Project: Wilmots "MFSC" - Multi-Function Shop Cart (Build Thread) [Archive]

Jim Becker

12-08-2017, 8:34 PM

Not too long ago, someone posted a thread in GW&PT that linked to a YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWEdrBdbBhg&t=8s) for a very interesting and versatile "shop cart" by a woodworker named Timothy Wilmots in Belgium. I actually ended up watching that video several times...and then ended up bing-watching the rest of his videos about his shop build and a bunch of other things. This dude's systems are very nicely thought out...

I was already considering buying another Festool MFT because I find that my existing one (older MFT 1080) is getting more and more use...in fact, I recently raised it up to match the current version's 900mm table height (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?259949-Older-Festool-MFT-1080-Height-Modification-quot-project-quot) which is substantially more comfortable and would obviously play better with a new one beside it. And then the thought struck...why not build Timothy's MFSC (Multi-Function Shop Cart)? Same height when used as an MFT style work surface, but it does a whole lot more that would be very useful. So I ordered the plans (honestly, I bought the whole combined set of his plans for the MFSC and some other things...great ideas in them) and arranged for the materials, etc.

I will note that in getting started on this project, I was somewhat limited in what I could do because my recently-completed commission is still on my bench and is so large that I could not start actually cutting large sheet goods on the slider for fear of damaging it. I'm hopeful that on the weekend that I'm posting this, it can at least be moved to my client/friend's home, but the weather is now iffy for the weekend. No matter, there's still things to do and it's time to get started with this build thread. :)

If you watch the video(s), you'll note that one feature of the MFSC is the wooden knobs/bolts that function to secure things in different configurations. The plans do offer the option of using steel bolts, but since I hadn't touched the "spinny thing" in some time, this was an opportunity to make a mess, err...turn something. Heh...heh. And further, I have plenty of scrap wood lying about to use for things like this. For the actual knobs, I selected some oak that was a cut-off from a long ago project. For the middle section of the assembly that provides relief between the knob and the threaded shaft, I just used some available dowel stock that was large enough to turn down slightly to proper diameter. Both of these items were sized to the metric dimensions stated on the plans...I'm doing this entire project in metric with one exception....the threaded shafts for these wooden bolts is 3/4" dowel stock because that's the correct size for the threading tools I was able to purchase.

The first thing to do was to test out my idea for making the knobs "knurled" using the router table. So, I turned a stick of scrap material (walnut in this case) to the 44mm diameter and then marked it for six passes across a round box bit. At that point, I felt that six was a good number...more on that later.

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Using some scrap pieces of plywood, I made some supports to hold the piece as I passed it through the router bit for the intended profile and then did the setup on the router table.

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The first cut was fine, but I quickly discovered after rotating the workpiece that I was trying to cut way too deeply and as a consequence, the bit started to "follow the grain" and actually turn the workpiece in the jig, despite the screws being cranked down pretty hard.

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Lesson learned...these knobs really didn't need a very deep cut for the "knurling" and it also wasn't necessary to do six. Four would suffice. So I moved on to turning the real knob blank from the piece of oak previously mentioned. After getting the 44mm diameter cylinder, I used the parting tool to create a smaller 35mm diameter section that would remain after I cut things apart. This would allow for additional glue support when things are assembled later as you'll soon see..

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I bolted that piece to my quick and dirty jig and then proceeded to run it across the router bit setup...with the bit lowered substantially. (I actually could have lowered it a little more, but hindsight is golden)

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Jim Becker

12-08-2017, 8:35 PM

At this point, the basic formation of the knobs was done and they needed to be cut apart before proceeding further...that occurred at the band saw using a miter fence and carful cutting.

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I took each of the knobs (eight required plus one extra) and lightly scuffed the sharper edges with some sandpaper (for my own comfort) and then it was back to the lathe for the next steps. The first thing to do was to flatten the bottom of the knobs, reverse them in the chuck and then do a slightly dished finished cut in the face.

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Then, they were returned to the chuck to drill a 30mm recess in the 35mm diameter shoulder. This provides for both alignment and glue support for the middle, intermediate portion of the knob assembly.

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I will admit that the "knurling" isn't even. But I'm not going to worry about it...it provides a good grip the way it is.

