Author Topic: BF/MFT Build (Read 28513 times)

Dusty.Tools · « **Reply #60 on:** November 17, 2019, 04:57 PM »

The logic makes sense, and reassures me that I can be more flexible in the size I go with!

Dusty.Tools · « **Reply #61 on:** November 19, 2019, 02:57 AM »

@AtomicRyan - what’s the clearance between your 1530 extrusion and the shelf? I’m guessing 3” to allow your arm to reach the underside of the top...

Ben

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sandy · « **Reply #62 on:** November 19, 2019, 11:17 AM »

@Dusty.Tools

Quote

As an aside - Does anyone know if the placement of the first row of holes is important?

A Festool MFT has them placed 70mm edge to center for the first row. Then all other rows are 96mm. With the last also being 70mm.

Your information is (slightly) incorrect, at least with respect to actual MFT/3 replacement tops. Actually, the overall size of an MFT/3 top is 718mm x 1102mm. There are 7 rows of holes, with 11 holes in each row. While you are correct that the holes are each 20mm and that they are 96mm center-to-center, the corner holes are actually centered at 71mm from each edge. The edges of the corner holes are then 61mm from each edge. Doing the math you wind up with 122mm + 20mm + 6x96mm = 718mm by 122mm + 20mm + 10x96mm = 1102mm.

As far as whether these dimensions are "important", the question is whether you are building your own table or whether you are replacing the top on an existing MFT/3. If the latter, then you might as well make the replacement top fit.

Sandy

Dusty.Tools · « **Reply #63 on:** November 19, 2019, 10:08 PM »

Quote from: sandy on November 19, 2019, 11:17 AM

@Dusty.Tools

Quote
As an aside - Does anyone know if the placement of the first row of holes is important?

A Festool MFT has them placed 70mm edge to center for the first row. Then all other rows are 96mm. With the last also being 70mm.

Your information is (slightly) incorrect, at least with respect to actual MFT/3 replacement tops. Actually, the overall size of an MFT/3 top is 718mm x 1102mm. There are 7 rows of holes, with 11 holes in each row. While you are correct that the holes are each 20mm and that they are 96mm center-to-center, the corner holes are actually centered at 71mm from each edge. The edges of the corner holes are then 61mm from each edge. Doing the math you wind up with 122mm + 20mm + 6x96mm = 718mm by 122mm + 20mm + 10x96mm = 1102mm.

As far as whether these dimensions are "important", the question is whether you are building your own table or whether you are replacing the top on an existing MFT/3. If the latter, then you might as well make the replacement top fit.

Sandy

I stand correct

But I think I got my answer, I'm not replacing an MFT/3 top, I'm building my own table.

AtomicRyan · « **Reply #64 on:** November 20, 2019, 09:51 AM »

Quote from: Dusty.Tools on November 19, 2019, 02:57 AM

@AtomicRyan - what’s the clearance between your 1530 extrusion and the shelf? I’m guessing 3” to allow your arm to reach the underside of the top...

Ben

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I struggled with this for a couple of reasons:

1. I needed my table to be a specific height given the leveling casters so it would work as an outfeed table for my table saw.

2. I needed enough room in my sysport columns to hold a sys1, sys2, and sys3. (That's how I like to stack my systainers)

3. Obviously, I needed access to the bottom of the top for fixturing and cleaning.

4. I knew I was going to use a guide rail pivot and needed enough height there so that the guide rail wouldn't interfere with my drawers when the pivot was up.

In the end, I compromised with 2.75" of clearance. It's not enough. I can't really reach the center of the shelf with my hand... But, I think I have enough access for it to be ok.

Dusty.Tools · « **Reply #65 on:** November 20, 2019, 02:26 PM »

Quote from: AtomicRyan on November 20, 2019, 09:51 AM

Quote from: Dusty.Tools on November 19, 2019, 02:57 AM
@AtomicRyan - what’s the clearance between your 1530 extrusion and the shelf? I’m guessing 3” to allow your arm to reach the underside of the top...

Ben

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I struggled with this for a couple of reasons:

1. I needed my table to be a specific height given the leveling casters so it would work as an outfeed table for my table saw.

