MFT Guide Rail Supports

[SelsMW]

Hello

How does the height gage on the MFT/3 guide rail supports work?  Just asking out of curiosity as I did not see any reference line to go off of (maybe you make your own?)  I know you will adjust based on the thickess of you work piece so it really doesnt matter I just wanted to know because i havent been able to figure it out and the mm markings are there so I was thinking there must be a point of having them there for something.

 

[waterloomarc]

Interesting. I've never noticed the markings. I just put my board down, loosen the back end, slap the rail down and lock it at whatever height that is and slide the front one up to the bottom side of the rail.

I'll be interested to see the responses.

 

[ear3]

Never used the markings -- they don't seem to have much function as the height is set on the basis of the board, and any fine adjustments can be made on the saw itself.

 

[SelsMW]

I agree i didnt see a point for them however since they are there I was just curious how or if they were to be used.

 

[peter halle]

The subject of the markings came up at a training class I attended.  At that time even the trainers had no idea what they were for.

Peter

 

[Steveeh]

I have a "newbie" question about those rail supports.

I took great care to get them positioned so that the rail is exactly square/parallel to the holes in the MFT top. I did this with the rail supports at their lowest position - i.e. the rail resting on the MFT top. But when I raise the supports to lift the rail over a piece of timber there is a good deal of side-to-side "slop"; at their highest position I measure a total of 4mm side-to-side movement, which of course introduces the potential for an out-of-square cut.

Now I always check the rail for square before tightening the rail support; alternatively I simply align the rail against a pair of dogs. But it seems to me that should not be necessary and defeats the point of the rail support system.

Do others see the same movement; or am I missing something?

Steve (Festool newcomer and absolute novice)

 

[ear3]

Slop stop helps, as does adding in a little side tension to the rail. But you're right, if you want to be 100 percent certain about square, it helps to check it at the height you'll be cutting at, if that's possible. This is why I square my mft with a scrap piece of ply and a scribe line created by a trusted square.
http://www.festoolproducts.com/Tool-Improvements-Slop-Stop-for-Festool-MFT-Tables-p/ti-ss.htm

 

[Steveeh]

Thanks - I hadn't come across "slop stop" before!

However my MFT/3 has hardly been used and the movement I'm seeing is not between the rail and the support - that seems rock solid; the problem is skewing of the rail support as it moves up and down on its slots. As you say, I guess I'll just have to check for square at the rail's final height.

I made myself a portable "mini MFT" at the weekend using the MFT/3 top as a template to rout the holes. I put a couple of tall dogs in that "mini MFT" to register the rail against, and that seemed an easier approach than the rail support system on the MFT/3. But I'm still learning all this stuff 

Steve