Jim Becker

12-08-2017, 8:35 PM

Next, I took a piece of larger dowel stock I had lying about and turned it down to 30mm minus a proverbial hair to create the intermediate part of the wooden bolt assemblies. These would be 15mm long, so the parting tool was used to remove most of the stock between them so they could be cut apart the same way as the knobs originally were.

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I turned multiple extras of these, which came in handy as I needed to fill up the chuck a little to provide enough exposure to flatten the ends and do what comes next while still having enough grip on the stock. And that next step was to drill a 3/4" recess for the threaded portion of the wooden bolts to get glued into. This is a deeper recess...about 10mm.

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And the test fit is just right...so the rest were completed accordingly.

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Lastly for these two portions of the wooden bolt assemblies...glue them up. They will ultimately get a screw through all three pieces for additional strength, but since my bench vice was blocked by the commission piece waiting to be delivered, I chose to put off the threaded pieces until later.

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And that was day one...

Jim Becker

12-08-2017, 8:35 PM

The next step was to create the jig that would be used to "drill" a whole bunch of precisely located and spaced 20mm holes for the MFT-style work top. Timothy used 12mm MDF for his jig, but I didn't have a piece of 1/2" scrap MDF lying about that was long enough for the job. I did, however, have a piece of 1/2" veneer plywood and used that instead. The hole pattern on an MFT-style worktop is based on the 32mm system with the holes spaced at 96mm. The first row starts at 71mm from the edge of the top. This simple jig consists of just two pieces of material...the base which will have a series of 30mm guide holes spaced appropriately and a "tee" piece that will not only keep the jig perpendicular to the edge but also help with measuring the spacing across the rows. The layout is critical on this jig...if any guide hole is not exactly on the mark, the spacing of the hole grid on the work surface that is created with the router will not afford a square assembly environment when dogs are used to locate workpieces. I took great care in that respect and checked the measurements multiple times before heading to the drill press and very carefully boring the 30mm holes that will accommodate the 30mm OD guide bushing on the router. Because my normal workbench is inaccessible, the MFT is serving as my work space for this portion of the project.

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Once the "tee" portion is carefully added, this jig is essentially complete. However, I chose to extend all the markup lines to and down all edges to assist with laying out the worktop...a custom tee-square, if you will.

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Of course, in order to make the 1102mm x 718mm worktop piece, I needed to cut it from a larger sheet of MDF. I cannot lift a full sheet of MDF onto my slider and because of the size of the item on my workbench, couldn't really cut it up there even if I could. So I blocked the heavy sheet up off the floor slightly with scrap and used the track saw to, well...saw off a nice 718mm wide piece to work with. I did do the off-cut to length on the slider as I had just enough room to to that without whacking the other project in an unkind way. And now there is a worktop "blank" to turn into the fiber-rich version of Swiss cheese. :D

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Jim Becker

12-08-2017, 8:35 PM

Let me reiterate a very important point here...precision is truly important for creating these MFT-style work surfaces. The layout has to be spot on so that each row of holes is in the exact place it needs to be. And from the "lessons learned" category, the jig must be very securely clamped down when the holes are being bored. It cannot move. At. All. Disclosure...I had to make a second blank when a clamp let loose on the very first row of holes. {insert foul language)

Using the jig is easy, more or less. The router is equipped with a 30mm OD guide bushing and a 20mm straight plunge bit. In a bit of a comedy of the moment, when I went to start this operation, I discovered I didn't have a 1/4" collet for my OF1400 which was the router I happen to have the 30mm OD guide bushing for. {insert additional foul language} At the time I bought mine many years ago, it wasn't included in the box like it is now. I only had a 1/2" collet and an 8mm collet. So I quickly went into my office and ordered the part, resigning that I was not going to get this part done on the day I planned to do it. However, on a whim, I texted another 'Creeker who is local to me and has and OF1400. I must have petted my daughter's pet, Rufus the Flemish Giant Rabbit, just the right way while giving him a treat, because my friend had the collet and was happy to help me out. I ran up to his shop a few miles away, picked up the part, returned to my shop and got to work.

This is pretty much a "clamp", bore, move, rinse, repeat type operation, moving across the workpiece and again, being very, very careful to check alignment and clamp things down very securely.

