I thought many times about building a full size 4 X 8 MFT. It's a great idea and all, but all I really needed was just a cutting table for breaking down full-sized sheet goods into something more regular MFT-sized. If that cutting table could accommodate lifting sheet goods onto it with zero hassle and no sore back, even better yet. But if it could use at least some of the MFT hardware so that I wouldn't need clamps or pencil marks or anything else, that would be the icing on the cake.
The design I currently use meets all of those goals. It's built from select grade 2 X 4s, and the total cost was just a little over $100. The key to it is that it's a two piece table. The first piece is a one foot by eight foot section that is lag screwed onto the wall so it sticks straight out. The remaining three foot section is hinged to that as shown below.
(As you can see, I use the space under it for storage. When you only have a one-stall shop, you have to make some concessions along the way.)
The bottom rail of the table has a row of 10 mm dominos protruding from the edge facing the operator. This is what you set your full sized sheet good onto, as seen in this photo.
I added a handle since taking these pictures to make lifting the sheet even easier. All you do is lift the table and panel in one piece and the whole contraption rotates up into the flat position. I also added hinged legs since taking these pictures. They just drop into place once the table is raised. The ends of the table each contain half of a long MFT profile. Cutting a long one in half was cheaper than buying two short ones. I also have an MFT3 hinge and front guide which I ordered from Bob Marino along with the profile.
Here are some pictures of it in use with an 8 foot guide rail.
When the cut is complete, the guide rail is lifted onto a shelf built for storing it, which is suspended directly above the table.
With the MFT3 hardware set up properly, you can rip a 4 X 8 sheet exactly in half and exactly square just by butting the panel up against the wall and dropping the guide rail onto it.
I seldom need to do really big cross cuts, so I opted to make ripping really easy and if cross-cutting was a little more difficult, so be it. I can put dominos in either of two locations for holding the panel vertically at a height that's easy to to work with. For full-sized four foot cross cuts, I have to use the dominos on the lowest setting, as seen above. This requires a plunge cut, but it does work. (This is a limitation of the cabinets I have mounted above it along that wall.) For anything like a three foot cross cut, I can move the dominos up to a higher position as can be seen here.
This makes it more convenient. All cross cuts require measuring and pencil marks until I figure out a better way of doing this.
The design I currently use meets all of those goals. It's built from select grade 2 X 4s, and the total cost was just a little over $100. The key to it is that it's a two piece table. The first piece is a one foot by eight foot section that is lag screwed onto the wall so it sticks straight out. The remaining three foot section is hinged to that as shown below.
(As you can see, I use the space under it for storage. When you only have a one-stall shop, you have to make some concessions along the way.)
The bottom rail of the table has a row of 10 mm dominos protruding from the edge facing the operator. This is what you set your full sized sheet good onto, as seen in this photo.
I added a handle since taking these pictures to make lifting the sheet even easier. All you do is lift the table and panel in one piece and the whole contraption rotates up into the flat position. I also added hinged legs since taking these pictures. They just drop into place once the table is raised. The ends of the table each contain half of a long MFT profile. Cutting a long one in half was cheaper than buying two short ones. I also have an MFT3 hinge and front guide which I ordered from Bob Marino along with the profile.
Here are some pictures of it in use with an 8 foot guide rail.
When the cut is complete, the guide rail is lifted onto a shelf built for storing it, which is suspended directly above the table.
With the MFT3 hardware set up properly, you can rip a 4 X 8 sheet exactly in half and exactly square just by butting the panel up against the wall and dropping the guide rail onto it.
I seldom need to do really big cross cuts, so I opted to make ripping really easy and if cross-cutting was a little more difficult, so be it. I can put dominos in either of two locations for holding the panel vertically at a height that's easy to to work with. For full-sized four foot cross cuts, I have to use the dominos on the lowest setting, as seen above. This requires a plunge cut, but it does work. (This is a limitation of the cabinets I have mounted above it along that wall.) For anything like a three foot cross cut, I can move the dominos up to a higher position as can be seen here.
This makes it more convenient. All cross cuts require measuring and pencil marks until I figure out a better way of doing this.