2. I needed enough room in my sysport columns to hold a sys1, sys2, and sys3. (That's how I like to stack my systainers)

3. Obviously, I needed access to the bottom of the top for fixturing and cleaning.

4. I knew I was going to use a guide rail pivot and needed enough height there so that the guide rail wouldn't interfere with my drawers when the pivot was up.

In the end, I compromised with 2.75" of clearance. It's not enough. I can't really reach the center of the shelf with my hand... But, I think I have enough access for it to be ok.

Thank you! I’ve basically got the same thoughts running through my head.

- I want the top to align with all my other benches (32.75”). 4” caster + 28” frame + 3/4” top.
- I want enough room for the track saw Systainer box. Three boxes for Domino. Maybe a column for router box.
- I brought the same guide rail, thanks for the recommendation!

I think anymore than 3” is a challenge to the storage capacity. I will adjust once I start assembling.

Thanks for the info.

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AtomicRyan · « **Reply #66 on:** November 20, 2019, 05:40 PM »

Fence is done... went pretty smoothly and the 90 is good.

RightAngleDesign · « **Reply #67 on:** November 20, 2019, 07:54 PM »

That's about as slick as it gets! Happy to play a small role in this project.

08G8V8 · « **Reply #68 on:** November 22, 2019, 02:25 PM »

Ryan, how easy are those casters to spin the height adjuster to lift the table to engage the caster? I see they make a version with a pop-out ratcheting handle to adjust height, but of course are quite a bit more expensive.

AtomicRyan · « **Reply #69 on:** November 24, 2019, 09:56 AM »

Quote from: 08G8V8 on November 22, 2019, 02:25 PM

Ryan, how easy are those casters to spin the height adjuster to lift the table to engage the caster? I see they make a version with a pop-out ratcheting handle to adjust height, but of course are quite a bit more expensive.

By hand, not easy once they are weight loaded... But there's a 1/4" nut you can use a wrench on - that's what I do.

Michael Kellough · « **Reply #70 on:** November 24, 2019, 12:10 PM »

Naturally, when weighted the height adjustment screw becomes more difficult to turn.

Just use a lever and fulcrum to take a little weight off while you turn. I use a set under a 700# etching press. Using the lever it was a piece of cake to level.

AtomicRyan · « **Reply #71 on:** December 06, 2019, 05:29 PM »

Ugh... Part 3 is finally done:

I think Part 4 (and last, promise!) will be more exciting... I'm integrating a bunch of stuff from TSO, some stuff I made, etc... As well as going over the pros and cons of a 4x8 MFT table.

Peter Durand · « **Reply #72 on:** December 07, 2019, 09:36 AM »

Oh man, that is well done. Thanks for posting..it gave me a few ideas to try.
Cheers,
Peter

Dusty.Tools · « **Reply #73 on:** December 07, 2019, 12:32 PM »

Very inspiring, thank you!

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Gregor · « **Reply #74 on:** December 08, 2019, 12:38 PM »

@AtomicRyan very nice, please keep the videos coming.

kpeluso · « **Reply #75 on:** December 25, 2019, 06:00 PM »

This is great. Thanks for documenting this and sharing. Any plans of putting together rough plans/parts list? I’d be happy to pay for something like that.

AtomicRyan · « **Reply #76 on:** December 27, 2019, 09:47 PM »

I will for sure... I've got one more video to finish after the holidays and then I'll clean up the plans, etc...

Thanks!

nicholam77 · « **Reply #77 on:** January 09, 2020, 12:50 PM »

Hey AtomicRyan,

Your bench is turning out fantastic! Fellow Garage Journal-er here. Question for you on the RightAngleDesign guide rail pivot if you don't mind... how much of the tracksaw rail does the mount on the pivot side use up? Or maybe a better way to ask, what's this dimension?

RightAngleDesign · « **Reply #78 on:** January 09, 2020, 10:09 PM »

Quote from: nicholam77 on January 09, 2020, 12:50 PM

Hey AtomicRyan,

Your bench is turning out fantastic! Fellow Garage Journal-er here. Question for you on the RightAngleDesign guide rail pivot if you don't mind... how much of the tracksaw rail does the mount on the pivot side use up? Or maybe a better way to ask, what's this dimension?