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You may recall from an earlier post that I mentioned that the "tee" part of the jig not only provided support, but also is used to align for the next row of holes. Here's a photo that shows how this works...the edge of the tee is brought right to the center-line of the previous row of holes. That provides the exact 96mm spacing for each row and you just move things over. Because I extended the whole grid of layout over the whole piece, I was able to check alignment on the other end. I think my jig wasn't perfectly square, but because of the care I took in clamping, the grid did end up square.

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In the end, we're left with a bare-naked MFT-style worktop. I gave it a very light sanding with the 180 that was still on my ROS and then applied a generous coat of BLO/beeswax finish I had in the back of the cabinet. That was allowed to sit overnight and then I applied a coat of Mylands wax, allowed it to dry for awhile and then buffed it out with my Rotex and a sheepskin pad. It will be some time before glue will likely stick to the surface. I'll likely wax the back-side, too, since the clamping function on the opposite side of the flip-top brings the potential of glue drips.

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There's a clear difference between the completed worktop and the original MDF...

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Lastly, I quickly created some 70mm x 70mm pieces of scrap 18mm BB plywood and knocked off the corners. These are listed as an optional feature in the plans, but they provide a way to make the pretty Swiss cheese-like table top easily removable and replaceable. They are fastened in the corners of the frame that will support the top and will be used with threaded inserts and countersunk bolts to hold the top to the frame.

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The next steps in this project involve taking some nice multi-layer birch plywood and parting it out based on the cut-list for the project. That will have to wait until I have that large piece of commissioned work out of the shop...

Robert Engel

12-09-2017, 9:46 AM

Thanks for those tips. I've got the plans and will eventually get this done.

I discovered Wilmots last year he's got quite a shop, doesn't he?

glenn bradley

12-09-2017, 10:34 AM

Great ride-a-long Jim. thanks for taking the time. I'm going to enjoy this one.

Jim Becker

12-09-2017, 1:11 PM

Thanks for those tips. I've got the plans and will eventually get this done.

I discovered Wilmots last year he's got quite a shop, doesn't he?

He's really built a very thoughtfully put together shop. What I truly appreciate, aside from the very functional setups in his assembly room, is that he had the ability to maintain a lot of space around his machines. That makes his production work smoother and safer, IMHO. We should all be so lucky to be able to have that kind of space available!

Great ride-a-long Jim. thanks for taking the time. I'm going to enjoy this one.

I'm going to enjoy this project, both from the build standpoint and for the utility that the finished product will bring to future projects. I'm starting to work on picking up more commissions, so anything I do "to" the shop will to be support more efficiency and ease for myself. This piece certainly fits into that idea, I believe.

Jim Becker

12-09-2017, 9:23 PM

Today, I continued by starting on some of the smaller components that will go into the table raising system, etc., since that large commission item is still on my bench and preventing me from butchering large pieces of plywood. :) In essence, I started on these lovely parts:

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Timothy provides templates that can be printed out to help layout these critical parts and I will give you one major hint right now: be sure that your computer is actually printing them at 100% so they are accurately sized. The first time I printed them out, I didn't realize that the print utility was slightly scaling to 92% and that caused a short few moments of consternation until I went back to my office from the shop and investigated things more closely. Cutting them out with fine scissors was definitely a "reading glasses" moment. :)

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Two of the parts require some hardwood milled to 10mm thickness, so I found a piece of scrap cherry that was perfect for the task. I don't like to waste material, so I first re-sawed it at the band saw, planed it to the required thickness and took the remaining piece and planed it into some 1/8" thick veneer that will come in handy at some point, I'm sure.

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I next cut out the blanks for the two components requiring this material. One will be a boring rectangle with a small hole in it. The other will be a more delicate piece that acts as the "position lock" for the work surface raising mechanism. That one was laid out using one of the templates...and this was where I discovered the scaling issue from the printer when I printed them out for the first time...

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Having dealt with that, I ganged the two pieces together using a few 23 gage pins in the waste area so I could begin shaping the pieces at the band saw...the "bottom" cut was first and that's the most delicate.

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Jim Becker

12-09-2017, 9:30 PM

After nibbling away the material, I took advantage of the two pieces being ganged and having full support under them. That made it easy to clamp them down and clean up the profile using a rasp and some 100 grit paper on a block.

