MFT3 - What is the best method to square?
- Thread starter Janmara1
- Start date
The are tons of threads on how to square or check for square when using a MFT/3. If you use the search function and insert "square MFT" you will have many threads to look thru.
Peter
Peter
waho6o9
Member
Same here, good call
[smile]
[smile]
paulhtremblay
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- Jun 4, 2014
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Home made square, made by using qwas dogs and qwas rail dogs. I have also used just the dogs, and get the same results.
I no longer use the dogs to align my fence because that method puts the fence too far forward, less than the width of a cabinet side.
I no longer use the dogs to align my fence because that method puts the fence too far forward, less than the width of a cabinet side.
Birdhunter
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- Jun 16, 2012
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Qwas dogs plus Woodpeckers large framing square. Also, I use a little aftermarket plastic gadget that goes onto the front MFT rail and under the guide track that eliminates lateral slop in the track.
waho6o9
Member
" Also, I use a little aftermarket plastic gadget that goes onto the front MFT rail and under the guide track that eliminates lateral slop in the track."
Interesting, please post pics when & if time allows.
TIA [smile]
Interesting, please post pics when & if time allows.
TIA [smile]
squarecut
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Believe poster is referring to this item -waho6o9 said:
http://www.festoolproducts.com/Tool-Improvements-Slop-Stop-for-Festool-MFT-Tables-p/ti-ss.htm
Birdhunter
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That's exactly what I was referring to. Thanks. It's a simple solution and it works well.
Janmara1 said:
I don't really have a good better best, but I use the method Steve Bace teaches. I put the link in this thread.
Here is Gregory Paolini's take(basically the same):
I like the Festool TV videos, because I can watch it again if need be. More than once I've caught a little thing I've missed.
As others have posted, I put the slop stop in my rail slot as well. That and a larger square such as the Woodpeckers square is in my opinion a good combination.
bertv
Member
Hi, first post here, so bear with me please…
Squaring up your MFT 3 – the simplest way is by using dogs. Loosen the knobs of the hinge part and the bottom part of the guide rail. Butt up the guide rail to a pair of dogs (or a straight edge placed against the dogs), refasten the hinge and bottom parts and set the stops in the profiles to the rail hinge and bottom parts.
Use dogs to set up the fence along the upper side. The holes being very precisely cut and square, your cuts will be square.
In case you want to have the rail anyplace or don’t have dogs, you could use a variation of William Ng’s squaring method I devised. I would like to call this the best way…
You will need a good caliper, a set of feeler gauges and a finegrained piece of solid board (mdf will do, but dense plastics might be even more precise). The board should be fairly large, the minimum length of the longest side at least a centimeter (or half inch) taller than the length of the guide rail from hinge to bottom slot (eg 83 cm, or about 15 inches).
Fasten the end parts of the guide rail, making sure that you have butted up tightly to the stops in the profile.
Set up the fence, using dogs to ensure the correct positioning, or measure with a caliper from the profile on the back. Secure the fence with the lockdown.
Set the height of the guide rail for the thickness of your board.
1. Make a first cut along the tallest side of the board, a few mils are enough. Mark the piece with a T for Top and a B for Bottom.
2. Turn the board counterclockwise and cut the first of the shorter sides, making sure that the piece is butt against the fence. Again, just take off a few mils.
3. Repeat for the second tall side, turning the board the same way.
4. For the fourth cut aim for a height of the piece of 41.5 cm (7.5 inches), eg half the length of the part of the guide rail from pivot to stop, the two points where the rail is fixed. This makes the arithmetic easier to do.
5. For the fifth and last cut, position the board with the T on Top and the B on Bottom under the guide. Once again, make sure to butt up to the fence. Cut off a strip of around 25 millimeter (one inch). Make sure that the markings T and B are on the strip.
Now measure the ends of the strip with a caliper. Place the strip and caliper on a flat surface and take care with the measurements. Subtract the measure of Bottom from Top, divide by 4 (the error is the sum of the errors of the four sides) and multiply the result by 2 (only if you have followed the procedure at cut number 4 to the letter and have a strip 41.5 cm or 15 inches tall). This gives you an exact value for the adjustment you need to make.
The formula is: T – B ÷ 4 × 2 = E (where E is the value for the error adjustment).
In short: T – B ÷ 2 = E (divide by 4 and multiply by 2 is the same as divide by 2).
To visualize what needs to be done, imagine the guide rail being the center line of a circle, from top to bottom or in terms of a clockface the line from 12 to 6. A negative value of the formula implies that the guide rail needs to be turned back (pivoted) anti-clockwise; a positive value needs adjusting by turning the guide rail clockwise.
