Plans for MFT3 / Sysport cabinet

[eddomak]

The screw hole I was referring to is in the top of the cabinet.  If you look at the round piece of dowel on the right you can see it is screwed into the top.  What I'm talking about is drilling a 20mm hole through the top centered on the existing screw hole once that dowel is removed.  Then I can slip the plastic dog into that hole and it will have the same dimension and location on the table as the piece of dowel it will replace, but it will simply pull out of the hole when desired.

Sorry, I get what you are saying now.  ;D

 

[Sparktrician]

Sparktrician,

Just sent you a PM - I think.  If you didn't get it let me know.

Got it, Steve.  Looks like a winner to me.  PM sent back. 

[smile]

 

[mikey2]

I just started one of these, and have my own solution for the exposed caster nuts on the bottom panel. I will place T-nuts in a shallow counterbore so they are flush with the top of the bottom panel, and come from below with a bolt and washer through the caster mounting plate. The Woodcraft 3" and 4" casters have enough clearance, cannot say for other brands. The T-nuts could then actually be partially under the vertical panels to get the casters as close to the edge of the cabinet as needed.

 

[GarryMartin]

I'm trying to get around to starting my MFT and KAPEX workstations and have been reviewing my old notes. I've found quite a few images I'd saved at the time, so where I can, I'm trying to add them back in to the threads where the photos were previously lost.

Hope someone finds this useful and that it's OK with the original authors.

 

[McNally Family]

I'm trying to get around to starting my MFT and KAPEX workstations and have been reviewing my old notes. I've found quite a few images I'd saved at the time, so where I can, I'm trying to add them back in to the threads where the photos were previously lost.

Hope someone finds this useful and that it's OK with the original authors.

I have an old table saw with a cast iron top that i don't use anymore, and have considered purchasing the Festool MFT/3, to place on top of the saw somehow, because the saw is so much more stable than the MFT/3 would be, even with leg supports (due to the weight of the saw I suspect).    I am not concerned with mobility, so having the whole project shop-bound is fine.

The owner of our local Woodcraft store has a cabinet similar to your pictured version, except he has removed the legs on the MFT/3.  I spent some time looking it over yesterday, and just now studied your pictured version.  The only potential problem I could find, other than figuring out how to secure the table on the saw, was the fact it seems to create limited clearance on the underside to the MFT/3, which would mean regular clamping would be a one sided affair, with the body of the clamp on top of the table, which in itself is not a deal killer, but it is nice to have the option of clamping from underneath the table as well.  I guess I need to study the idea of further elevating the space between the saw and tabletop to solve the problem.  Of course, then we are talking about raising the working height overall, which may actually be an improvement.

 

[GarryMartin]

Just to make it clear with these recent posts of mine; they're not my photos, they belong to the original authors. It's just that some time ago the FOG suffered a catastrophic issue where a large number of photos were lost and only the links or thumbnails remained in the original posts.

I'd saved a number of these images in Word documents with comments etc. so that I could print them easily for reference as the print function on the FOG is somewhat limited. While I've been reviewing those documents in preparation for my own build, I've found the original threads where possible and added the photos that I essentially had "offline copies" of back into them.

Back to the point of your comment though, putting the folded table on a worksurface does somewhat limit your clamping. Some people take the legs off to make it easier, and you have essentially about 160mm underneath the table doing it in this way. You're not going to get clamps underneath with any ease, but you can still use the threaded knobs from the MFT-SP Work Clamps for example.

 

[sprior]

I didn't know about the big data loss on this forum, that's a big shame.  If the original images were still around would the sysadmins be interested in putting them in place so the original posts could work again?

 

[McNally Family]

Just to make it clear with these recent posts of mine; they're not my photos, they belong to the original authors. It's just that some time ago the FOG suffered a catastrophic issue where a large number of photos were lost and only the links or thumbnails remained in the original posts.

I'd saved a number of these images in Word documents with comments etc. so that I could print them easily for reference as the print function on the FOG is somewhat limited. While I've been reviewing those documents in preparation for my own build, I've found the original threads where possible and added the photos that I essentially had "offline copies" of back into them.

