I consider these kinds of videos as a gift. Innovative folks willing to share their great ideas in the trade. This is how we all evolve together. Thank you man! :)
This is a great design that I’ve been using for years. You got me into the 20mm mft system and so many great accessories have come out since you put this on you tube! I’ve modified mine with T tracks, Kreg clamps, and bench dogs - the possibilities are endless. I checked your video out again because I’m going to have another one made. Hope you are doing well all these years later! I’m doing custom work down here on the Monterey peninsula. Happy new year!
Steve, thank you for sharing that idea. I downloaded the plans and built the table by hand using my router. Worked out great! I've been using the table for about a year now.
This is just what I have been looking for. I knew there had to be a more economical solution to Festool's MFT system. $600.00 plus for a machined MDF and a set of cheap aluminum legs. I can't thank you enough.
Hey Steve. Nice job! In the video you refer to the bench dog holes as 22mm, but the plan says 20.1mm. Significant, as I have been trying to find a spiral upcut router bit to cut some matching holes of my own. Presumably the plan is correct (I'm headed to a CNC shop later this morning). Thanks for making this available.
Thanks for the reply Steve, much appreciated. I live in Canada and got quotes for $160 - $220 Canadian. The $160 is about equal to $100 US but does not include the MDF. You can get the MDF almost for free at Home Depot, sometimes they have off-cuts from large orders. Great idea and great video. Thanks for sharing.
you coul glue a narrow strip of 1 inch board around the underneath of the table perimeter ( say 1-2 " wide like a picture frame ) to offer more purchase of sideways mounted wood stock and stiffness
Nice take on it. I am amazed how Festool have taken the credit for inventing the table and now also the bench dog LOL. Your improvements add some useful extra functionality.
Hey Steve, Just wanted to mention that I just made one of the these tables and found out quickly that you cannot use the Festool Clamps if you make the top 1" thick. The clamps wont go through the holes due to the thickness of the top. I just turned the table over and routed 1/4 " from around the holes and it worked fine. Thanks for the video I really like the design.
Hello, I really like this top. I have been vacillating on spending over $1200 for the Festool MFT and Extension table but cringe at the cost. Do you find you can perform as many functions on this table as one can do with the MFT by Festool?
I love this idea and that's where I'm heading cause a portable solutions is what i need and it doesn't get more portable that that. But i wonder, what if you want to work on a door or something longer than the table? I guess it's where you've compromised here? Or am i missing something? Still hesitating between this and the Paul Workbench. :-/ Thank you.
How accurate should the MFT table be? For instance the Festool MFT and such. Reason i ask is i purchased jig to make the grid and was not happy with the accuracy. I could not get past a 6x16 hole layout with out seeing runoff due to the guides locking in the jig had some slop. I might get it to be better if i add around the template guide to tighten the tollerances. But when i contact the manufacture they claim that tables are never accurate its the fence system that makes the accuracy and i was expecting too much even thought there jig was at a premium price off $199. Purchased this one due to UJK was out of stock but now i have one but have not used it yet. This was the response when i gave them the numbers that either the jig was off or the supplied Template guide was off. Hello Cliff. There is a big misconception with MFT tables and tops. The accuracy of a Festool MFT table comes from the actual rails that are part of the table itself. All of the Festool attachments are attached and referenced off of the rails. Not the table. If you think about all the “connections” from the router to the actual hole there are a lot of variables at play Router bit. Bushing to router. Bushing to template. Indexing pin to template. Indexing pin to hole. Locating pins to the template. Locating pins to the workpiece. potential runout in the router collet There has to be sufficient clearance between each of those for them to work. As you add holes, that “stackup” error will grow. The only way to avoid that would be to key off of the same location for each hole. Essentially what a CNC does. You want to make sure that there is no movement in the template when drilling the first holes. The template must be firmly clampled in place. The Festool MFT table is a clamping/work table. Without the additional fence system, it cannot be used to make accurate cuts. Once you install the Fence system, you must calibrate the track to the fence. At no time are the holes a part of that calibration as the holes are only used for clamps and stop etc. Even if done on a CNC, with the movements and wear in MDF/wood, even the Festool table is not very accurate. Check the Festool marketing data and you will not find anything about using the holes to make cuts, only for work holding. The accuracy comes from the MFT table rails.
