mft rail wear and never square

[eet]

wish i bought a table saw. where in the instruction booklet does it say one will have to purchase a none festool product(because festool  can't) to compensate for guide rail wear? oh, this is only for folks who like perfect angles. guide rail wear, sloppy cuts within 2 months of purchasing a new $$$MFT. wish i bought a table saw. and what's up with having to square this thing any time the rail height is adjusted. crap

gonna go buy a table saw

 

[grbmds]

There are a lot of reasons for this problem; mostly due to setup. Putting some slight tension on the guide rail so that when it rests on the tab it must be slightly moved left or right to sit square is maybe the best. The Slop Stop is a useful way also, but not absolutely necessary. I have found that my cuts are essentially perfectly square with the rail, MFM, and TS55. Does this occur without some regular checking/maintenance to keep it square? No, but what tool doesn't require attention regularly to keep it working well?

 

[Gregor]

what tool doesn't require attention regularly to keep it working well?

You have a point.
[member=68791]eet[/member] also has one with Festool not delivering the slop stop with the MFT (for unknown reasons, should be pocket money to them to either buy the design or some metric tons of them at a fraction of the retail price) leads to the MFT/3 rail require attention constantly to keep square.

Which is a quite poor result given the amount of money they ask for a MFT/3, IMHO.

 

[Michael Kellough]

what tool doesn't require attention regularly to keep it working well?

You have a point.
[member=68791]eet[/member] also has one with Festool not delivering the slop stop with the MFT (for unknown reasons, should be pocket money to them to either buy the design or some metric tons of them at a fraction of the retail price) leads to the MFT/3 rail require attention constantly to keep square.

Which is a quite poor result given the amount of money they ask for a MFT/3, IMHO.

Sounds like you made the mistake I did when setting up the MFT.

Knowing a thing or two about tools and machinery I said to myself;
“Hey this rail is sprung. This thing was assembled in Germany. How could they get it wrong like this?”

So I proceeded to loosen the rail attachment screws and let the tension out. Then I noticed the loose fit between the rail and the tab in the front riser/anchor and decided to add some high density polyethylene tape to the rail to take out the slack.

In no time the tape wore out and I was plaged with the need to constantly check whether the rail was square to the fence.

Finally, the light bulb came on and I understand the brilliant simplicity of the sprung rail.

 

[tallgrass]

The joy of preload,  remove it at your own sanity.  [embarassed]

 

[jarbroen]

I don't think our posts will reach the OP - probably a dump and run...

However, other new MFT users might appreciate it.
I know I had a little bit of frustration at first when using the MFT.  I was so excited that my wife bought me one and then so disappointed when my first cuts weren't square.
I watched a few of the MFT training/how to videos and spent a little more time familiarizing with how to square the setup.
I also added a bit of silicon tape to the tab of the rail guide to take out the slop.
That worked great and I was off getting square cuts no problem.  Just check square often - especially when changing height, as someone mentioned.

The best decision after all that was buying the TSO GRS-16 PE.  I purchased the newer version that it drilled and tapped to attach to the MFT rail holder.  I tell ya, so much quicker and easier to use and still flips out of the way.  With the GRS I don't have to mess around with squaring up the rail on the MFT.  Just bump the piece up to the GRS and away you go.
Plus, it's pretty quick to pull the GRS off the table and use it when cross cutting larger sheets.
At first, I was frustrated that I 'needed' to spend more money.  Now I just appreciate how nice of a setup it is.
And I'll still use all of the MFT accessories - the rail when I want to cut odball angles.  I have Parf dogs if I want to cut 45's.
The Festool fence and the angle thingy are also handy when clamped to the right side of the MFT to use as a stop for repeat rips.  I've used that to cut a bunch of narrow strips quickly.

The fun and frustration of the MFT is in the learning process.  I think that's like almost anything in woodworking.  Someone makes it look easy but it still takes time to learn any tool or method correctly.