The anti-clockwise adjustment (for a negative value of error) is done at the top, the hinge part. Loosen the knob and slide it a very short distance from the stop. Put the required feeler gauge for the error value (or in case your gauge sets requires adding up two or more feelers — the bundle of feelers that equal the error value) between the hinge part and the stop. Butt the hinge and secure it. Next loosen the stop and with the feeler gauges removed, butt it against the hinge part and secure.
The clockwise adjustment (for a positive value of error) is done on the bottom, the same way.
After adjusting the guide rail — and note that only ONE adjustment is needed —, repeat the series of five cuts (the fact that the size of the resulting strip is now less than before is of no consequence), and measure. The result should be zero or very close to zero, which means your MFT 3 setup is square.
Hope I explained it clearly.
[In case your strip has a different length than described before, adjust the formula thus:
T – B ÷ 4 ÷ (length of piece of board in cm or inches) × 83 cm (or 15 inches) = E ]
I did this with my MFT 3 and the final error is within the variational error of my two calipers, eg 2/100’s of a millimeter.
Squaring up your MFT 3 – the simplest way is by using dogs. Loosen the knobs of the hinge part and the bottom part of the guide rail. Butt up the guide rail to a pair of dogs (or a straight edge placed against the dogs), refasten the hinge and bottom parts and set the stops in the profiles to the rail hinge and bottom parts.
Use dogs to set up the fence along the upper side. The holes being very precisely cut and square, your cuts will be square.
In case you want to have the rail anyplace or don’t have dogs, you could use a variation of William Ng’s squaring method I devised. I would like to call this the best way…
You will need a good caliper, a set of feeler gauges and a finegrained piece of solid board (mdf will do, but dense plastics might be even more precise). The board should be fairly large, the minimum length of the longest side at least a centimeter (or half inch) taller than the length of the guide rail from hinge to bottom slot (eg 83 cm, or about 15 inches).
Fasten the end parts of the guide rail, making sure that you have butted up tightly to the stops in the profile.
Set up the fence, using dogs to ensure the correct positioning, or measure with a caliper from the profile on the back. Secure the fence with the lockdown.
Set the height of the guide rail for the thickness of your board.
1. Make a first cut along the tallest side of the board, a few mils are enough. Mark the piece with a T for Top and a B for Bottom.
2. Turn the board counterclockwise and cut the first of the shorter sides, making sure that the piece is butt against the fence. Again, just take off a few mils.
3. Repeat for the second tall side, turning the board the same way.
4. For the fourth cut aim for a height of the piece of 41.5 cm (7.5 inches), eg half the length of the part of the guide rail from pivot to stop, the two points where the rail is fixed. This makes the arithmetic easier to do.
5. For the fifth and last cut, position the board with the T on Top and the B on Bottom under the guide. Once again, make sure to butt up to the fence. Cut off a strip of around 25 millimeter (one inch). Make sure that the markings T and B are on the strip.
Now measure the ends of the strip with a caliper. Place the strip and caliper on a flat surface and take care with the measurements. Subtract the measure of Bottom from Top, divide by 4 (the error is the sum of the errors of the four sides) and multiply the result by 2 (only if you have followed the procedure at cut number 4 to the letter and have a strip 41.5 cm or 15 inches tall). This gives you an exact value for the adjustment you need to make.
The formula is: T – B ÷ 4 × 2 = E (where E is the value for the error adjustment).
In short: T – B ÷ 2 = E (divide by 4 and multiply by 2 is the same as divide by 2).
To visualize what needs to be done, imagine the guide rail being the center line of a circle, from top to bottom or in terms of a clockface the line from 12 to 6. A negative value of the formula implies that the guide rail needs to be turned back (pivoted) anti-clockwise; a positive value needs adjusting by turning the guide rail clockwise.
The anti-clockwise adjustment (for a negative value of error) is done at the top, the hinge part. Loosen the knob and slide it a very short distance from the stop. Put the required feeler gauge for the error value (or in case your gauge sets requires adding up two or more feelers — the bundle of feelers that equal the error value) between the hinge part and the stop. Butt the hinge and secure it. Next loosen the stop and with the feeler gauges removed, butt it against the hinge part and secure.
The clockwise adjustment (for a positive value of error) is done on the bottom, the same way.
After adjusting the guide rail — and note that only ONE adjustment is needed —, repeat the series of five cuts (the fact that the size of the resulting strip is now less than before is of no consequence), and measure. The result should be zero or very close to zero, which means your MFT 3 setup is square.
Hope I explained it clearly.
[In case your strip has a different length than described before, adjust the formula thus:
T – B ÷ 4 ÷ (length of piece of board in cm or inches) × 83 cm (or 15 inches) = E ]
I did this with my MFT 3 and the final error is within the variational error of my two calipers, eg 2/100’s of a millimeter.
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