In the SF area you might look at Tech Shop - sort of like a Health club membership but it is a shop membership. I think there is one south of SF. If they have a CNC you could learn to use it and then know how to use it for other things as well. Anyone who has worked with larger CNC's knows how totally cool they are.
Hi Don, Yes Tech Shop is an option for sure. In fact I attempted to use Tech Shop in SF for our first table but unfortunately their CNC was way out of calibration and ended up cutting ovlas rather then perfect circles for the dog holes. Basically I wasted a huge amount of time (and a sheet of MDF) learning their systems and then non of their staff knew how the help me. So in the end I found it was far easier to use a CNC shop who knows their own machines and will be totally responsible for you receiving a perfect product. So if you'r going to use Tech Shop you may want to ask the manager if they use their CNC a lot and really understand it and can easily teach you how to use it.
Gary Katz, national carpentry educator, has publish an article about the MFS on his wood working blog This Is Carpentry www.thisiscarpentry.com/2015/04/03/multi-function-work-bench/ Thanks so much Gary.
+Steve Olson Great new aspect to MFT-table. The vacuum hose slot is great. The storage shelve is too very good. Keep up good work. Thanks for sharing these brilliant ideas. Jukka
Really cool product ;) Bought it last week and local cnc shop cut it for me ;) Total cost $18 drawing $105 cnc cutting, $42mdf, $16wax = $181 ;) awesome deal. Thank you. I would include pictures but I don't know how to do it lmao
What I'm hearing from people all over the country is that their paying between $150-250 to have two sheets cut. This means you end up with two tops and two shelves.
Do you have a rough estimate on what it would cost to get this CNC machined? I love this because I am about to buy a TS 55 and want the functionality of an MFT combined with the qwas dogs and rail dogs but don't want to shell out the $600ish for one. I can't wait to get one of these made!
Buy the parf jig system and you can drill up your own. CNC can be expensive if you are only getting one or two done up. My business has made up hundreds of these and we have them in storage as well. We could have order them made up but we made them our self.
The top really hasn't been moving at all. But I would think that if you're going to be leaving the top set up for a while you could drive a screw down into the horses.
jp k Actually JP you may be surprised to hear that customers who've built this table through their local CNC shop are only paying around $150 for milling. So if you then use your own horses or by new ones for $100 your still saving $400+ compared to buying the Festool MFT at $600+. And the Festool MFT has no tool shelf.
Is this still available? The website no longer works but I'd love to get the CAD files. Have you considered releasing it to the public domain if you don't want to sell it anymore?
Hi Anthony, Yes, the site is up and running now. There was a tech problem for a couple of weeks there, but all good now. Thanks for your interest in the MFS.
I'm curious which horses those are. The 36" tall Storehorse I've found are, if available at all, are priced between $110 and over $250 for one. Since its something I would like I'm afraid they are no longer available. LOL. Nice idea I really like it. Gotta have one!
+Robert Dailey (Dailey Woodworks) Do the Fat Max Saw Horses fit the bottom shelf that is in the plans as well? Thanks for the info, I ran into same pricing that +Peter Woolworth mentioned.
Why have the dogs locked into the bottom of the track making it a little awkward, just put 2 dogs into the holes and butt the track against them achieves the same thing without having to fiddle with the track
Looks like a great idea and being able to download the CNC is great for all us here in australia! but wait I think you should definitely remove the word FESTOOL from the file!
There's a place locally (in SW MO) that made the top part for me for $100. That included the cost of the MDF. I feel that's cheaper than it should have been, but I didn't know the guy and don't expect he cut me a deal. Edit: Material he used (had on hand) was 1 1/8" MDF.
22mm holes? The festool table's holes are 20mm. Why the difference? Is it because of the thicker MDF? Things like the Festool bench dogs and track dogs that people are making wouldn't fit.
Sorry if this is a stupid question. But should I make sure the CNC shop has a 20mm bit for the holes or are the CAD files designed so that the holes are cut with a smaller bit?
