My Storyboard for the MFT

[johnsonri]

The storystick is a wonderful tool for measuring and general layout. For several years, I have used a storystick of sorts with my Festool MFT and TS55. In my case, the storystick is really a storyboard and it has proven itself very valuable, reliable and precise.  

It allows me to safely and accurately rip narrow stock, like 2by4 stock with the repeatability and speed of a conventional table saw.

Last year, I did a photo essay, "A Festool MFT/TS55 Retrospective" that detailed my use of the storyboard and its many uses. I have since updated the storyboard to work with virtually any thickness of stock that the MFT/TS55 or TS75 is capable of handling.

The following is a photo essay of the updated storyboard for use with the MFT and TS55 or 75.

The storyboard consists of a squared board and a routed groove with an affixed lexan scale.

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As you can see by the pencil marks on the board in the first picture, the edges are parallel and the corners are square. It is very important to be as precise as possible here!! Future cutting operations will rely on the edges and squareness of this board.

The next few pictures show how the storyboard is cut to resemble a fork, or the letter M. A groove has also been routed down the middle of the board to hold the lexan scale.

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Cyanoacrylate glue (aka is used to bond the lexan scale to the grooved board. I use making tape along the edges of the groove so as not to get the glue on the board itself.

 

[johnsonri]

Now that the lexan scale is affixed to the board, it is time to 'zero' the scale to the MFT rail.

The lexan scale affixed to the board with a lenght of approximately 7 and 1/2 inches. At this lenght, the scale and the board can be trimmed, as shown in the next set of pictures.

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Before the board is trimmed, the lexan scale needs to register zero at the back of the MFT rail, as shown here.

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After the board has been trimmed, the back of the MFT rail and the lexan scale on the storyboard will precisely indicate the distance between the end of the board and the blade of the TS55.

To make a half inch cut, set the storyboard such that the lexan scale registers at the half inch mark along the back of the MFT rail like the picture below.

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Butt the stock to be cut against the storyboard under the MFT rail and the resulting cut will be exactly as indicated by the lexan scale.

At this point, you are set to accurately cut any stock that has the same thickness as the storyboard, namely 3 quarter inch thick stock.

 

[johnsonri]

If you want to cut stock that is thicker than the storyboard, you will need to use storyboard blocks. Storyboard blocks are nothing but cut 2by4 pairs planed to the thickness of the stock to be cut.

The storyboard blocks are placed into the cut-outs on either side of the storyboard and allow the MFT rails to lie flat and remain square with the piece being cut.

The next picture shows the storyboard with one and one half inch blocks placed in the board.

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These blocks allow the rail to sit perfectly flat on top of 2 by 4 stock allowing easy and accurate rip cuts.

Here, you can see a soon to be ripped 2 by 4 piece butted up against the storyboard. The storyboard blocks make it so that the MFT rail does not flex and sits solidly on top of the piece to be ripped.

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With the back of the MFT rail sitting on the half inch tick line of the lexan scale, the 2 by 4 is ripped.

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Using the storyboard, the rip operation for the entire board took about 30 seconds or so.

To confirm that using the storyboard resulted in a rip of exactly a half inch, I use the caliper to measure.

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All of the boards measured out at a half inch except for the final piece. The final piece was merely the piece left over from the previous five.

 

[johnsonri]

I have a few sets of storyboard blocks to work with pieces of different thickness. Here you can see three pair of varying thicknesses.

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Adding more blocks is as simple as getting anoter 2by4 and cutting it down to size and thickness.

I have used storyboards with the MFT and TS55 for about 3 years now. It is simple to make, simple to use, reliable and brings a level of safety to cutting and ripping small pieces.

The storyboard, as shown, cost me about $10 US dollars in materials to make.

Well, I hope that you find interest and use in the storyboard.

Regards
Rey

 

[nclemmons]

That is a very cool technique Rey - thanks for the detailed photos and explanation.

neil

 

[MartinW]

That's a very innovative solution Rey.  I made a storyboard for one project but was well aware that I'd need different thicknesses down the road.  Now I'll make your version of it, problem solved.

Thanks for sharing.
Martin.

 

[johnsonri]

Thanks guys. Glad that you like the like solution/technique.

Rey

 

[arso_bg]

Very nice solution Rey!

