unboxing and setting up MFT3

[slimm]

I collect my new mft3 today, any tips and advice on setting it up aswell as any accessorys that will be usefull on or with the mft3?

 

[Atonwa]

Here's a couple things I've learned from set up and using for a few months now. I of course tried to set up the whole thing without reading the instructions  [smile]

- Don't remove the stops in the track on the front and rear as they are supposedly set up from the factory. Not sure why I took these out but I did. Also use a nice square to ensure stops are set correct.

- I know spending even more money on it is not appetizing but the stabilizer bars make a huge difference in stability. Another option I finally sprung for was the slop stop from Toolnut. Takes all the wiggle out of where the rail attaches to the front guide.

- I recommend the QWAS dogs from Bob Marino or the Parf dogs from Lee Valley. Both are excellent and I honestly don't use the adjustable angle unit at all anymore. Just pop the dogs in for perfect 90 cuts or even 45 degree cuts. Gives you more room on table to work and allows you to work on smaller stock closer to the front.

I love my MFT3 as it is just so versatile especially since I never do the same project twice.

 

[rst]

Get or make yourself a slop stop to remove deflection where the end that raises rides when down.

 

[HarveyWildes]

I'd recommend clamping elements.  If you can still find the kit of MFT accessories, I think it's well worth it.  I've used everything in the kit so far except for the knobs, and I can see using them at some point.

 

[ShadyMaple]

Well - a couple of clamps for sure.  I'd spring the money for the auto-clamps - not the manual ones.  You'll need at least one, but a pair is helpful.

I'll second some parf dogs.  If you want to move your guide rail around somewhere other than the factory stops - they make setup quick and easy.  I tend to use dogs to line up my cuts more than the provided guide rail.

I'd suggest investing in a parallel guide system.  You just missed the Woodpecker's system - but Senneca makes a great system.  I personally keep one of those on my rail and use a Woodpeckers rule and rules stop to set my size, place it under the rail upside down, and set my flag stop or senneca rail.  You can find some other posts on the forum about using a rule stop to do this.

Good luck!  It's expensive, but I haven't regretted mine so far!

 

[Shane Holland]

Some videos.

 

[sancho57]

First and foremost get yerself a known square square , Anderson ply makes a good one that's not expensive if yer in the states.

If ya don't nave a acurate square your MFT will never get squared up properly, unless u decide to use quads dogs or equivalent

 

[Naildrivingman]

First and foremost get yerself a known square square , Anderson ply makes a good one that's not expensive if yer in the states.

If ya don't nave a acurate square your MFT will never get squared up properly, unless u decide to use quads dogs or equivalent

JW,
I'm curious, do you trust the machining of the MFT holes in both axis to square up the rail and the protractor?  I had not considered using dogs to do that, but what a simplistically beautiful idea. I may buy a high quality square, but I may seek out a non wood based device. My shop is not climate controlled and here in the north our temps range from -20 F to 100 F with humidity from near zero to 85%. I'm not sure how well the Anderson square would fare in those conditions.

 

[rst]

Naildriver, the Anderson square is phenolic (think curcuit boards and concrete form ply) impregnated euro ply, so it should be unaffected by humidity.  I do not personally have one, I bought the Woodpeckers MFT square because of the high edges, but it has great reviews fro the foggers that have the Anderson.

 

[ShadyMaple]

If you want a square - I'd consider TSO.  Expensive - but looks like a great addition to the MFT.

 

[Gregor]

- Don't remove the stops in the track on the front and rear as they are supposedly set up from the factory. Not sure why I took these out but I did. Also use a nice square to ensure stops are set correct.

I have the different view to exactly do what you did (prior to the first cut into the top):

The stops might have been factory set, but IMHO it is better to set them to a known good location yourself after you squared up the rail to the fence in a repeatable manner (using dogs in the holes, as one of the possibilities).

 

[Birdhunter]

I have found the MFT holes to be lined up with great accuracy, surely enough for woodworking. I use Qwas dogs and a Woodpecker framing square (big square). The Woodpecker MFT square is also great. I added leg braces and the SlopStop gadget to my pair of MFTs. I've never used the MFT protractor.

Be really careful setting the depth on the track saw. Many people have cut deeply into their MFT. I set my TS55 so that it just kisses the MFT with the wood under the rail. Both my MFTs sagged after a year. I just flip them over.

 

[Jmacpherson]

I recently went through this with new MFT and struggled to square up the fence and rail following Festool's method even with videos and an accurate machined square.

By watching some Youtube videos (mainly Peter Halle's) on how to use dogs & many threads here I found a way that worked for me. I had mine squared up in less than 5min.

Trick I found from one of the videos is to use the rear fence as your straight edge between the dogs and rail otherwise you end up with your kerf right through a line of holes.

 

[Sparktrician]

I look at the factory as just a starting point.  A set of (4) QWAS dogs and a 48mm x 48mm x 600mm piece of plywood (for dimensional stability) serves well for aligning my MFT.  I start with the most stable element (the top) and work toward the least stable element (the rail).  I then align the next most stable element (the fence) to the top using the QWAS dogs, then set the rail using the 50mm x 50mm x 600 mm chunk of plywood and the QWAS dogs.  With this procedure, I can set the feather keys to lock in any interval needed, so long as they keep the rail perpendicular with the fence.  The feather keys come from the factory set to 223mm measured from the right end of the front rail, and, and 189mm measured from the left end of the rear rail.  This places the blade precisely between a row of front-to-back holes.  The cut line can be placed anywhere, but the best place is centered between a row of front-to-back holes fur best dust collection.  ( I do have a Woodpeckers MFT Square for quick setups, but one need not go to that expense...)  A yellow sticky Post It note is wonderful for fine-tuning the feather keys.  YMMV... 

 

[sancho57]

First and foremost get yerself a known square square , Anderson ply makes a good one that's not expensive if yer in the states.

If ya don't nave a acurate square your MFT will never get squared up properly, unless u decide to use quads dogs or equivalent

JW,
I'm curious, do you trust the machining of the MFT holes in both axis to square up the rail and the protractor?  I had not considered using dogs to do that, but what a simplistically beautiful idea. I may buy a high quality square, but I may seek out a non wood based device. My shop is not climate controlled and here in the north our temps range from -20 F to 100 F with humidity from near zero to 85%. I'm not sure how well the Anderson square would fare in those conditions.

I'm not sure how the Anderson ply square would work under those conditions either. Another option is the woodpeckers 1281 square. It's the square we used in the first festool end user class I took. , I was having trouble squaring up my MFT when I first got it.
I had a square I thought was square but it really wasn't.. I pulled my hair out trying to get it square.