Shop reconfiguration/Breakdown MFT

[TSO_Products]

Nice work, Richard!  I’d definitely like to see you put together a summary thread. I’ve used a lot of your techniques with 80/20 in the past and the flexibility you’ve designed is really great for a small shop or large too!

[member=59331]TSO Products[/member] Hans, I'm considering adding a guide rail hinged setup, was looking at your MFT Aligned product. Only problem is, based on photos, it looks like the bracket would stick up above the MFT top. The 80/20 slot centerline is only 1-1/2" below the surface.

Is there any reason I couldn't install the brackets upside down? It looks like all the features are centered and flipping the brackets the holes would still line up with the stock MFT hardware.

RMW

Richard,

To clarify: TSO’s MFT Aligned is specifically designed to bring FESTOOL’s MFT/3 guide rail alignment up to our customers’ higher expectations by addressing the limitations in the design of the OEM hinge bracket assembly and guide rail support.

We kept all the OEM components which are up to the task and replaced and added additional components allowing the user to achieve the highest possible rigidity while maintaining height adjustability.
Our MFT Aligned set (front and back) does not contain complete hinge assemblies. In other words, you would have to obtain a set of MFT rail hinge assemblies and rail support.

We are working on a completely self-contained hinged support system for 20mm hole top surfaces but that is still over the horizon.

Keep up your inspiring work and posting on the FOG!
Hans

 

[rmwarren]

Richard,

To clarify: TSO’s MFT Aligned is specifically designed to bring FESTOOL’s MFT/3 guide rail alignment up to our customers’ higher expectations by addressing the limitations in the design of the OEM hinge bracket assembly and guide rail support.

We kept all the OEM components which are up to the task and replaced and added additional components allowing the user to achieve the highest possible rigidity while maintaining height adjustability.
Our MFT Aligned set (front and back) does not contain complete hinge assemblies. In other words, you would have to obtain a set of MFT rail hinge assemblies and rail support.

We are working on a completely self-contained hinged support system for 20mm hole top surfaces but that is still over the horizon.

Keep up your inspiring work and posting on the FOG!
Hans

Totally understand. I have all the stock MFT hardware, and can figure out the connection to the 80/20.

My only question was whether your brackets can be rotated 180 degrees (so they are upside down from the intended orientation) and the stock hardware would still mate up. It looks like it will so I may just take the chance and give it a try.

Thanks Hans.

RMW

 

[TSO_Products]

Richard,
if you try the MFT Aligned and it does not work for your custom worktable, we'll take it back - no problem.

Hans

 

[rmwarren]

Richard,
if you try the MFT Aligned and it does not work for your custom worktable, we'll take it back - no problem.

Hans

Thanks for the offer Hans, I already ordered one and I'm nearly certain I can adapt it to the 80/20.

Unfortunately I don't have the room off the rear of the MFT to use it while inside the shop. My plan is to attach it to the larger setup when I'm outside and breaking down larger sheets. Slowly progressing towards the oft-delayed closet project, perhaps finally this summer.

Thanks again.

RMW

 

[dashboardpws]

We offer our multi-patented Guide Rail Brackets for this situation and many others. You can also achieve the same function with the combination of our unique Track Stars and SpiRail Dogs.

 

[rmwarren]

We offer our multi-patented Guide Rail Brackets for this situation and many others. You can also achieve the same function with the combination of our unique Track Stars and SpiRail Dogs.

Thanks Rob, I've taken some inspiration from your system. I mostly chose TSO's offering since I already had the old MFT hardware sitting in the boneyard and it saved a few bucks.

Some of my early forays into 80/20 worksurfaces were specific to plywood ripping, that's what morphed into the current setup. Looking back, I'm surprised to see it's been 10 years.

FWIW, for anyone interested, Benchdogs also has a nice looking system. Peter Millard did a review:


Looks like the TSO setup is arriving Friday, so I can fiddle with it over the weekend.