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Once that smoothing was done, I needed to remove the waste on the "upper" side of the pieces...a simpler cut than the first one. To be sure nothing went flying, I did a quick wrap of some painters' tape in the area that would not be cut before moving back to the band saw and doing the deed. I cleaned these up while they were still taped together. They don't have to be "finish quality" as they are not really "seen" under normal circumstances. The edges just need to be clean and even.

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The last thing I did before running off to cook the evening meal was to transfer the paper template for the lifting arm to some thin plywood. I may or may not choose to do a template routing setup for these, so I wanted to see how well the shapes transferred and cleaned up relative to that potential idea.

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Jim Becker

12-10-2017, 8:10 PM

Today was more work on the "little parts"...it's been somewhat relaxing because 1) I need to work out how to actually best create some of these parts and 2) it's necessary to work slowly to get quality and exactness. I did decide to go ahead with template routing most of these parts and started today's work creating the remaining hard patterns with thin plywood and MDF. Since these parts will be painted or otherwise out of view, there was no issue with just screwing them to the workpieces...the holes will be filled later before painting or "hiding" them inside the construction.

The first parts I milled were the lift-arms using the template shown in the last photo in the previous post.

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From there, I moved on to a couple others; one that required template routing for the whole profile and one that only needed one edge template routed since the other edges were just straight cuts. These all still require cleaning the edges.

The hardest parts to make in this design are the "racks" which have "teeth" regularly spaced so as the worktop height can be adjusted in 30mm increments. While it would have been nice to template route these (or even better...use a CNC, which I don't {yet} own), I don't have a pattern bit small enough to negotiate the inner radius of the "teeth". So I spent a bit of time carefully making a template out of some scrap 1/4" thick cherry which served two purposes. Obviously...it will be the template to layout the parts on the material they will be cut from. But more importantly, it was effectively a dry run for going through the steps required to manufacture the parts as consistently as possible. While not as critical as a round gear, the "teeth" need to be pretty regular so that they interact smoothly with a corresponding part that will engage them.

The first step is to transfer the pattern from the paper template to the blank piece of wood. A long, flimsy piece of paper like this doesn't work well by itself, so some tape was used to help keep it aligned. Even so, two pencil sharpenings were required to accurately run the pencil around the edge of the template.

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The next step was to carefully mark the center points for a series of holes that would be drilled to create the inner radius of the "teeth"...after locating the distance from the edge and drawing a guide line, I established the center point of the hole by measuring over 1/8" from the known straight edge of the "tooth". That measurement was chosen because I will be using a 1/4" drill bit to make the hole. Although my general intention is to stick with metric for this project, there are some times when tooling availability requires a momentary switch of systems...this was one of them. The center points were then carefully marked with a sharp awl which would in turn, provide a positive position for the brad-point bit I would be using to bore the holes as shown in the photo. Let me repeat that all of the steps shown here to create this wooden template are repeated when making the "real" parts.

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One side of the "teeth" is a straight cut perpendicular to the edge. That is made on the table saw using the miter fence and a sacrificial fence for support. The blade height was carefully measured to just meet the centerline of the holes and I took great care in matching the edge of the cut to the edge of the hole. After each cut, the saw was turned off so that the workpiece could be positioned using the edge of a saw tooth "right at the spot". Slow it was; excellent was the cut. :)

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Jim Becker

12-10-2017, 8:21 PM

Ah, and now those pesky angle cuts....off to the band saw we go! I created a quick and dirty sled to hold the workpiece at the required 45º angle. As you'll note between the photos, I realized that I didn't provide enough support on the left side of the band for the later cuts and added to the jig to account for that. This was done by eyeball, but the cuts did end up on the line where they were supposed to go.

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The remaining step was to clean things up with some rasps and files as well as some sanding. And then it was time to move on to the "real parts". As with the template, the two "racks" were laid out on the material. Each piece is 53mm x 320mm. Despite their importance, none of these things is very big...which surprised me. The same process was followed as was done with the template; carefully mark things out, establish the hole centers and then drill them out. Then the straight cut at the table saw (adjusting the blade height as the actual piece starts out taller than my template did...because of a boo-boo on the template that was immaterial in the end.

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Before cutting the angles of the "teeth" on these "real parts", I quickly relieved the material back to just proud of the teeth. (The last one on the end is longer) This would make seeing the line for the angled cuts easier. And then I cut them as before, using the sled.