I use for years a similar approach working with my Festool MFT and maybe here is the right place to share it with the FOG members. I would say that my method is a bit easier to apply because it needs less preparation. At the same time it is extremely precise. You can work with a precision far beyond 1/64 of an inch!

What you need:
1. A fence with a measure tape attached to it. It can be the original Festool fence or just a suitable piece of scrap wood with a clean straight edge that you are going to use as a fence. If you need square cuts you have to set up the fence square to the guide rail and this is something that I will not discuss here.

 

[arso_bg]

2. A (large) piece of plywood, MDF, particle board or whatever material you have available. I mainly use 3/4 thick melamine coated particle boards, so this is what I use also in this case. The piece on the picture measures 20 x 13 inches. The board doesn't have to be rectangular or to have some regular shape. Everything it needs is one clean, straight edge that will glide against the fence.

 

[arso_bg]

3. Last thing that you need is a "pointer". The "pointer" is a piece of thin, clear plastic with a straight scratch somewhere in the middle. I make my "pointers" from old CD covers. Use a square and a sharp marking knife to make a very, very thin, straight scratch. I will repeat - do not try to make a deep scratch but a very, very thin and straight one. Use a permanent marker (black or red) to add colour - it should be contrasting with the measure tape. Clean the "pointer" with a wet rag, drill several holes, so that you can attach the pointer with screws to the board and you are almost ready to go!

 

[arso_bg]

4. Calibration is the last thing that you have to do and this is very easy process.
a. Place the board on the top of the MFT table so that it rests against the fence and that a small portion of it extends beyond the guide rail.
b. Fix the pointer with screws to the board so that the pointer is close to the zero. At this stage the most important thing is to keep the scratch parallel to the marks of the tape.
c. When you have the "pointer" attached to the board, slide the board so that the "pointer" is exactly at zero and clamp if necessary the board to the table. Now cut the piece of the board that extends beyond the guide rail and you are ready.

 

[arso_bg]

Here is a 100 mm cut

 

[score0matic]

Thanks for the Tip.  arso

Craig

 

[johnsonri]

Very nice arso. Question: How do you use your technique to cut stock that is thicker (or thinner) than 3/4 inch?

Rey

 

[arso_bg]

Good question Rey!

I would say that there is no problem to cut stock that has a thickness different from 3/4 inch until the pieces I have to cut have a width or length greater than the width of the guide rail itself (185 mm) because in this case the entire width of the guide rail is supported by the material being cut.  
Problems may appear if I have to cut pieces that have a width or length less than the width of the guide rail because it this cases the guide rail might be not well supported and unstable. This is not a problem of the method that I use, but a common problem when working with the MFT.  In such cases I always prefer to cut on the right side of the saw blade. It is probably not obvious from the pictures that I have posted that my "zero point" isn't located next to the guide rail but some 200 mm to the left (about 8 inches).  So the setup that I use is as follows:

1. I move the board to the right measuring the necessary distance. Of course the width of the kerf should be calculated
2. I clamp the board in position
3. I add a piece of 8 mm thick MDF which I press firmly against the right edge of the board and clamp in position.
4. I remove the board with the pointer.
Now I have a low profile fence (or stop) at the right side of the guide rail which is strictly parallel to the edge of the guide rail and placed exactly where I need it.

I hope that my explanations were clear enough. If not .. I will add some more pictures this weekend.

p.p. Another way to manage short/narrow pieces would be if a second fence with a tape is attached to the right side of the guide rail and the board with the pointer is reassembled to the right side too. If the board is cut to "zero" on the right side it will be not necessary even to bother about the kerf width. It will be very simple process: slide the board to the desired position, clamp it and cut.

 

[johnsonri]

Arso,

Thanks for the explanation. Though, I am little unclear about how you would rip thin stock. Say, you needed to rip a piece of stock with the following dimensions: 1/2 inch thick by 1 inch width by 24 inches length. Would you be able to use your setup?

Rey

 

[arso_bg]

Hi, Rey

Ripping is easy. I use a piece of 8 mm thick MDF. It has an ALU edge attached but it will work also without it.

 

[arso_bg]

For the setup I normally use a larger board - something like 24" x 24" but at the moment I do not have such a big piece.

 

[arso_bg]

Ready for ripping

 

[arso_bg]

Some 5 mm thick pieces