 

[Gregor]

Sounds like you made the mistake I did when setting up the MFT.

My main gripe with the MFT/3  rail holders is that adjusting them in height can slightly tilt them sideways, isn't that bad at low heights but the thicker what's under the rail is the worse it gets.

 

[grbmds]

I don't disagree with any of the criticisms. However, I haven't yet found a tool that was perfect in every respect of its use, operation, and design. Some are very close (for me like the Dominos). So, I didn't mind buying the Slop Stop because it was a relatively cheap upgrade/accessory and it made guide rail use on the MFT more reliable and less likely to be even slightly out of square, once set. Plus, I invested in the Woodpeckers MFT Square and, while many would say that's a waste of money and overkill, I can't think of any tool I have which has given me more peace of mind or confidence in my work than that square. With the Slop Stop and the Square, I find that, while I do check for squareness each time I make final cuts for a project, the guide rail rarely needs adjustment unless I've bumped it. For me, the MFT/guiderail has made my work more accurate and gives me more confidence I can make a perfectly accurate and square cut. My point is (after all that) that it isn't perfect but it's one of those tools that, for me, I am glad I bought it and couldn't do without it.

 

[gnlman]

Hmmm  agreed....a lot of tools require extra's to work more reliably/accurately.....how many folks are using the "usually awful" mitre gauge that comes with most table saws, band saws ect....we end up buying aftermarket items to improve the tools...because we like the tool for the most part...and well I never expect much from any mitre gauge I get no matter how much I spent on the tool...something like accepting 4 inch dust ports that often don't do much....because that's what consumer level or old tools have.

I had the same issues with my mft...most of my issues were user error as I like to push hard on the stock to make sure it's up against the fence....the mft fence was flexing due to how it mounts,  and giving me issues...and if not careful when lowering the rail to make sure it was deflecting against the pin properly....to me that is a bit of a design flaw, but for 20 bucks it was fixed....lots less than say an incra miter gauge...I also got rid of the protractor....I found it unreliable and seldom used it...user error perhaps again... so I fixed the fence with some fence dogs...gave me more cross cut capacity, and took away one variable in my non square cuts...next the slop stop, and a good woodpeckers square which I use for other things as well.... I find if you put your sheet goods or stock on the table, then lower the rail so it's flat on the stock then lock the rail down back and front...it does not skew....so just like developing good technique on other power tools, this is what I've done to get the mft to be rock solid now. I can now rip an 8 foot piece of sheet goods 24 inches wide and take it to the mft and cut gables to size on my own..with no large table saw and extensions..
I have other tables in my shop, but if the mft were stolen today, I'd have another tomorrow....great docking station, clamping station, squaring station ect...and well all my friends are always asking me why I drilled all those holes in a perfectly good top..so good conversation piece for my non festool converted buddies.....haha

 

[PeterK]

Looking quickly around my little shop it appears that every single major tool has had items added to improve it’s functionality. Table saw, band saw, miter saw, MFT, Domino, routers, scroll saw, Kreg table, etc. Even sanders have had added pads.

Love my MFT and wish I had room for more of them. Having the rail with sprung tension when lowered onto the tab cured all my issues. Use an 18” WP triangle to check square periodically but it holds it’s setup very well although mine is never transported.

 

[geoffshep]

My main gripe with the MFT/3  rail holders is that adjusting them in height can slightly tilt them sideways, isn't that bad at low heights but the thicker what's under the rail is the worse it gets.

I agree - this is the main problem when adjusting height for different material.  If there was some way that the brackets could be made to remain absolutely vertical it 'should' stay accurate but they can swivel.  One solution is to ensure that the rail is firmly flat and that the brackets are set square to the rail before clamping tight, but its not perfect.  Once set though, it should stay square for multiple cutting of the same size material.

I guess I don't use it anywhere as much as some do, but there is no 'slop' between my rail and the support bracket 'pin', but I've pretty much dispensed with the hinged rail and just use rail dogs to make square cuts.