Why people buy things like this is beyond me if you are someone who needs something like this why not just make your own that works with the clamps you have and make it exactly the way you need it to be I would never by anything from festool and it's not because I don't have the money I think it's waist of money and the facts are there tools are not what they seem just because they cost what they do does not mean they are that much better a good dewalt higher end model say 300$ so do you really think there saw is 3 to 4 times better not a chance guys and I have used them I will say there dust collecting is great but I'm not paying for that I'm not afraid of a little saw dust all these vids on festool and the tools look like they have never been used in the end it's the final product and not the over priced tools you used to get there spend more money on wood guys just my opinion
I consider these kinds of videos as a gift. Innovative folks willing to share their great ideas in the trade. This is how we all evolve together. Thank you man! :)
This is a great design that I’ve been using for years. You got me into the 20mm mft system and so many great accessories have come out since you put this on you tube! I’ve modified mine with T tracks, Kreg clamps, and bench dogs - the possibilities are endless. I checked your video out again because I’m going to have another one made. Hope you are doing well all these years later! I’m doing custom work down here on the Monterey peninsula. Happy new year!
Steve, thank you for sharing that idea. I downloaded the plans and built the table by hand using my router. Worked out great! I've been using the table for about a year now.
You should make more videos like this! Your production quality and instructions are excellent!
Very nice. Gave me some good ideas for my static bench I'm building. I love the screw holders and the holes in the shelf. Clever
This is just what I have been looking for. I knew there had to be a more economical solution to Festool's MFT system. $600.00 plus for a machined MDF and a set of cheap aluminum legs. I can't thank you enough.
Smart! I like this presentation and what you mentioned. Semper Fi
Well thought out, built and implemented
Hey Steve. Nice job! In the video you refer to the bench dog holes as 22mm, but the plan says 20.1mm. Significant, as I have been trying to find a spiral upcut router bit to cut some matching holes of my own. Presumably the plan is correct (I'm headed to a CNC shop later this morning). Thanks for making this available.
Awesome Steve! I'm going to incorporate these ideas in mine. 👍
Very well thought out Steve. Thanks.
Thanks Timothy so far everyone who's downloaded our file and made one of these really loves working with it.
brilliant idea guys , great video!!!!!
Wowsa! Simple affordable and very usable. Thanks.
Thanks for the reply Steve, much appreciated.
I live in Canada and got quotes for $160 - $220 Canadian. The $160 is about equal to $100 US but does not include the MDF. You can get the MDF almost for free at Home Depot, sometimes they have off-cuts from large orders.
Great idea and great video. Thanks for sharing.
We have a great local ReStore (Habitat for Humanity resale store); I wonder if I might find some there...
looks great, do you know what centre's the holes are set out at, cheers
you coul glue a narrow strip of 1 inch board around the underneath of the table perimeter ( say 1-2 " wide like a picture frame ) to offer more purchase of sideways mounted wood stock and stiffness
Are you using 1" Ultralight MDF?
Steve what is the cabinet facing material! Awesome!
Any clear sealant you use? I bought the plans and took the wood to the mill shop.
Great vid, thanks. Trap dogs on the bottom of the festool rail, any chance you could let me know who sells them please?
Really well thought through.
Nice take on it. I am amazed how Festool have taken the credit for inventing the table and now also the bench dog LOL. Your improvements add some useful extra functionality.
Yeah, I've often thought how Festool (among most of the other players) can bully out a small innovator...
Could you make out of hard plastic and still use it or it should be it made of MDF so it would allow for it to be used for cutting and have longevity?
Brilliant, thanks Steve
Nice, Were can I find the CAD file, I looked on the website and was unable to locate it, if you can thanks
I too thought that some of the Festool tooling only works with 3/4" material?
My wife purchased the MFS Slab file from your website and been charged the amount June 15th but yet there was no file download received. What gives?
Steve, brilliant alternative to the MFT. I live in SF and deal with some of the everyday obstacles you deal with. Can you recommend a CNC shop in SF?
where can i buy the track dogs?
Hey Steve, Just wanted to mention that I just made one of the these tables and found out quickly that you cannot use the Festool Clamps if you make the top 1" thick. The clamps wont go through the holes due to the thickness of the top. I just turned the table over and routed 1/4 " from around the holes and it worked fine. Thanks for the video I really like the design.
Another option is to sand/grind off the retainer bump/rivet on the clamp bar, then the clamp can be taken apart and inserted from below the table.
@@SuperBardley Yet another option is to use the actual Festool table.....
Just how hard and expensive would ti be to buy aluminium frame and fold down corner legs and build a copy of festool rather silly priced workmate ?
