My custom built expandable MFT on rolling cart

[Gary in Texas]

My MFT/3 top equates to the above dimensions, however, hole pattern is 11 x 7, not 11 x 5.

 

[rvieceli]

Yup - the 1080 top is 28 X 45 - not a big deal

 

[squarecut]

My MFT/3 top equates to the above dimensions, however, hole pattern is 11 x 7, not 11 x 5.

Baremeg55
Thank you for the correction - I updated the post.
(I have got to be careful when counting & drinking Manhattan's at the same time)
Bob

 

[Dan Clark]

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the additional info.  I've never measured my MFT, so out of curiosity, I checked it.  It's 45-7/8" X 28.5" with 12 holes long and 7 wide. I never realized that the MFT3 is slightly smaller with less holes.  That said, whether the MFT3 is larger or smaller is not relevant to me - both would work fine.

Bob,

One question about weight and stability...  Have you used the bench for any hand tool work like planing, scraping, etc where a big solid bench is usually required?  How well did that work out?  Any mods you would make if you did a fair amount of neanderthal work?

Thanks,

Dan.

 

[Mavrik]

Beautiful!
Light humour at a part that has the word "right" written on the left hand side. Hehe

 

[Tinker]

I have only this morning stumbled onto this thread. I am much impressed with so many ideas put into only one space saving table.  I have been looking at a lot of different tables over the past year, or so, and yours seems to address more than any other single table i have looked at.  I especially like the way you have attached the end extensions.

I would also like to know if you find the table solid enough for hand planing.  I think it is probably plenty solid for power plane, as are my MFT benches (1080/600/3).  They are solid enough for planing as long as the wood cooperates by offering minimal resistance.  Hard wood is a different story.

Also,  the pipe you have the top mounted on, is that adjustable?  The reason i ask is that I have very little headroom in my shop.  I also have a problem with bending my body to work on a lower table.  My MFT 1080 and 600 are low enough that when working for a short time, and bending over, even to use the TS 55, i can hardly stand up afterwards.  I do not have overhead space to assemble large projects.  The first thing I noticed when looking at your masterpiece was those plastic pipes hold the table.  I have been looking at several methods for table height adjustment.  Those pipes appear to be a good trade off as they might be very adjustable, but i wonder how strong.  They certainly add a lot less weight than boxing with ply wood or hardwood.

I also like your boom arm design. Presently, I store excess hose & power chord overhead by suspending loosely with bungee chords.  I just slide excess back overhead to keep it out of the way.  Depending on whether I am ripping or crosscutting, i relocate the bungees and or feed excess/extra hose length in and out over head.  I like your idea and will try experimenting a little.  I used the Festoy boom for a couple of years but with so little headroom and heat ducts, light fixtures, electric lines and etc, the boom was more of a hindrance than a help. 

I have bookmarked as I do not want to lose any of your ideas. thanks for sharing.
Tinker

 

[squarecut]

One question about weight and stability...  Have you used the bench for any hand tool work like planing, scraping, etc where a big solid bench is usually required?  How well did that work out?  Any mods you would make if you did a fair amount of neanderthal work?

Dan
I have only used it for light hand planing of soft woods both surface & edge and have found with all four casters in full lock that there is negligible movement of the bench - almost none at all. That said, I do not believe this design would lend itself to Neanderthal work. Due to it's case construction and wing alignment dictates, I do not see how any additional beefing up could be employed to transform it into anything close to a solid bench. I think we are talking about two separate animals here.
Bob

 

[squarecut]

I have only this morning stumbled onto this thread. I am much impressed with so many ideas put into only one space saving table.  I have been looking at a lot of different tables over the past year, or so, and yours seems to address more than any other single table i have looked at.  I especially like the way you have attached the end extensions.

I would also like to know if you find the table solid enough for hand planing.  I think it is probably plenty solid for power plane, as are my MFT benches (1080/600/3).  They are solid enough for planing as long as the wood cooperates by offering minimal resistance.  Hard wood is a different story.

Also,  the pipe you have the top mounted on, is that adjustable?  The reason i ask is that I have very little headroom in my shop.  I also have a problem with bending my body to work on a lower table.  My MFT 1080 and 600 are low enough that when working for a short time, and bending over, even to use the TS 55, i can hardly stand up afterwards.  I do not have overhead space to assemble large projects.  The first thing I noticed when looking at your masterpiece was those plastic pipes hold the table.  I have been looking at several methods for table height adjustment.  Those pipes appear to be a good trade off as they might be very adjustable, but i wonder how strong.  They certainly add a lot less weight than boxing with ply wood or hardwood.

I also like your boom arm design. Presently, I store excess hose & power chord overhead by suspending loosely with bungee chords.  I just slide excess back overhead to keep it out of the way.  Depending on whether I am ripping or crosscutting, i relocate the bungees and or feed excess/extra hose length in and out over head.  I like your idea and will try experimenting a little.  I used the Festoy boom for a couple of years but with so little headroom and heat ducts, light fixtures, electric lines and etc, the boom was more of a hindrance than a help. 

