Next Festool purchase

[Sparktrician]

Come on MFT/3 owners, where are you at? Speak up, whether you agree with my statements or not.

Squaring the fence and rail to the MFT/3 is a piece of cake.  Here's how I do it initially, and also how I recalibrate the squareness from time to time.  http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tool-reviews/video-review-of-festool-mft-system-%28495462-495565-495888%29/msg137695/#msg137695  I'll have to say, though, that my MFT/3 and fence/rail rarely go out of square, but it takes only a minute to verify or recalibrate them. 

[smile]

 

[Frank Pellow]

I was hoping to see more replies from members. I am an employee of Festool, so take my feedback as such.  The older MFT (800/1080 models) were more prone to being knocked out of square with repeated use, like the one Frank has. The newer MFT/3 models have addressed this issue. We have 8 or more MFT/3's in our training facility in Indianapolis that get used a LOT and I don't think Sedge, our trainer, has ever re-squared them except when the fence or rail have been removed. If you leave the hardware in place, then I think you'll find it stays quite square, even with a lot of use.

...

I guess that I should have mentioned it in my reply, but I was talking about the situation when the fence and rail have been removed.  I usually remove them both when I am transporting the MFT to a job site.  It`s no big  deal, because putting them back on the table a squaring everything takes no more than 5 minutes.

When leaving one of my MFTs set up in my workshed or on the jobsite, I don`t need to align it very often.  But, I have gotten into the habit of checking the alignment frequently and, more than once, have been glad that I did so.

When I was in the class in Lebanon earlier this week, Brian did have us put the fence and rail on one of the MFTs and align it.  He showed us a neat technique with placing a scrap of paper on each end of the square we were using in order to test the alignment.

 

[Jesse Cloud]

I'm puzzled.  Even with my old MFT/2 the rail stays square.  Putting in on the table after I (infrequently) take it off and squaring it up takes a couple of minutes.  The cuts are as square as my 12 inch Starrett can measure, which is good enough for my purposes.

And yeah, you need to verify that its square every so often.  And, this just in, you better be doing that with your tablesaw, and jointer, and mitersaw too - and they are lots harder to square up.

The MFT is easily the most used fixture in my shop.  My only complaint is that I don't have room for another one.  Hmmm, I could probably fit three or four in the space the Unisaw takes up. :

 

[Kevin Stricker]

I completely agree, Ken, that there is a certain amount of play in the system. I'm not suggesting that it's even possible to make a tool that has no imperfection.

What I am suggesting is that one has to understand what the imperfections are, how great they can potentially be based on the manufacturers methods, and how to work with or around them.

I was only suggesting that introducing another manufacturer's imperfections adds to the tolerance stack.

Tom

No Offense Tom, but you sell tools....I make a living with them.  If you do not make sure that the fence on the MFT/3 is truly square you will end up with parallelograms not squares.  The reason Festool includes a "stop" to attach to the extrusion is because they know that the fence by itself is easily misaligned.  If you remove the fence and rail to take to a job you are going to take this stop off too.  So next time you set it up you are back to square one.

Also it's important to remember that any error is compounded by distance.  If you are cross cutting a 24" panel even a 0.01 degree error is going to be measurable over that length.  You wouldn't try to square up a tablesaw without a square would you?  With the MFT/3 you have to align the fence to the table then the rail to the fence or table.  Either way there are two factors that can introduce errors as you have two components to worry about.

I am not saying that aligning the MFT/3 is a big deal, it's probably the easiest tool in my shop to calibrate.  Just saying if you fly blind and rely on the set screws in the extrusion and the protractor on the fence you will be disappointed with the results.

 

[tiralie]

I am plotting my next Festool purchase, and am leaning towards the MFT table.  Main usage would be for crosscuts, but I have read in some reviews that you need to check square on the table frequently.  That pretty much defeats the purpose that I am thinking about, but I want to get y'alls comments before I change gears to the next best thing.