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Jim Becker

12-10-2017, 8:26 PM

The last step for the "racks" is to do the rasp/file/sand dance, but to be sure they are "reasonably" identical, I chose to gang them together for this process using a couple clamps. This worked out well and assuming I created them accurately enough, they will hopefully work as intended in the completed project.

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So work to-date has all of these important parts created...with a little sanding remaining. The last small part to be made is the "tooth" piece that mates with the "rack"...I just ran out of time today.

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And once that's done, I really, really, REALLY need that big old commission piece out of my shop before I can start cutting the goods for the majority of the structure.

Jamie Buxton

12-11-2017, 12:51 AM

What, pray tell, is "GW&PT"?

Jim Becker

12-11-2017, 9:12 AM

What, pray tell, is "GW&PT"?

General Woodworking and Power Tools forum here at SMC....er... Sawmill Creek. :D :D :D

John Jenkins4

12-11-2017, 10:36 AM

Jim,
I've been eyeballing Timothy's MFSC and have added it to my projects list. Your write up is probably going to help me out quite a bit.
Thanks!
John

Jim Becker

12-11-2017, 2:03 PM

I hope it's helpful, John. I'm communicating with Timothy about anything that doesn't make sense to me in case that helps a broader audience, too.

Jim Becker

12-11-2017, 8:16 PM

Today, I completed the last part for the ratchet mechanism after one small operation with the lift arms to square up two corners on each unit. These lift arm pieces were pattern routed and that meant these two corners were slightly rounded from the cutter diameter. A few strokes with a hand-saw did the deed. If this had been solid stock, I would have cleaned them with a sharp chisel, but for BB plywood...the saw was a better choice for me.

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The last piece of the ratchet mechanism is the "tooth" piece which engages the "rack" that I detailed in yesterday's post. Its fabrication will look familiar as it was done using similar technique to the "rack" with the addition of pattern routing for the profile.

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From that last photo, I attached the pattern and routed the non-straight profile. While the bit was slightly too large to get into the full depth of the "teeth", a few swipes with a file cleaned it up. In retrospect, I might have been able to pattern route the "rack", but I would have needed to construct a jig to safely hold it for that operation.

At this point, all of this "intricate part" nonsense is completed. This is essentially how all the parts will be positionally related when the assembly is, well...assembled...minus two springs and a couple of dowels. Hmm...it's almost like this thang has a pelvis. LOL

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Tomorrow I'm going to get started cutting out all the sheet goods. I've decided that I'm going to partially do that on the floor with my track saw for two reasons. The first one is that the large commission piece I have mentioned previously is still on my bench and a few moments ago, I learned that it's going to have to stay there until the weekend. My friend/client got called out of town for work. With that piece on the bench, I can't do rips of 8' sheet stock without hitting it and I cannot lift it myself to transport it elsewhere, not that I have a place to put it elsewhere. More importantly, I realized that I frankly cannot easily nor safely lift a full sheet of 3/4"/19mm multi-layer birch plywood onto my slider by myself due to the reconstruction of my left wrist earlier this year and other factors. So there's really no point in risking that when I can partially part out the sheets on the floor and then easily manipulate the smaller chunks on the table saw. Sometimes we have to think things through when working alone!

Bruce Page

12-11-2017, 8:27 PM

Looking good Jim. Most of what I've seen so far would be a snap on a CNC... :)

Jim Becker

12-11-2017, 9:53 PM

Looking good Jim. Most of what I've seen so far would be a snap on a CNC... :)

Timothy uses an X-Carve for machining parts like these, but in the construction videos, he acknowledges alternate methods. He posted part 2 today and shows making the rack on the table saw. While I used the band saw for the 45º angle cuts, were I to do it again, I'd use his method...unless I came into having a coveted CNC for my shop. :D

Travis Porter

12-11-2017, 10:21 PM

Jim Becker

12-12-2017, 10:00 AM

I am curious. Timothy completed his in about 25 minutes on YouTube.

How many hours do you have in this so far?

it is a very ingenious design, and I would love to have one, it just seems it would take me forever.