Hello, I really like this top. I have been vacillating on spending over $1200 for the Festool MFT and Extension table but cringe at the cost. Do you find you can perform as many functions on this table as one can do with the MFT by Festool?
I love this idea and that's where I'm heading cause a portable solutions is what i need and it doesn't get more portable that that. But i wonder, what if you want to work on a door or something longer than the table? I guess it's where you've compromised here? Or am i missing something? Still hesitating between this and the Paul Workbench. :-/
Thank you.
Fantastic mobile friendly idea! You made it out of MDF, however did you try or thought about making it out of lightweight plywood?
How accurate should the MFT table be? For instance the Festool MFT and such. Reason i ask is i purchased jig to make the grid and was not happy with the accuracy. I could not get past a 6x16 hole layout with out seeing runoff due to the guides locking in the jig had some slop. I might get it to be better if i add around the template guide to tighten the tollerances. But when i contact the manufacture they claim that tables are never accurate its the fence system that makes the accuracy and i was expecting too much even thought there jig was at a premium price off $199. Purchased this one due to UJK was out of stock but now i have one but have not used it yet.
This was the response when i gave them the numbers that either the jig was off or the supplied Template guide was off.
Hello Cliff. There is a big misconception with MFT tables and tops. The accuracy of a Festool MFT table comes from the actual rails that are part of the table itself. All of the Festool attachments are attached and referenced off of the rails. Not the table. If you think about all the “connections” from the router to the actual hole there are a lot of variables at play
Router bit.
Bushing to router.
Bushing to template.
Indexing pin to template.
Indexing pin to hole.
Locating pins to the template.
Locating pins to the workpiece.
potential runout in the router collet
There has to be sufficient clearance between each of those for them to work. As you add holes, that “stackup” error will grow. The only way to avoid that would be to key off of the same location for each hole. Essentially what a CNC does. You want to make sure that there is no movement in the template when drilling the first holes. The template must be firmly clampled in place.
The Festool MFT table is a clamping/work table. Without the additional fence system, it cannot be used to make accurate cuts. Once you install the Fence system, you must calibrate the track to the fence. At no time are the holes a part of that calibration as the holes are only used for clamps and stop etc.
Even if done on a CNC, with the movements and wear in MDF/wood, even the Festool table is not very accurate. Check the Festool marketing data and you will not find anything about using the holes to make cuts, only for work holding. The accuracy comes from the MFT table rails.
In the SF area you might look at Tech Shop - sort of like a Health club membership but it is a shop membership. I think there is one south of SF. If they have a CNC you could learn to use it and then know how to use it for other things as well. Anyone who has worked with larger CNC's knows how totally cool they are.
Hi Don, Yes Tech Shop is an option for sure. In fact I attempted to use Tech Shop in SF for our first table but unfortunately their CNC was way out of calibration and ended up cutting ovlas rather then perfect circles for the dog holes. Basically I wasted a huge amount of time (and a sheet of MDF) learning their systems and then non of their staff knew how the help me. So in the end I found it was far easier to use a CNC shop who knows their own machines and will be totally responsible for you receiving a perfect product. So if you'r going to use Tech Shop you may want to ask the manager if they use their CNC a lot and really understand it and can easily teach you how to use it.
I've seen guys list CNC services in Craigslist here in the SF area.
Gary Katz, national carpentry educator, has publish an article about the MFS on his wood working blog This Is Carpentry www.thisiscarpentry.com/2015/04/03/multi-function-work-bench/ Thanks so much Gary.
+Steve Olson Great new aspect to MFT-table. The vacuum hose slot is great. The storage shelve is too very good.
Keep up good work. Thanks for sharing these brilliant ideas.
Jukka
Thanks Jukka its a fun project.
22m holes or 20mm? I thought Festool was 20mm holes?
Really cool product ;) Bought it last week and local cnc shop cut it for me ;) Total cost $18 drawing $105 cnc cutting, $42mdf, $16wax = $181 ;) awesome deal. Thank you. I would include pictures but I don't know how to do it lmao
The CNC shop I went to wants $250 Programming fee and $175 milling per MDF sheet. Mind if I ask where you went have yours milled?
Why did you say 22 mm dog holes? Isnt festool 20mm?
