davestanton Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 I wanted a festool MFT but they were just too rich for me to jump at. Click the link to see what we are paying in Australia http://www.festool.com.au/mediandoweb/index.cfm?sLanguage=AUS-English&ID_O_TREE_GROUP=1625&PARENT=1662&AKTIVPROD=1 granted, the accessories are included in that price, but hey, that's a lot of money to find. I looked at all sorts of alternatives, checked what other forum members were using and after a couple of weeks came up with a design that would give me a fabrication table that had some mft compatibilities. I spent close to $100 for the materials. I will just throw up some pics and you can tell me what you think if you want to .http://dksphotograph...L/table3-XL.jpg http://dksphotograph.../M/table4-M.jpg http://dksphotograph.../M/table5-M.jpg http://dksphotograph.../M/table1-M.jpg http://dksphotograph.../M/table2-M.jpg http://dksphotograph.../M/table6-M.jpg http://dksphotograph.../M/clamps-M.jpg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petersb Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Dave, I think that it is great! Nice work! I think that I was watching you work on the top just yesterday or the tady before. I thought that it looked familiar. As far as what do I do if I want something that is too expensive, I do what it looks like you do, I build it. If I can't build it I have to wait and buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted August 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Dave, I think that it is great! Nice work! I think that I was watching you work on the top just yesterday or the tady before. I thought that it looked familiar. As far as what do I do if I want something that is too expensive, I do what it looks like you do, I build it. If I can't build it I have to wait and buy it. Thanks Brett. Some things I did in this project were. 1. make the top section in 2 pieces of 4 x 4 feet and they are just a snug fit, no glue, easier to lift off to clean out the frame section that supports them. 2. the outer section of the timber on the frame is 4 mm below the top of the mdf to try to save it from being sacrificed as the saw cuts through the mdf. 3. The cavity below the top needed to be 2 3/4 inches deep to allow the festool quick clamp to slide in. 4. all the holes needed to be 20mm to also work with festool anchoring products as well as other manufacturers dogs etc. 5. the holes had to be as close to a perfect 90 degree grid and same spacing as possible. I used a peg board as a template. The holes are at 4 inch centres. Clamp the pegboard down, drill a very shallow 1/4 hole to mark the position and then remove the pegboard and complete the holes with a 20mm speedbore. Very quick. After using speedbores for the past 25 years, I have developed an eye for keeping the drill perpendicular to the work surface so the result was very pleasing. 6. I wanted the finished job to be usable as an assembly table as well, that is why the holes do not come right across the top, rather they went length-ways to enable me to clamp my home made track onto 8 feet lengths of sheet goods. Talking about my home made track, I have nearly completed my system and I am very happy with the result and surprised how good a finish I get with it. I love a little innovation and a little money combined with a little recycling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 this might be a dum thing to say but it looks like a down draft table....is it that as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southwood Posted August 12, 2011 Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 Dave, I do the same thing as you. If I can't afford it, I build it. Table looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted August 12, 2011 Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 Excellent job on design and execution Dave!!! I may steal a bit of that idea when I finally have time to build my outfeed/assembly/router/bending table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodhack Posted August 12, 2011 Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 Nice job Dave! On a different slant to the topic, I can't figure out Festool's pricing strategy sometimes. I think they fairly price some items (tracks saws, screw guns, sanders, dust collectors) but some of their products are way out of whack price-wise(Miter saw, domino, and the MFT). I mean, I think Dave's table is way more versatile and it cost him $100 plus his time. $1000+ for a fancy card table with some holes in it. I know other pieces come with it but still.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted August 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 this might be a dum thing to say but it looks like a down draft table....is it that as well? Hi Duckkisser. It was not my intention to create a downdraft table, but it could be used as such. The table has 4 "cells" that are created by the support frame under the top mdf sections. Each cell is roughly 2 x 4 feet. The surface area is 8 square feet or in metric terms, 0.72 m square. There are 35 holes of 20mm, total surface area of the holes is .011 m square, so we have approximately 1/65 of the surface area or, nearly 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches that is vented. That would be close to a 5 inch circle which is a huge amount of air to pull. Added to that, the suction would be greatest at the point closest to where the DC or vac was connected. Ideally, it would be under the table, centered on the grid of holes. The cfm per hole would have to be worked out by someone who has a bit more knowledge about air pressure and resistance than I have. An interesting notion, but I think a vac connected directly to the tool being used on the table would be more effective, but that is just my supposition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davestanton Posted August 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2011 Nice job Dave! On a different slant to the topic, I can't figure out Festool's pricing strategy sometimes. I think they fairly price some items (tracks saws, screw guns, sanders, dust collectors) but some of their products are way out of whack price-wise(Miter saw, domino, and the MFT). I mean, I think Dave's table is way more versatile and it cost him $100 plus his time. $1000+ for a fancy card table with some holes in it. I know other pieces come with it but still.... Marty, have a look around Festool Australia's web site and let me know if you think the tools are fairly priced. At first glance, they look great, they are marketed extremely well and they tend to gloss over or not even mention things that some of their tools just don't do, but you come away with this warm feeling and thinking you must own them, my life will be complete if I owned a ute (Australian for pickup) full of festool. This afternoon I was at a store in Sydney that sells festool and other brands as well as dedicated shop equipment such as cabinet saws, jointers and bandsaws. It was eye opening to see how flimsy festool tools were when sat side by side with the cabinet saws. I must also mention to be fair that Festool does state that they are the portable option and for that purpose, I doubt there is any better alternative. Your card table comment runs true with this but I would probably like a card table if I was on site all the time. Here is another thing to consider. yesterday, I purchased online from Amazon, a Bosch 5 metre x 35mm vac hose. I read the reviews and they were enlightening. One reviewer stated that the festool and Bosch hoses were almost identical and fitted festool machines, also claiming that the German engineers who design these products move around from company to company and design becomes very similar. The Bosch hose was half the price. I will let people know how it performs further down the track. It's all good fun, and fortunately I have the time to research these items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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