LOL....all projects like this are "very fast" on YouTube, between edits and "fast speed" video. Timothy's videos are just a vignette into the project steps. I think that making the lift mechanism parts is the most time consuming for most of us because they are not "straight lines" and require multiple steps to do if a CNC isn't available. But honestly, I do believe this project is approachable by most folks and the effort can be well-worth it because of the utility it brings when it's done. At this point, I feel that the "hardest part", outside of setting the lift mechanism in place, is done. The rest is very straight-forward work. I expect that I'll blow through the cut list relatively quickly today for the sheet goods, even splitting it between the track saw and my slider for easier material handling as I noted earlier. Seeing the second video reinforced that.

BTW, I really appreciated the history of the lift setup he put in the second build video....those initial methods he tried out make the final version even more impressive.

Travis Porter

12-12-2017, 12:23 PM

I watched the 2nd video myself yesterday and was thinking of you cutting those teeth when he was doing his sample set on the slider. I have to finish building my kitchen, but I may break down and do one myself shortly thereafter. The utility of it and especially being able to have that drying rack looks to have a lot of benefit.

Robert Cherry

12-12-2017, 7:53 PM

Looking great Jim! I'll be watching your progress on this project. Let me know if you need an extra set of hands to manage the sheet goods.

Jim Becker

12-12-2017, 8:22 PM

Thanks, Bob...it's good to have friends nearby, although I fortunately got this task covered using multiple tools! Which brings me to today's installment. :)

As I mentioned previously two factors stood in the way of my slapping full sheets on the slider...stuff blocking the way and my ability to imitate a power lifter. Track saw to the rescue! After laying some 2x on the floor that I keep around for such nonsense, I broke down the logical sections in the cut list/cut diagram such that the material would be easy to manipulate as well as not have any interference with "that lingering thing" on my bench. I also took the 8 foot rail down off it's resting place. I don't use it much, but it was the right tool for the job at hand for the long rips.

I didn't take a lot of photos today...I think most folks know what cutting up plywood looks like, but there are a few for good measure. Also, I found two inconsistencies between the cut list and the cut diagrams and have messaged Timothy for clarification. One is for the length of two components where there is an exact 100mm difference between the two sheets and the other is a width measurement for four smaller pieces that go into the table frame representing a 25mm difference. (which is coincidentally the depth of the clamp slots)

At any rate, here you see one page of the cutting diagram where I "chunked" things logically, the setup for the first long rip cut and the pile 'o "chunks" ready for processing on the slider to actual components. One nice thing about using the track saw for this partial breakdown is that there is already a "true enough" and clean edge on the plywood to work from in the subsequent steps. And yes, I did figure in for kerf, etc., when I set my cut lines.

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A few hours later, the pile 'o "chunks" became a pile 'o components ready for further machining and assembly. I very much took my time on this because working from someone else's cut list is what it is and honestly, hurrying just makes for mistakes. Case in point...I'll admit that the very first part I cut was done incorrectly because I accidentally swapped orientation of the "chunk" and ended up with something in the wrong orientation. "D'oh!" Fortunately...there was more plywood left from the second sheet to recover from. ;)

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After a little cleanup of the saws, etc., I reorganize that pile into related groups for the individual assemblies that go into this project...base, frame, arms, table frame, etc.

The next step that I began to tackle before being drawn away for the evening meal was to begin marking up the table frame components for dados and the clamp rest slots. Timothy uses a Felder dado component in his slider to do this work. I do not currently have a dado set for my slider (maybe Santa will bring one...it's on my list) so I'm going to use an alternative method for creating the clamp rest slots. The spacing from the outside edges will be the same 100mm that the plans call for, but I'll create the bottoms of the slots using a 3/8" drill at the drill press and then remove the rest of the slot on the table saw using a sacrificial fence in on the miter fence which will still allow me to use the rip fence as a measuring stop for at least the outside cuts. I'll also gang the components so that their opposite members have exactly the same placing of the cuts so everything stays symmetrical. here are a couple reference photos of the initial layout work for these cuts:

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I'll continue with this layout work in the morning after the shop warms up and will hopefully complete at least the table frame assembly and start on some other steps after that.

Robert Cherry

12-12-2017, 9:04 PM

You are moving right along on this project, Jim. Being retired hasn't slowed you down a bit! At this rate you should be finished by, what, the end of the week?

William Fretwell

12-13-2017, 12:36 PM

Jim Becker

12-13-2017, 8:14 PM

I watched the video. The functions seem rather superfluous. Why use it as a bench when you have a bench. The clamp station may be of some use but rarely will those slots be in the right place for a project. It is like all multi tools, not really good at any of the functions.
It's notable the bench top is the same as the cart top.
They do have a huge workshop so a cart to move stuff is appealing and they have space to store it.