Out of curiosity, is there any idea about how much will a CNC shop typically charge to make some of these table tops?
What I'm hearing from people all over the country is that their paying between $150-250 to have two sheets cut. This means you end up with two tops and two shelves.
22mm holes? I thought the MFT are 20mm holes?
u could even clamp weights to this if you need more dampening inertia
Do you have a rough estimate on what it would cost to get this CNC machined? I love this because I am about to buy a TS 55 and want the functionality of an MFT combined with the qwas dogs and rail dogs but don't want to shell out the $600ish for one. I can't wait to get one of these made!
$285 including materials in Seattle.
Buy the parf jig system and you can drill up your own. CNC can be expensive if you are only getting one or two done up.
My business has made up hundreds of these and we have them in storage as well. We could have order them made up but we made them our self.
Ur a pro!!!
Steve great job. Quick question, how do you secure the slab/work surface to the saw horses?
The top really hasn't been moving at all. But I would think that if you're going to be leaving the top set up for a while you could drive a screw down into the horses.
Joseph Strattard What about a shallow mortis (say 1/8") that is the same footprint as the top of your sawhorses
Good idea, but time u buy the mdf get it machined up then buy the horses u may aswel buy the festool table?
jp k Actually JP you may be surprised to hear that customers who've built this table through their local CNC shop are only paying around $150 for milling. So if you then use your own horses or by new ones for $100 your still saving $400+ compared to buying the Festool MFT at $600+. And the Festool MFT has no tool shelf.
Genius!
Is this still available? The website no longer works but I'd love to get the CAD files. Have you considered releasing it to the public domain if you don't want to sell it anymore?
Hi Anthony, Yes, the site is up and running now. There was a tech problem for a couple of weeks there, but all good now. Thanks for your interest in the MFS.
I'm curious which horses those are. The 36" tall Storehorse I've found are, if available at all, are priced between $110 and over $250 for one. Since its something I would like I'm afraid they are no longer available. LOL. Nice idea I really like it. Gotta have one!
+Robert Dailey (Dailey Woodworks) Do the Fat Max Saw Horses fit the bottom shelf that is in the plans as well? Thanks for the info, I ran into same pricing that +Peter Woolworth mentioned.
Why have the dogs locked into the bottom of the track making it a little awkward, just put 2 dogs into the holes and butt the track against them achieves the same thing without having to fiddle with the track
Looks like a great idea and being able to download the CNC is great for all us here in australia! but wait I think you should definitely remove the word FESTOOL from the file!
Thanks for the video, great presentation. How much does it cost to do this at a CNC shop?
There's a place locally (in SW MO) that made the top part for me for $100. That included the cost of the MDF. I feel that's cheaper than it should have been, but I didn't know the guy and don't expect he cut me a deal. Edit: Material he used (had on hand) was 1 1/8" MDF.
@@KeithsTestGarage Thanks for mentioning that thickness!
Hellow great Idea , Thanks for your video, I wish you sold this already made, could be a good bussness? Thanks again
Yours are 3/4 not 1". 1" mdf is super heavy.
22mm holes? The festool table's holes are 20mm. Why the difference? Is it because of the thicker MDF? Things like the Festool bench dogs and track dogs that people are making wouldn't fit.
I heard 22mm as well, maybe mistake?
Sorry if this is a stupid question. But should I make sure the CNC shop has a 20mm bit for the holes or are the CAD files designed so that the holes are cut with a smaller bit?
No you don't need to worry about the CNC shops bits they'll use a smaller bit and make a few passes.
Hi Steve. What is the thickness of the sheet?
Thanks and congrats for this nice creation!
silvio ribeiro 25mm
genius ;-)
J
Why people buy things like this is beyond me if you are someone who needs something like this why not just make your own that works with the clamps you have and make it exactly the way you need it to be I would never by anything from festool and it's not because I don't have the money I think it's waist of money and the facts are there tools are not what they seem just because they cost what they do does not mean they are that much better a good dewalt higher end model say 300$ so do you really think there saw is 3 to 4 times better not a chance guys and I have used them I will say there dust collecting is great but I'm not paying for that I'm not afraid of a little saw dust all these vids on festool and the tools look like they have never been used in the end it's the final product and not the over priced tools you used to get there spend more money on wood guys just my opinion