Back to the point of your comment though, putting the folded table on a worksurface does somewhat limit your clamping. Some people take the legs off to make it easier, and you have essentially about 160mm underneath the table doing it in this way. You're not going to get clamps underneath with any ease, but you can still use the threaded knobs from the MFT-SP Work Clamps for example.

Well that explains a whole bunch!  I wondered why I would sometimes click on a photo within a post, and come up empty handed....

As for the worktable idea, my "plan C" (Plan A, just use the MFT/3, Plan B, use the table saw as a base, and Plan C, the custom approach) if the table saw idea does not work out, is to build my own table, utilizing the basic premise of the MFT/3, but without  incorporating the actual MFT/3 itself.  Here is an interesting set of plans I found on the same website I buy my German sandpaper from:
http://vsctools.com/shop/the-ultimate-work-table/

The guy who designed this table is rather bright, and I enjoy watching all his video's on YouTube.  He goes by the name of "AskWoodMan".  Just Food for Thought!

 

[Patrick Cox]

Back to the point of your comment though, putting the folded table on a worksurface does somewhat limit your clamping. Some people take the legs off to make it easier, and you have essentially about 160mm underneath the table doing it in this way. You're not going to get clamps underneath with any ease, but you can still use the threaded knobs from the MFT-SP Work Clamps for example.

Hi,
I am curious what type of clamping is limited with the MFT3 mounted on a stand/cart?  It looks like there should be plenty of room to use the various screw and ratchet clamps that use the MFT3 holes for clamping.

Thanks

 

[sprior]

I haven't found leaving the legs on to be much of a problem, sometimes you have to wiggle the clamp around to clear the legs, but it hasn't been enough to annoy me (yet).  I like the idea that in theory I could just grab the MFT off the top and go somewhere if necessary, though in reality I'll probably never do that.

 

[cperren]

I removed the legs from mine... Too much of a pain using the Festool clamps .. 

 

[McNally Family]

Back to the point of your comment though, putting the folded table on a worksurface does somewhat limit your clamping. Some people take the legs off to make it easier, and you have essentially about 160mm underneath the table doing it in this way. You're not going to get clamps underneath with any ease, but you can still use the threaded knobs from the MFT-SP Work Clamps for example.

Hi,
I am curious what type of clamping is limited with the MFT3 mounted on a stand/cart?  It looks like there should be plenty of room to use the various screw and ratchet clamps that use the MFT3 holes for clamping.

Thanks

I don't think it is a question of not being able to use the Festal clamps, as much as it is being able to use them "from below", with the bulk of the clamp being under the table, as opposed to above the table (did I say that right).

 

[Patrick Cox]

Back to the point of your comment though, putting the folded table on a worksurface does somewhat limit your clamping. Some people take the legs off to make it easier, and you have essentially about 160mm underneath the table doing it in this way. You're not going to get clamps underneath with any ease, but you can still use the threaded knobs from the MFT-SP Work Clamps for example.

Hi,
I am curious what type of clamping is limited with the MFT3 mounted on a stand/cart?  It looks like there should be plenty of room to use the various screw and ratchet clamps that use the MFT3 holes for clamping.

Thanks

I don't think it is a question of not being able to use the Festal clamps, as much as it is being able to use them "from below", with the bulk of the clamp being under the table, as opposed to above the table (did I say that right).

OK, I see.  I have not tried clamping from below so can't comment but can see where that would be difficult.  i am not sure of the applications of this vs clamping from above.

 

[GarryMartin]

I am curious what type of clamping is limited with the MFT3 mounted on a stand/cart?  It looks like there should be plenty of room to use the various screw and ratchet clamps that use the MFT3 holes for clamping.

I was referring to the difference between having the main body of the clamp under the table versus above it. If you're using the clamps with the main body above, as mentioned, even with the legs on you just need a little "wiggle" to get them angled correctly. But if you're attempting to use the clamps with the main body below the table, obviously access and height available are somewhat limited.

Hopefully that clears things up.