I have bookmarked as I do not want to lose any of your ideas. thanks for sharing.
Tinker

The table top section was constructed before the mobile cart with the use of pvc legs as a simple way of altering the height of the table dependent solely on which of several surfaces in my shop I chose to set up the table on. At that time I had several sets of legs of varying lengths available. So, in answer to your question - Yes, they are adjustable. But you must keep in mind, that to utilize the table top with fold out wings the top will be mated to the mobile cart, therefore setting the pvc leg height at a fixed length.
Currently, if I choose to, I can remove the table top from the mobile cart by removing 4 screws, one per leg, and setup my MFT (sans wings)on another shop surface, such as my combo sheet goods breakdown & assembly table, which in itself is totally capable of being broken down into a storage bundle measuring 2' x 2' x 4'. If you look closely at some of the photos you will see these screws at the inside base of the pvc legs where they meet the mobile cart deck.
If your thoughts are to construct a copy of my unit and wanted more height at table top, I believe the only workable answer would be to add an additional filler section at the base of the unit prior to mounting the casters.
Bob

 

[Tinker]

Thanks for the added info.
My idea has been to make something that would be at approximate (or exact) height of my MFT/3 for all cutting/planing/drilling/sanding >>>>>>  Also assembly of smaller projects of which are the majority of my projects.  I have a couple of larger projects that I am assembly some of the parts during the winter, but will have to await full assembly until warmer weather.
I don't have head space to assemble on any of my benches, nor to move a bench aside to work on the floor.  My floor is very uneven, so i am formulating (in my head so far) something that can be lowered to somewhere around 1/2 way between normal working height and floor or to about 1-1/2 to 2 feet.  I would need to move any tool drawers and shelves out of the way from underneath the work table, but I am already working with small movable tools cabinets that can be moved out from under the MFT's with the idea to do something better as I am sort of describing.  One bench, the MFT/3 will probably be the permanent work bench with everything els movable in some direction whether side to side, or up and down. 

Everything I have built for the shop has casters with various methods for raising and lowering and locking. that problem has just about been decided.  I only have to further investigate the raising and lowering of the working heights >>>  I think

 

[Tinker]

Another experiment I am trying is to put movable cabinets and shelves on three legs and wheels.  I have so far decided that the two wheels work best on the front of anything with drawers.  To put the single wheel at front creates a very unstable structure when drawers are pulled forward.  My bandsaw is on three wheels with the single wheel to the front and that, so far is working out fine.  I don't think it would work with a workbench as forces are in all directions.  For assembly, i don't think it would work as weight will be in any direction according to the project.  I need to do a four legged stance with casters raised but three wheeled when moving.  that is actually how BS is mounted.
Tinker

 

[Dan Clark]

One question about weight and stability...  Have you used the bench for any hand tool work like planing, scraping, etc where a big solid bench is usually required?  How well did that work out?  Any mods you would make if you did a fair amount of neanderthal work?

Dan
I have only used it for light hand planing of soft woods both surface & edge and have found with all four casters in full lock that there is negligible movement of the bench - almost none at all. That said, I do not believe this design would lend itself to Neanderthal work. Due to it's case construction and wing alignment dictates, I do not see how any additional beefing up could be employed to transform it into anything close to a solid bench. I think we are talking about two separate animals here.
Bob

Bob,

Again thanks for the feedback.  In general, I agree that we're talking two different animals here.  That said... 

Almost everything on the planet is a compromise - a balance of pluses and minuses tuned to fit our individual needs.    Your design is the single best MFT-oriented workbench I've ever encountered.  It's balance of features are simply excellent.

That said, when I build my version it will start with your design and extend to my needs and constraints.    My goal is to do woodworking within the constraints of my "workshop".  My approach is a combo of a few traditional power tools (small table saw, planer, router table, bandsaw, drill press), a lot of Festools, and some neanderthal tools. 

Below are two pics of my workshop - about 6 feet of space in front of our cars in the garage.  I.e. very little space. (See pics below.)  This raises challenges for me, including no place to put a second movable workbench. 

My challenge is to create a spinoff of your workbench, leverage your creative work, and make it meet my needs - including moderate planing and other hand work.  This would include making a version that is bit beefier, and perhaps adding the ability to raise and lower the work surface without compromising the integrity of the design.  An interesting challenge.  You sure got me thinking.

Thanks,

Dan.

p.s. This is an interesting site that is mostly focused on neanderthal tools and techniques, but he has a lot of good ideas that can be applied to a more power tool oriented approach too: http://www.closegrain.com/2011/08/intro-hand-tools-workspace.html

 

[squarecut]

Bump

 

[john5mt]

Square...whats that vertical looking jig with the dewalt plunge router?

 

[squarecut]

Square...whats that vertical looking jig with the dewalt plunge router?

That is a FMT Pro Mortise & Tenon Jig

Here is a link to more info - http://www.leighjigs.com/fmt.php

 

[squarecut]

This is an update to this thread.
I made what I believe is an improvement of management of the dust extraction hose & power cord on this unit.

See the modification here

 

[Billy stray]

Really nice, must have been alot of fun to build..
my wife would have complained too many times b4 I finished  lol ...just based on the trips to the hardware store alone...

 

[HappyCamper]

You rolling cart is a thing of beauty!  One day, could you kindly photograph the method of attaching the extension wings to the cart top.  I can see that you have some kind of sliding mechanism, but the details would be great. A truly inspiring project that you might consider coming up with a set of plans for.  However, I understand that that's a lot of additional work.  You photo's and comments are much appreciated.

 

[jacko9]

Nice build, I may have to copy it since I have just constructed a large shed to compliment my shop and I needed a cart to move items between the two locations and I might as well get the most utility out of it as possible.

 

[nhall]

Hi Squarecut, just as so many other have said, congratulations on your awesome MFT Cart!

Would you be able to share some details on how you designed the supports for the wings so that they end up in the correct positions when extended and retracted? If you have any, drawings would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Nic.

 

[Vondawg]

Squarecut
I've read/re-read as to not have missed it, but is the reason for the threaded coupling near the top elbow to more easily feed the hose thru ? Just wondering why the pvc pipe fit is not used...seems like it would be a smoother inside fit.
Thanks and nicely thought out and executed .