what is the difference

[Alan m]

i was given a ex display replacment mft top for a 1080. i took this so that i can mount this to my chop saw stand (seen in another thread) in stead of buying a new mft. this will fill the gap until i get one.
my question is what is the diference between the 1080 and mft 3 top. i think QWAS dogs dont fit .

 

[peter halle]

The hole size and spacing are the same.  The dimensions of the top are different.

 

[chrisrosenb]

To add to what Peter stated. From what I have read else where.
Some of the early MFT tops had 19mm+ holes instead of 20mm holes.

 

[jonny round boy]

To add to what Peter stated. From what I have read else where.
Some of the early MFT tops had 19mm+ holes instead of 20mm holes.

I think that's slightly misleading, and implies the holes were nearer 19mm than 20mm. I don't think that was ever the case. They may have been 19.8 or 19.9mm rather than bang on 20mm, but I've never heard of them being much less than that.

 

[chrisrosenb]

To add to what Peter stated. From what I have read else where.
Some of the early MFT tops had 19mm+ holes instead of 20mm holes.

I think that's slightly misleading, and implies the holes were nearer 19mm than 20mm. I don't think that was ever the case. They may have been 19.8 or 19.9mm rather than bang on 20mm, but I've never heard of them being much less than that.

No Jonny, I did not imply anything. 19mm+ means that the holes were less than 20mm.

 

[Qwas]

Peter seems to have the right answer. Qwas Dogs should fit the MFT/3 fine as many of my customers are already using them on MFT/3.

I've had many people measure the holes in the MFT. It seems the smaller holes are from older tables, the earlier the table was made, the smaller the holes. I've had measurements from 19.85 to 20.25 mm. When they switched over to the MFT/3 the holes size stayed consistent with the MFT holes of the same time.

 

[Jesse Cloud]

.... the earlier the table was made, the smaller the holes. I've had measurements from 19.85 to 20.25 mm.

I wonder if the MDF in the MFT could swell a small amount over time due to moisture and stress?  0.15mm is not much in my book...

 

[chrisrosenb]

.... the earlier the table was made, the smaller the holes. I've had measurements from 19.85 to 20.25 mm.

I wonder if the MDF in the MFT could swell a small amount over time due to moisture and stress?  0.15mm is not much in my book...

Maybe Festool is using better bits now or changing them more often.
As abrasive as MDF is, it would not take long to wear a bit down that amount.

 

[Corwin]

.... the earlier the table was made, the smaller the holes. I've had measurements from 19.85 to 20.25 mm.

I wonder if the MDF in the MFT could swell a small amount over time due to moisture and stress?  0.15mm is not much in my book...

It can, and they do.  But, 0.15mm is about three times anything I've seen with these MFT holes.  My biggest concern is that the moisture will make the MDF sag somewhat, and that in turn makes the holes between the edges and the center become out of plumb and tilt towards the center enough to mess up the ability to use them for alignment purposes.  I need some support!  [wink]

 

[Qwas]

I think Chris has it, wear on the tools. One customer with the smallest holes has had the Qwas Dogs for over 2 years now and they still fit good. His MFT is kept in the garage. If it was a moisture issue I think he would be complaining of the fit instead of praising the dogs.

 

[Deansocial]

.... the earlier the table was made, the smaller the holes. I've had measurements from 19.85 to 20.25 mm.

I wonder if the MDF in the MFT could swell a small amount over time due to moisture and stress?  0.15mm is not much in my book...

Maybe Festool is using better bits now or changing them more often.
As abrasive as MDF is, it would not take long to wear a bit down that amount.

I who think they would be using PCD bits

 

[Alan m]

so qwas dogs and other acessories will easily fit the 1080 top and be as acurate as a mft 3 top.

 

[Qwas]

so qwas dogs and other acessories will easily fit the 1080 top and be as acurate as a mft 3 top.

The Qwas Dogs came out just before the MFT/3 so they were always made to fit the MFTs. Other accessories that use the holes should work fine. Anything that clamps to the profiles around the table will not work because of the difference in the aluminum extrusions.

 

[jmbfestool]

The main difference I think is that the railling around the top is different I think the rest is same aint it?!?!

MFT3
http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?action=dlattach%3Btopic=2316.0%3Battach=3890%3Bimage

1080
http://festoolownersgroup.com/CoppermineMain/albums/userpics/MFT2_Profile.jpg

Also the 1080 has black legs and the MFT3 has grey legs

JMB

P.S. Just saying I googled for these images and it was all festoolownersgroup websites!!!!

 

[Qwas]

No, the size of the table changed slightly. The following numbers were pulled from the 2007 and 2008/09 catalogs.

Table dimensions -

MFT 800: 590 x 725 mm
MFT 1080: 725 x 1165 mm
MFT/3: 773 x 1157 mm

Max working area -

MFT 800: 510 x 625 mm
MFT 1080: 725 x 1085 mm
MFT/3: 718 x 1102 mm

 

[Wood_Junkie]

Various other random differences...

MFT3 is higher than the 1080, by about 3 inches.  But many people have put the 1080 on risers.
 
The MFT3 work surface is *slightly* larger than the 1080.

The MFT3 weighs less than the 1080.

The MFT3 protractor attaches to the v-groove profile.  The 1080 protractor attaches to two of the MFT holes (you can vary the location as needed).

The MFT3 can be attached to another MFT3 from any side.  The 1080 can be attached wide-side to wide-side, but not short-side to short-side, unless you fold up one set of the legs (otherwise they interfere with eachother).

The MFT3 is only compatible attaching to another MFT3.  The 1080 can be attached to nother 1080, and also be attached to a MFT800 (or even two).

 

[Corwin]

No, the size of the table changed slightly. The following numbers were pulled from the 2007 and 2008/09 catalogs.

Table dimensions -

MFT 800: 590 x 725 mm
MFT 1080: 725 x 1165 mm
MFT/3: 773 x 1157 mm

Max working area -

MFT 800: 510 x 625 mm
MFT 1080: 725 x 1085 mm
MFT/3: 718 x 1102 mm

Steve,

I think you've made some mistakes with the above information -- you've compared the table size of the MFTs with the overall size of the MFT/3.  The MFT/3 is a little smaller than the MFT1080.  Festool claims the MFT/3 has a larger working area than that of the MFT1080 because the new fence can be positioned further back, not because there is more room -- slightly misleading. 

 

[Qwas]

Corwin, That is what I thought too, the MFT/3 was to be slightly smaller.

I went back and rechecked the numbers in the 2008/09 catalog. What I listed in the above post are correct.

 

[Corwin]

Corwin, That is what I thought too, the MFT/3 was to be slightly smaller.

I went back and rechecked the numbers in the 2008/09 catalog. What I listed in the above post are correct.

Steve, you shouldn't believe everything you read.   [wink]

The MFT/3 has a 7 by 11 grid of holes.
The MFT 1080 has a 7 by 12 grid of holes.

The MFT 1080's table is both longer and wider than the MFT/3's table.  These tables all share the 96mm hole spacing, but they do not share the same amount of material between their outer holes and their outer edges -- that's why the shorter sides of the two tables are different sizes. 

 

[Alan m]

very good . i will proceed with my plan to mount this mft1080 top to my default chop saw and stand. i was going to make it level with the saw and have one row of the hole aligned with the fence so that some qwas dogs could be used as a fence and the clamping elements could hold it against the dogs.