Hello! Those are ~8 3/8" long (~213mm)

Cheers,
Rob
Right Angle Design

nicholam77 · « **Reply #79 on:** January 13, 2020, 07:28 PM »

@RightAngleDesign Thanks!

AtomicRyan · « **Reply #80 on:** January 16, 2020, 05:24 PM »

Hey guys... Sorry I fell off the face of the planet. I had a computer crash over the holidays and I'm just not recovering from that.

BUT, I was able to edit part 4 of the video this week and it's now live. You can check it out here:

I am really happy with the bench. I've actually been using it for a month or so now and it just really suits my needs.

nfk · « **Reply #81 on:** January 16, 2020, 10:27 PM »

Bench and videos are both great. Is the mdf staying flat? No problem with sagging between the framework?

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AtomicRyan · « **Reply #82 on:** January 16, 2020, 10:46 PM »

It’s sealed pretty well... and with the bracing, there’s really no place for it to go. It’s as flat as I can measure anyway...

punkmft · « **Reply #83 on:** January 16, 2020, 11:39 PM »

I cannot wait to move into a house with a space large enough to hold something inspired by this build (a proper shop rather than space 'shared' with a car in the garage). Thanks for the amazing amount of detail across the 4 videos!

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DynaGlide · « **Reply #84 on:** January 17, 2020, 09:23 AM »

@AtomicRyan Great video series Ryan. You use a lot of the same tools and gadgets as me to get the most out of your MFT top. Especially liked the @TSO_Products plug since their products don't get enough accolades outside of this forum. I admit I haven't had a real need for the angle functionality of the MTR-18, but it's there if I do some day. As it is, it's my most expensive really nice square.

As a fellow mechanic first, woodworker second it's refreshing to see that you are headed down a similar thought process as it applies to the craft.

Shawnrader · « **Reply #85 on:** January 17, 2020, 11:10 AM »

Awesome build, I've followed it all the way through. Plan to copy it one day when I have a large enough space.

Mike Goetzke · « **Reply #86 on:** January 18, 2020, 01:09 PM »

@AtomicRyan

Enjoyed watching your progress. Very impressive to say the least. I'm in a garage/shop and it would be nice to have everything so close and handy as you have on this bench build.

In your last video you made some comments that echo some of my thoughts. When showing your stash of TSO tools you stated that if you knew how versatile/functional the square etc. were you wouldn't need the MFT fence, perfectly milled dog holes etc.

I have been a serious hobbyist and used Eurekazone track saw system for probably 20 years. Just about a year or so ago I decided to buy Makita cordless and a TS75. I had three slabs milled to my design that make a 4' x 8' sawing/clamping/assembly table that I can assemble and break down in less than 5 minutes.

I bought several dogs to try to work using the MFT dog holes as many do. Around the same time I also made my first TSO purchase a GRS 16 PE square. I tried working with the dogs but keep going back to TSO square and have added the TSO parallel guide system. Maybe because this is similar style working I did with the Eurekazone.

I don't think one way is better than the other (just the toys are a little different.) - just wondering have others had hard time transitioning to MFT-hole and bench dog process of woodworking?

Thanks
Mike

Cut Once · « **Reply #87 on:** February 08, 2020, 11:17 AM »

What brand drawer slides did you use for your build?

AtomicRyan · « **Reply #88 on:** March 12, 2020, 12:09 PM »

Quote from: Cut Once on February 08, 2020, 11:17 AM

What brand drawer slides did you use for your build?

Accuride soft close. I always take the mechanism out of one side to make the drawer easier to open.

AtomicRyan · « **Reply #89 on:** March 12, 2020, 12:11 PM »

I recently got a chance to really use this bench in production. To put it shortly, it's amazing. I thought the overall size would have some real drawbacks, but to be honest - I didn't experience any. This thing makes cabinet building a real efficient process... This video only covers part 1, but I was able to build the whole thing in less than five days of part time work and that's crazy fast for me.