I have a large (8'x3') assembly table about 20 inches high on wheels. It's braced up the ying yang so it's really flat and covered with melamine that's waxed so glue 'pings' off. I can move things on it to the door for pick up and it saves my back for large assembly. It's very simple and really useful as I can assemble even large cabinets on it.

Your project is very complicated so I hope you get the value out of it.
Everyone is different and everyone works differently. I personally find the utility of this design to be of high value to me which is why I've chosen to build it for my shop. It satisfies my desire for an additional MFT-type work top and adds some other functions that I don't currently have available. I also do not have the space for a large, dedicated work surface beyond my Adjust-a-Bench, so the portability is convenient. Most importantly, I'm enjoying the work, too...and really don't care that it has some complicated things to deal with. Those are skill building opportunities. :)

Jim Becker

12-13-2017, 8:37 PM

With that said...

I continued work today on the worktop frame components. Since this all meshes together as a clamping station designed for parallel type clamps, layout was undertaken carefully, but it also went relatively quickly because outside of the starting point on each individual component, the measuring and marking was repetitive and could be done "assembly line" style across each piece after the first of each type was done.

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Since I don't currently have a dado blade for my slider (it's capable of using one, however), I chose to use the same method for creating the clamp support slots that I've used in the past for any number of shop fixtures, including clamp racks and chisel racks. I also like a rounded bottom on the slots better, so the layout included a centering mark for using a 3/8" brad point drill to define the bottom of the slots. (3/8" is very close to the 10mm of the original design specification for slot width) This work was done at the drill press to take advantage of repeatability. While that was setup, I also drilled the required holes for the swivel point and the wooden bolts that secure the top in various positions, depending on the chosen function. The size for those holes was modified from the plan's 20mm and 15mm designations to 3/4" and 5'8" to match the dowel stock I'm using and the requirement of the wood threading tap. As much as I'd like to do everything metric here, tooling and practicality do come into play. Once all the "Swiss cheese" creation was done, the components were ready for the next step.

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That next step was to create the 4mm deep dados that help with the joinery for the worktop frame. Again, since I don't have a dado blade for the saw, a routing solution was indicated and I took advantage of my MFT's fence and rail system along with the OF1400 router and rail guide to do this work. It was easy to setup using a longer piece of the same plywood as a sacrificial fence. Cutting a dado across that piece, which was fixed in place, created a guide that made it easy to quickly position each part and cut the required dado as well as the rebates on the ends of the long rails. Additional pieces of scrap were used to provide more support for the heavy router on the guide rail. Here's the initial setup after cutting the "guide dado" in the sacrificial fence and the test sample of the 4mm depth.

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Two of the interior pieces required the dados on both sides and this method kept them exactly in the correct spot based on the careful layout work that started this off. The rebates on the ends of the longer side pieces also cut very nicely.

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Jim Becker

12-13-2017, 8:45 PM

The last piece of the router based milling was to create the slots for the t-track that would be embedded in the faces of the longer side rails. These t-tracks provide the ability to clamp material to the side of the work-surface, etc., in the same manner that similarly positioned t-track slots are on the MFT. The centerline for the tracks is 19mm from the edge which sets them up at the same position as they would be on the MFT, too. The tracks I'm using required a 3/4" wide by 1/2" deep slot and that was cut on the router table using the fence as a guide. To get the setup right, I did a layout on a piece of scrap which was in-turn used to adjust the initial bit height and fence position.

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And just for fun, here's some complimentary tool p..., err...you know... :)

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Height adjustment from the layout...it was nearly spot-on, but a proverbial hair too deep which was adjusted after a test cut

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And the fit was "really snug" which I'm happy with.

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And at that point, I milled the slots in the two long side rails to complete the "routering" work for the day.

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Jim Becker

12-13-2017, 8:53 PM

The last piece of preparing the worktop support frame components was to complete the clamp support slots on the table saw. While I had previously laid all this out earlier, very minor variations from the drilling process made me decide to sand off the marks and re-pencil them in to exactly match the holes. None of these variations was more that that proverbial hair again, but I want the slot sides to be exactly lined up with the sides of the round holes. So I remarked everything accordingly...it only took a few minutes. They are marked front and back so that the pieces could be flipped around so no part of my human anatomy was ever anywhere near the cut line.

