silly thoughts

[bigarm]

I just recently bought a MFT/3 table and put a couple of coats of Danish oil on it.  Got started setting it up.  Next is to use it.  It looks so "new" that I am having a hard time thinking of cutting into it.  I suppose after the first cut I will feel better.  Does anyone use a sacrificial covering over it like a thin piece of rigid insulation?  I use some 2" for doing the long cuts with the track saw on sawhorses, but it seems like people just cut into the top.  Anyone have a hard time making that first cut?

 

[Kev]

I use scraps of thin ply and take care when depth setting and haven't cut mine at all. It's not a cost thing for me either .. just OCD. If I was using it to make a living I'd simply buy another so I had one that was pristine and one that was intended to sacrifice.

When I'm cutting down a full sheet I typically use a set of saw horses outside of the workshop .. so very little MFT cutting (if any) outside of the set path, making it easy to avoid penetrating the top.

 

[Holmz]

Just get stuck onto it.

 

[Stone Message]

We all go through this - just man up and use it as Festool intend.

Peter

 

[Kev]

 

[Stone Message]

For some reason I was reminded of this video which should help the OP !

(Edit) The original video would not play as the YouTube channel creator does not allow embedding.

Here is another one instead.


Peter

 

[chrisrosenb]

I just recently bought a MFT/3 table and put a couple of coats of Danish oil on it.  Got started setting it up.  Next is to use it.  It looks so "new" that I am having a hard time thinking of cutting into it.  I suppose after the first cut I will feel better.  Does anyone use a sacrificial covering over it like a thin piece of rigid insulation?  I use some 2" for doing the long cuts with the track saw on sawhorses, but it seems like people just cut into the top.  Anyone have a hard time making that first cut?

I have several MFTs. The only one that has saw cuts in it, is one that I bought used that already had cuts in it. 1/2" foam insulation is cheap & works great as a backer.

 

[Peterm]

I routed a ~9mm deep channel into the MFT top where the cut line is and inset a strip of 9mm MR MDF held in with double-sided tape - easy to replace when it gets a bit worn, and if you make it wide enough (I didn't, but intend to soon) it'll really help when making bevel cuts.

Cheers, Pete

 

[rst]

I had been using a sacrificial piece of 1/4" masonite to cut on but recently finally cut a dovetail key slot that I insert a UHMP key into. 

 

[Bob Marino]

While you can certainly use some type of backing to protect your MFT top, these tops were meant to, or rather can take getting multiple shallow cuts without realistically shortening the longevity of the top. The tops can be reversed side to side as well as flipped over, so unless you get very  careless and make multiple deep slices in the top, you and the top will be fine.

Bob

 

[bigarm]

Thanks for the reality checks!

 

[Hnnguyen85]

I don't have an MFT table but do have an MFT style top that's used as an outfeed table plus work table. I never hesitated to cut into it, maybe the fact that I can have a new table made at work for the price of a sheet of MDF made cutting into it easier for me.

 

[narrowboatboy]

We all go through this - just man up and use it as Festool intend.

well said Peter