For a chuckle, here's my early attempt at reaching influencer status...  [doh]


RMW

 

[rmwarren]

RE: TSO MFT Aligned: short story, it works with an 80/20 MFT.

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Slightly longer story, all I did was rotate the adapters 180 degrees, so they hang upside down from the intended orientation, and replace the TSO bars with t-slot nuts. Also needed to use cap screws instead of the knobs on the hinge bracket because the hardware would have interfered with the stock MFT bracket due to flipping it over. I used them on the front adapter also since it seemed a little easier to align using a hex driver to reach under the guide rail and tighten. Also replaced the little MFT J-clip (that hangs over the Festool MFT extrusion t-slot lip) with an M6 nut.

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Aligned using a couple dogs, I couldn't slip a 5 thou shim between the guide rail and a 460mm square.

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I see myself using this mostly when setting up for a run of cabinet panels or similar repeated plywood ripping. I have too much stuff stored directly behind the main work surface to have room for the hinge to pivot, so I can't just leave it set up. Day-to-day I'll probably stick with tall dogs and guide rail clips for most cuts.

Overall, another typically great TSO product.

RMW

 

[rmwarren]

Riffing on narrow ripping guides, I printed & Shaper'd up a design that's been bouncing around my head. The long, slotted guides were made longer than needed, then with the printed stops pressed together cut to length, establishing a zero reference point.

Then using the two stops and gage blocks or whatever to set the distance apart, it's fast to get them set accurately. Ready to cut 40mm:

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Close enough:

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Max capacity is ~16".

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For longer cuts I'll probably use the Woodpeckers story stick to set the gap, but I expect to mostly use them for fairly narrow stuff. The real benefit is not so much micrometer precision on large panels but rather getting parallel cuts on small stock.

RMW

 

[rmwarren]

Winter is time for fiddling with TS ripping setup on the MFT. I finally figured out how to permanently attach some tall dogs to the MFT in a way that they aren't in the way when not in use and retain dead nuts alignment with the MFT hole pattern. The short story:


In more detail, the MFT setup evolved over time into a quasi-modular system of tops in increments of 96mm, as shown 6X by 8X 96mm (576mm by 768mm). Most often I use 2 tops but with 6-7 sets of legs & connectors it can Frankenstein into lots of configurations. Nuances:

> There is a single additional row of holes on 48mm centers in each direction, 192mm in from the edge, courtesy of the Parf Guide system.

> By chance when using 20mm tall dogs in the offset row of holes it's 182mm to the edge of the MFT, and the TS guide rails measure 185mm, so the saw kerf lands 3mm past the edge.

> Also by chance, the 1515 extrusion profile is ~38mm wide, so the first row of holes (@48mm OC from the edge) is perfectly aligned with the inside edge of the 80/20.

SO... I realized I could print up simple blocks with a 20mm through hole and repurpose a couple UJK dogs and Bingo! drop-down dogs in the exact locations I needed them for ripping.

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Dunno why this never occurred to me before. I'm printing up 6 or 8 copies now to scatter them around under the MFT tops 

The MFT recently relocated to the center of the work area, giving a lot more options for setups to rip material.

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There's a little router table top cantilevered off one edge (doubling for ripping stock support) along with a couple of quick connect extensions also for stock support. There's room enough to process ~48" long material, anything larger would require extending something out the open doors, so springtime.

I'd really like to incorporate the VacSys in somehow, but I haven't come up with any way that it won't just be in the way most of the time. Love to hear some suggestions.

Thanks,

RMW

 

[tsmi243]

This is my favorite part of the forum, right here

Thanks for posting.  I need to get some of my MFT mods on here, they might be *almost* this entertaining

 

[rmwarren]

This is my favorite part of the forum, right here

Thanks for posting.  I need to get some of my MFT mods on here, they might be *almost* this entertaining

Love to see them. Often I think I'm just blabbering to myself on some of this stuff.