While I believe the MFT table is the safest solution for cross cutting other than some very expensive and space hogging tools (panel saws, CNC or pressure beam saw) and doing so accurately, I believe you will find other benefits to having the table and the system such as being able to move it around relatively easily, quick set up easy hold down of oddly or narrow shaped stock etc squaring up drawers and panels for glue up etc.
It's one of those tools that you need to use to appreciate and when you do, you wonder why the hell you waited so long to get one.
Unless you have a very sharp plane and are jointing a narrow board a single table is a bit light for hand planing wood, but two or three tables work very well.
Tim

 

[pugilato]

Thanks, y'alls, for your comments... I'm sold.  Now to figure out the money part...

 

[tiralie]

Thanks, y'alls, for your comments... I'm sold.  Now to figure out the money part...

Money? Is that a new Festool tool? [big grin]

 

[sancho57]

I have 2 mft 3's. I use them for cab assembly, sanding etc, you'l need a couple clamps and the festooll essentials too. They have changed the way i do things.  they are my main assembly table.

When I use my table saw the mft makes a great outffed table for it.

Yes they do need to be squared up but I do it at the begining of a job or when I bump into thee protractor kinda hard.

Im gonna have to get me one of those woodpecker square. Ive been using a angle ease for squaing the rail. It has done a pretty good job.

But the woodpeckers square seems like it would be easier ad quicker.

 

[MrToolJunkie]

I love my MFT/3 and never have an issue with it being out-of-square. That being said, I actually find I use it more for sanding, Dominoing, routing, assembly, finishing than I actually do for cutting...I would love to have a couple of these -- one set up for cutting and another couple the basic version for assembly, etc...  It is my most "used" Festool along with the extractor.

Scot

 

[Ken Nagrod]

I'll add that I also find using the MFT/3 very helpful and sometimes a necessity, so much so that I'm going to need another.  The only thing I'd like to see changed on a future model is one with adjustable legs to vary the height and hopefully able to retrofit the current unit.  I believe we had discussed that last year?

 

[mouppe]

I grabbed a basic mft 800 in the recon sale and it has been so useful. A little drafting table, or when I want to clamp something small and work on it from all four sides. I have since tried to buy another but to no avail. I would take a used one too. Oh well, I'll keep looking.

P.s. It fits perfectly under an mft/3. Intentional design? Probably not but I'll take it.

 

[tiralie]

The only thing I'd like to see changed on a future model is one with adjustable legs to vary the height and hopefully able to retrofit the current unit.  I believe we had discussed that last year?

Definitely. The adjustment on the current leg is really not very good. While it helps to keep  the table from rocking on slightly uneven floors, the rubber in the adjustable leg portion starts to bend.
tim

 

[allen r austin]

if I had known how much i would use it, i would have purchased it first . As for square i do ok till i hit it with a 2 x 10, then in about 1 minute its ready to go.
Allen

 

[TJ Cornish]

I bought a MFT/3 in Feb before the March 1 price increases.  I've done a couple cuts with it, but since I have a nice table saw and miter saw, I don't forsee using it primarily for cutting either.  That being said, I haven't seen the bottom of the table in several weeks because I've done so much clamping and gluing on it lately.  I'm planning to buy another one so I can have a larger workspace - several of the projects I've worked on recently have hung over an edge.

If I was making really critical cuts - especially wide ones, I would take the time to square the fence if I had moved it previously.  The fence is long enough that it doesn't take a huge amount of force at the tail end to be off a tiny bit before you clamp that end down.  Once set it is very sturdy.  Grabbing a square and checking takes 3 seconds, so I don't see this as an issue.  For less critical cuts or jobsite work I don't think I'd bother.

I just got a pair of leg stiffeners this weekend - they are a nice addition.  They are expensive for what they are, but they do make a noticable difference.

 

[pugilato]

Well, I hooked up with a guy that will sell me an MFT 3, brand new, in the box, for $500.  This sound like a pretty good deal, yes?

So far, I have not paid full price for any festool I have bought.  Got a TS55 last year when they had a 10% sale on.  Got the OF1400 router at 15% off (floor model of a closing Woodcraft store).  Now this one (15% off).  Maybe I will get a free Carvex next?