existing MFT perforated top plate. One might assume that Festool was thinking of doing the same and now has a product already released to fill the gap.
Is this Pinnacle product a first in that it is specifically made to modify a Festool only offering?
Funny thing is that the plate they provide fits only PC routers?
With some of the copy cat products and now accessories that are made specifically for our favorite tools by third parties it will be interesting to watch how Festool responds.
Pinnacle has released a premium Router Table Top with fence and router insert plate that replaces the existing MFT perforated top plate. One might assume that Festool was thinking of doing the same and now has a product already released to fill the gap.
Is this Pinnacle product a first in that it is specifically made to modify a Festool only offering?
Funny thing is that the plate they provide fits only PC routers?
With some of the copy cat products and now accessories that are made specifically for our favorite tools by third parties it will be interesting to watch how Festool responds.
martingchapman
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I don't have a MFT but do have the CMS.
If the MFT is redesigned to use the CMS side mouldings then the two MFT brackets that currently support the guide rail would have to be redesigned (the CMS mouldings are a triangular shape rather than flat as on the MFT).
However this would mean you could use the CMS Mitre guide and Rip Fence on the MFT, both of which fit on any side of the CMS table and are superb pieces of kit.
If the MFT used the same corner/leg mouldings as the CMS then you could also use the CMS sliding table with the MFT although I am not sure why you would want to.
However there is one potential problem with this. The MFT table top extends above the existing side mouldings by a certain amount to give clearance for the saw blade, whereas the saw and router tables that are part of the CMS system are flush with the top of the side mouldings. This enables the CMS Mitre guide and Rip Fence to sit flush to the table top. If you tried to do this with the MFT then (because the top is raised above the sides) they would foul the MFT MDF table top and would not sit snugly into the CMS type side mouldings.
Maybe the redesigned MFT will not be compatible with the CMS, time will tell?
Martin Chapman.
If the MFT is redesigned to use the CMS side mouldings then the two MFT brackets that currently support the guide rail would have to be redesigned (the CMS mouldings are a triangular shape rather than flat as on the MFT).
However this would mean you could use the CMS Mitre guide and Rip Fence on the MFT, both of which fit on any side of the CMS table and are superb pieces of kit.
If the MFT used the same corner/leg mouldings as the CMS then you could also use the CMS sliding table with the MFT although I am not sure why you would want to.
However there is one potential problem with this. The MFT table top extends above the existing side mouldings by a certain amount to give clearance for the saw blade, whereas the saw and router tables that are part of the CMS system are flush with the top of the side mouldings. This enables the CMS Mitre guide and Rip Fence to sit flush to the table top. If you tried to do this with the MFT then (because the top is raised above the sides) they would foul the MFT MDF table top and would not sit snugly into the CMS type side mouldings.
Maybe the redesigned MFT will not be compatible with the CMS, time will tell?
Martin Chapman.
Crikey! I'm with you Bill, I make a snarky remark and don't check the board for a day or so and I'm way behind. Sorry all, about being a smart aleck, but I had forgotten about about splitting the knob before unscrewing the bolt. It turns out that I'm gifted when it comes to taking things apart. Not so much when it comes to putting things together. BTW, I ended up removing the legs when making a jumbo MFT and I'm using the bolt holes to allow the table to sit at various heights. If I remember right, I can vary the height from about 32" to 36". I'll have to get home and check.
GB
GB
Bob Taylor said:
[attachthumb=#]
Woodcraft Details
And given a timely assist to all of us who want to sell off our "old" MFTs--the potential buyers will now include people who want this router table, not just people who bleed Festool green.
These new-to-Festool folks won't care much about the condition of the standard top or those clamps you wanted to keep anyway.
Ned
This top makes absolutely no sense to me. If I wanted a portable router table I certainly wouldn't start with an MFT. And if I had an MFT I certainly wouldn't want to get rid of the clamping surface. ???Ned Young said:
Now if they came up with a way to mount the OF1400 to a plate and drop in into the MFT or added an extension table to an MFT where you could mount your OF1400 then they might have something that Festool users might want.
jonny round boy
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bill-e said:
Bill,
i'm not disagreeing with you, but I do have one question - why would you want a router table AND a clamping surface at the same time? Surely, if the router is fixed, as it would be in a table, then the work would need to move, hence it can't be clamped. If the clamping was just for featherboards/guides etc, then surely the t slots in the table or on the MFT frame would suffice?
I could see a use for a similar thing - the MFT top and the router top would be interchangeable, so you could use whichever you needed at the time. In fact, I had planned to make something similar when I bought my first MFT early next year. Of course, I'll now have to wait & see what the replacement is like...
Brice Burrell
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jonny round boy said:
Or, if you do want both the ability to rout and clamp, not necessarily at the same time, you could drill 20 mm holes in the Pinnacle top.
Michael Kellough
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The question I have is, wouldn't this be more suitable for the MFT800 size rather than the 1080? Actually I haven't seen mention of what size MFT this is for but it looks like the 1080.
jonny round boy
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Michael Kellough said:
Good point!
Hi,
If the new MFTs are an improved version then it is a GOOD thing. Just like the TS55 is better than the ATF55. If Festool didn't do this once in a while, we would not have the tool system that we currently have.
In anycase I think I will wait to see what the new tables have to offer before I jump to any conclusions.
Seth
If the new MFTs are an improved version then it is a GOOD thing. Just like the TS55 is better than the ATF55. If Festool didn't do this once in a while, we would not have the tool system that we currently have.
In anycase I think I will wait to see what the new tables have to offer before I jump to any conclusions.
Seth
jonny round boy said:
When I saw the flyer I thought the same thing .... better in a MFT800 than an 1080. I need a new router table/top and when I first saw the flyer, it did get my interest, but it seemed not too practical for my use because of the larger size. I did think this might be an indication that there may be a developing awareness of the need for some Festool aftermarket accessories that fit niches that Festool may not fill.
jonny,
The way I see it the MFT is primarily a work/clamping surface. I *might* want it to double as a router table but I certainly wouldn't want to spend 20 minutes configuring it for that. If it could be done easily and quickly, fine, but don't take away my holes
On a table the size of the 1080 you could easily have room for a router insert and still leave half the table for clamping/working. I don't see how swapping out the MFT top for the Pinnacle one would be either easy or something you'd want to do more than once.
Having said all that I probably wouldn't spend any money to integrate a router into my MFTs.
The way I see it the MFT is primarily a work/clamping surface. I *might* want it to double as a router table but I certainly wouldn't want to spend 20 minutes configuring it for that. If it could be done easily and quickly, fine, but don't take away my holes
On a table the size of the 1080 you could easily have room for a router insert and still leave half the table for clamping/working. I don't see how swapping out the MFT top for the Pinnacle one would be either easy or something you'd want to do more than once.Having said all that I probably wouldn't spend any money to integrate a router into my MFTs.
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