Shouldn't be difficult to add this drop down dog to any MFT, undermount a printed collar with a couple screws up into the MDF.

RMW

 

[gregnations@gmail.com]

You are a wizard. This thread is fantastic.

 

[rmwarren]

Thanks [member=78551]done4now[/member] but "wizard"?  [embarassed]

The original design, attached to the side of the extrusion, proved to be fiddly since the dog holes might be offset from the 80/20 by a few thou. The redesigned part has a looser mounting fit and installs with a single thumbscrew so it's easy to move around.

I'm thinkin' "Under Dogs"...


RMW

 

[rmwarren]

Fifties in February is okay with me & seems to provide an incentive to get out in the shop and fiddle.  [thumbs up]

The modular MFT is settling into a usable configuration rather than an unending series of experiments. The most recent configuration includes the popup dogs in a more-or-less static location, a TS55 "chop saw" that's mostly out of the way so it can stay set up, a router table fence and an oversized Shaper workstation that's height adjustable. Everything repurposes the stock components developed over the past year or two.

TS55 rip station uses the popup dogs, narrow stock guides and extension arms for material support:

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Chop saw using a short (TSO) guide rail, some dogs, extension arms (also for offcut support) and Frankenstein hinges that combine some old Rip Guide brackets and 3D printed adapters:

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I'm thinking of ways to convert this idea to a simple 3D print that is height adjustable. The short guide rail needs support at all 4 corners when used in this manner.

The router table fence is made up of a piece of 1515 extrusion attached to small chunks of 1515 using 3D printed QD fasteners and a couple L brackets in UJK flush dogs:

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Lastly a Shaper tape board that uses a couple TSO dogs to align to the MFT 20/96 hole pattern and a couple more chunks of 1515 attached to the underside of the MFT extrusion, then a shelf that can slide up/down to adjust for whatever thickness of stock is being cut:

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I used the latter to hold the 1/2" MDF that needed slots for the router fence.

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95% of everything can be set up or adjusted using a 3/16" hex ball driver since everything uses 5/16" or 1/4" cap screws.

After the recent reorg where I set up the Mod MFT in the L configuration, and cleared off the tops of the other worksurfaces, it's much easier to actually work in the space. I don't expect 50 degrees for the rest of February & March, but spring is in sight and it's gonna be great when the shop can extend outside again.

Hope everyone's having a similarly mild winter.

RMW

 

[Michael Kellough]

Really like those Frankenstein-hinges!

 

[rmwarren]

Spent the day on fiddly stuff that's been on my list, these projects really illustrate the utility of Shaper Origin. Started with a Ryobi router base plate to match the diameter of the Pat Warner plate on my DeWalt.

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Followed by addition of an impromptu hole in an MFT worktop for the routers.

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And a plug for when it's not in use.

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The Ryobi is dedicated to a chamfer bit, gets used surprisingly often for small parts, so a battery-shaped base to secure it out of the way but ready to use.

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All together a fun & relaxing way to spend a Saturday.

RMW

 

[nclemmons]

Lots of great ideas!  Thanks!

 

[guybo]

They are walking fast and looking worried over at tso, nicely done

 

[rmwarren]

After overcomplicating the MFT fence (again...) I got an itch to simplify and had to scratch it this AM. Pictures=lots of words:


A simplified stop is next.

RMW

 

[Packard]

Thanks [member=78551]done4now[/member] but "wizard"?  [embarassed]

The original design, attached to the side of the extrusion, proved to be fiddly since the dog holes might be offset from the 80/20 by a few thou. The redesigned part has a looser mounting fit and installs with a single thumbscrew so it's easy to move around.

I'm thinkin' "Under Dogs"...


RMW

I took a different approach.  Simpler in execution, but maintains the 90 degree angle perfectly.  I will try to get a couple of photos posted when I get home.

Packard