TS55 + MFT/3 Not cutting Straight.

I looked at my height adjuster again and it appears that the flanges engage the plastic body behind the moving part and lock the adjuster into place.
 
I don't know where the flanges you mentioned are? Mine is effectively just a flat piece of plastic and the metal part is also flat, apart from where it wraps around the edges of the plastic. Have you got something different?
 
Kuffs said:
I don't know where the flanges you mentioned are? Mine is effectively just a flat piece of plastic and the metal part is also flat, apart from where it wraps around the edges of the plastic. Have you got something different?
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Those edges that wrap around plastic should be snug to prevent lateral movement. They are bent at about 60 deg. and supposed to register against plastic block in the same position every time when locked. You could either bend them more or add a shim (self adhesive slick tape) on the inside.
 
Oh I see, sorry. I have considered putting them in a vice to perform a delicate adjustment  [wink]. I have been a bit concerned about doing that, as I have only had the table for a week. Even when mine is locked, if I apply a bit of force, I can rock the adjuster. If yours fits snugly, that explains why you haven't seen the problem. Thank you for checking for me, as that casts a whole new light on things.
 
Kuffs said:
Oh I see, sorry. I have considered putting them in a vice to perform a delicate adjustment  [wink].
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I don't own MFT or Festool rail support, so my advice was purely theoretical. Be careful not to overdo it, I will not be held responsible for any damage.  [big grin] [poke] And it will void your warranty or whatever.  [big grin]
 
I'm getting confused, I thought I was still replying to Birdhunter  [big grin]. I'm at that age where I walk into a room and when I get there, I forget why I walked into the room in the first place  [embarassed] So Svar, thank you for your comments. Are you a Festool employee?
 
If you can move the bracket after tightening you need to adjust the locking nut.  I remember adjusting mine to make it tighter after setting up the first time.  Also, putting the bracket in a vise to bend the side brackets is not a good idea.  Trying to press the sides together would probably cause the bracket flat to bow without  bending the sides much.  I made my own slop stop (I have an advantage with all sorts of plastic material as we stock,distribute, and fab) and I make sure that when I set my bracket that I push it to one side (to right) as I tighten. 
 
rst said:
Also, putting the bracket in a vise to bend the side brackets is not a good idea.  Trying to press the sides together would probably cause the bracket flat to bow without  bending the sides much.
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Good point. Perhaps glue a shim on either plastic or metal part.
 
This is Birdhunter. I would suggest, as said above, putting the shims on the metal flanges of the height adjuster. In the USA, I can buy double sided tape. I'd use it to affix a thin metal or hard plastic shim to each side flange. My wife's credit card comes to mind as a candidate contributor.
 
Kuffs said:
Hi Birdhunter & grbmds, I have not got hold of the slop-stop. I am in the UK and it's not easy to get hold of here. However, I have today discovered what the problem is. I find it hard to believe others don't have this same issue. The front and rear brackets that the guide rail hinges, and at the front of the table sits on, have an enormous amount of play in them when they are unlocked to adjust the rail height. if you can imagine hinging the guide rail out of the way so that it's not on the  front adjustment bracket, then unlocking the front bracket as though you are going to adjust it's height.  Then lift the metal part of the bracket to its highest point and without locking it in place, rock the bracket from side to side. On mine, the bracket moves approximately 4-5mm side to side and is lockable in at any point between these measurements. when I first set the table up, I had the track sitting right down on the MDF top to cut the splinter guard for the first time. This means I also produced a kerf in the MDF which registered perfectly with the splinter guard. Once I lifted the track up to make some test cuts, the movement in the front and rear brackets must have occurred and unknowingly, I locked that movement into position and made the cuts. The higher the adjusters are raised the more pronounced the problem gets. I would definitely be interested in whether or not you have this same movement in your adjustment brackets? Thank you for persisting with this problem, I really appreciate your help.
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[member=64899]Kuffs[/member]

Your problem is being caused by the you doing your adjustments in the wrong order.

You need to release the back clamp, place the rail down on the material that you are going to cut and while holding the rail down flat lock the rear clamp. You then lift the front clamp into the rail at the correct height (if the rail sags add of piece of material of the same thickness to hold it up) and while holding the front clamp hard against the rail, so that it sits square, tighten the front clamp.

This way the rail guides are square to the rail, and the rail is parallel to the MFT, and will always finish in the same spot.

You have to repeat this procedure every time that you change the material thickness that you are cutting.
 
I"ve struggled getting my MFT to be consistently square for years. i've posted here about it, bought all sorts of helpers like woodpecker triangle, benchdog fence, etc but still it was inconsistent. This thread solved my problem!

I checked my rail holders and sure enough they had the slop that was described when moving up and down. I put a piece of blue painters tape on the plastic dovetail thing the metal part rides along and the slopped was removed. My first cut was absolutely square.

I don't think the blue tape will hold up long so I ordered some low friction tape of a few thicknesses to see if I can get a more permanent solution. I'm glad I happened across this thread finally, I had looked before and missed it.

I also just ordered some Benchdogs rail Guid Rail Dogs which might simply things even further, we'll see.
 
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