MFT top only instead of MFT/3

[gxgn]

Hi, could someone advise if I could get by using an mft top on sawhorses and qwas dogs /rail dogs for making 90-degree cuts?
i'm trying to find a lower costalternative to the mft3 and the videos I see with the qwas dogs seem to make most of what I want.

Is there a way to attach this top to sawhorses and get most of the functionality of the mft?

Thank you
g

 

[nclemmons]

You can use an MFT top on sawhorses.  An easy way to attach to sawhorses is to just get some 3/4" dowels and drill into the top of the sawhorses through the MFT top and then cut the dowels less than 3/4" long protruding from the top of the horse.  That will give you an easy way to attach and remove them.  No need to glue into the sawhorse as that will let you remove them when you want to use the horses without an MFT top.

You will have to be mindful of possible warping, so you might want to make a 2x4" frame around the MFT top with a dado in it that the top sits in to support it around the edges and then drill that for dowels to sit on top of the sawhorses.

Welcome to FOG, BTW -

 

[smartcarpie]

Hi gxgn-

Take a look at my thread in Jigs and Tool Enhancements on "mft tops and their versatility".  Lots of lower cost alternatives there with many of the benefits of an MFT top.

 

[gxgn]

Neil, thank you for the advice and the welcoming. I like the idea and it will sa e me quite a lot of money.
smartcarpie - really nice use of the dewalt stands. I checked pricing though, it seems a bit expensive althoug I betthey are very sturdy.

Thank you guys,
george

 

[Ed Bray]

I've bought a 1080 replacement top from Festool, using 70mm x 35mm battens to stiffen and give sufficient clearance for the rail clamps and I use this on a Keter folding workbench. Works really well and very much cheaper than an MFT3.

I use the Veritas Parf dogs/pups, rail clamps and the mft fixed clamps set.

 

[wow]

gxgn [welcome] to the FOG!

A lot of people are in the same boat as you - myself included - in not owning an MFT/3 due to cost. Your decision process might help someone else out as well.

Please let us know what you decide to do?

 

[rst]

I made two 64" by 50" tops with my 1400 and LR32.  I mount the two tops on two saw horses that I made as the commercially available ones are too narrow.  I use 8020 2020 extrusions for the long supports and also for the 50"cross pieces.  I drilled and counter-bored the four corners of each to fasten to the extrusions.  I left a 1" space between the two tops for inserting a sacrificial piece and that is where I make most of my cutting.  My tops are this size because I often need to split 60" plastics and I also use the table for squaring screen framing.  As a side note, I originally used Stanley horses as they have 1 1/2" slots to hold long pieces for support. 8020 1530 series extrusions are  1 1/2" x 3" and work perfectly for temporary tables.  I used 8020 2020 series for the cross supports with 2" X 2" angle and clamping knobs to fasten.

 

[waho6o9]

Welcome to the FOG gxgn.

Is there a way to attach this top to sawhorses and get most of the functionality of the mft?

Yeah buddy. Get the Stanley horses with the 1.5" mortices and build a couple of rails

place the MFT on top and you're good to go.

I like using the rail dogs to make the 90 and 45 degree cuts.

One top has a dip about 6 playing cards deep but the MFT3 top has earned it's keep.
[Inline mode=1]
[attachthumb=2]
[attachthumb=3]

 

[gxgn]

Ed - you gave me a great idea, I happen to have a Keter table I was trying to sell on Craigslist. It's worth a try, I think I will start there first. Would you mind emailing or posting an images of the structure you created to attach the top?

Rst - I think your level of detail is above my skills, could you post a picture and if possible estimate the cost of all the extrusions? Are these items one could buy online?

Waho609 - I was just looking yesterday at the same sawhorses. Thank you for sharing the picture of the rails.

Question to all of you who have tried simple variations of sawhorses and mft tops: do you feel you miss much not having the actual mft3? Are you thinking you should have not skimped on the expense and buy the original first?
I think I will try the top and ketter combo but if it's not working well I'll have to save up and buy the mft3.

 

[eddomak]

Welcome to the FOG.

To be honest I got the MFT before I had looked into the other options. I am also generally on a budget and if I had my time again I would probably have just stuck with an MFT top on a home made base with some precision/qwas/parf dogs and some longer ones (precision rail, parf rail etc). Consider that in Australia the top is around $AUD358, and the full MFT is RRP $AUD1215, so that's a saving of $AUD850 ($USD660) or so. You can use that to buy a shorter rail, dogs, and even some parallel guides (highly recommend Precision Parallel guides).

If someone took away the abilities of the full MFT and left me with just a top and dogs, what I would miss the most would be the flip stop and measuring tape that allows easy repeatability, and next I would miss the flip up/down rail pivot. I wouldn't miss the ability to clamp on the sides, nor the angle guide.

Hope this helps.

 

[waho6o9]

The tops will be ready to ship or pick up by January 15th, 2015.

Sizes worked out to:
    MFT/3 standard (1102mmx718mm or 28.268"x43.386")
    30" x 52" (29.900" x 52.300") meant for custom portable/fixed work stations, table saw extensions/outfeed table, etc.

Pricing for pre-paid orders placed now works out to:

  Local Pickup in Alpharetta GA (Atlanta Metro area) -
      MFT/3 tops $85.00 + GA sales tax of $6.38 = $91.38 each --- later $95 +
      30" x 52" tops $100 + tax of $7.50 = $107.50 each  ---  later $110 +

  Shipped in U.S. but outside of GA - NO SALES TAX
    MFT/3 tops $85.00 + actual shipping costs    ---  later $95 +
    30" x 52" tops $100 + actual shipping costs  ---  later $110 +

From Fogger BruceBo ^
Offline brucebo

    Join Date: Aug 2014
    Location: Atlanta, GA USA
    Posts: 17

I received one of the larger ones and it's awesome and the holes are
drilled right on the money.

I have an MFT3 as well and I had to lag it to the wall to do hand planning
and now it's rock solid. 

Are you thinking you should have not skimped on the expense and buy the original first?

No. 

For me it's more fun to build things and horse around, YMMV.

[attachimg=1]

 

[Ed Bray]

Mine is similar to this (just with an original MFT 1080 replacement top: 

Keter Bench bit starts at 12:30

I tend to use a 800mm rail mostly, I suspect it would not be too difficult (with a little 'Heath Robinson' attitude) to add a tape measure and a hinge for the rail (this may even be able to be purchased as a spare from Festool).

Hope this helps.

 

[Jason Kehl]

I bought three MFT3's a few years ago, one for my tool trailer/site use and two for shop use. Over time I brought the site MFT3 into the shop and built two of the MFTC carts for site use. I found the MFT3 wasn't worth the time and effort to set up as well as taking up too much space in my trailer when not needed for the project at hand.

Having all three MFT3's linked together in the shop (long edge to long edge) is great. I also removed the flip up track hardware and just use the bare tops with Qwas dogs, rail dogs and speed dogs. I find this to be much faster and more accurate than the flip up track that comes with the MFT3. I don't miss the flip up track at all, I literally never used the angle gauge, not even once.

In hindsight I would have bought three MFT3 tops and built my own frame, saving more money than I care to think about.

j

 

[mark60]

I bought an MFT top with the intention of building a rolling MFT table but after seeing the MFTC thread I'll go that direction. I have limited space and the smaller footprint will be perfect.
http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-jigs-tool-enhancements/mftc-portable-workshop/