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A quick and dirty jig fastened to the miter bar made it so I could exactly line up each cut visually without stopping and starting the saw. That's the primary purpose of the thin material that is under the workpiece...it shows the exact edges of the saw kerf.

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The first piece turned out exactly as I wanted...so I proceeded to cut them all.

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Tomorrow, I'll take care of a little light sanding to clean up any marks, etc., and then assemble this worktop support frame and start on whatever portion I decide to do next.

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Jim Becker

12-14-2017, 8:13 PM

So all those parts I completed yesterday got put together this morning and the end result actually resembles what the plan says it should look like. :) It started with a dry fit...

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And once that was completed, I proceeded to glue up the frame, starting with the internal parts as in Timothy's video and then completing with the two long sides. These stand proud of the other components which helps to contain the worktop. I also installed the aluminum t-track into the slots that were milled for that purpose. Because there was only about a millimeter of material behind the track I glued on some strips of 1/2" (12mm) plywood behind them to receive the screws that physically insure that the t-tracks are secured to the assembly.

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Next it was time to fit the top and do the necessary drilling to install the captive nuts in the worktop support frame that permit the worktop to be replaceable, etc. I did have to do a very minor adjustment to the size of the worktop to get it to seat between the long rails...l clearly made a minor measuring mistake somewhere, but it's not something that will be a problem. I suspect it's because the sheet goods I used are slightly undersized, even for metric, by about a half-millimeter and that multiplied over a few joints made for the difference requiring adjustment. I don't believe I'll buy this particular birch multi-ply again for that reason...too sloppy. Anyway, after placing the top, I established points for the mounting bolts and drilled small pilot holes completely through the top and into the corner blocks. From there it was a matter of drilling for the threaded inserts in the corner blocks, relieving the top with a forstner bit to have the bolts below the surface and drilling a larger hole for the bolt to pass through the top.

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And the completed worktop is ready to be set aside until it's needed later. I may or may not make some refinements to adjust for the material issue I noted previously...not sure yet.

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Jim Becker

12-14-2017, 8:28 PM

Next up is the arm assembly. This is pretty basic. Each arm is built from four pieces of material that is 80mm wide and various lengths and they are symmetrical: one right; one left.

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The two longer pieces from each arm have a profile on the end that engages a stop block that keeps the top level when flipped over to the worktop position. Since the profile is identical across all four piece that receive it, I chose to make a template to trace onto the blanks for consistency. That was easy to lay out using the detailed measurements in the plan document. I then cut it with both the table saw and the bandsaw and cleaned up the edges for tracing.

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To create the actual parts, I needed to make one stopped rip on each piece. To do that at the table saw, I raised the blade as far as it will go (the 12" blade I run was a big advantage here) and then calculated where I needed to stop the cut so that the underside of the cut didn't go beyond the 90mm length of that straight surface in the final profile. I used a small piece of painter's tape to mark that stop-spot next to the blade and then proceeded to make these straight, clean cuts using the rip fence as a guide.

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The parts were then taken to the bandsaw where the last little bit of the straight cut was finished free-hand and then the radius was cut. Finally, I moved to the miter saw to knock off the corners at the 45º to complete the profile, leaving all the parts ready to glue together.

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I was generous with the glue and per Timothy's recommendation, I used some brads to hold everything in proper relationship until the clamps could be applied. All of the brads were put in from the "inside" side of the pieces so they will not be immediately visible.

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And once that was done...clamps were the name of the game. When they are removed tomorrow, I'll sand all the surfaces to clean them up and then drill the holes to complete these arm assemblies.

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I'm thinking that the base is up for the next sub-assembly to get done...but hallelujah, that very large commission piece is finally going to get delivered and installed tomorrow morning. :) And I get my regular bench back to do some of the work. :D

Jim Becker

12-17-2017, 8:02 PM

The "arms" came out of the clamps today, got cleaned up and got their holes bored.

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It was then on to assembling the vertical pieces for the "frame" that engage the "arms". This was a pretty simple process...they are two layers of plywood that "interlock", creating a strong glued joint surface. I didn't bother taking photos of what it looks to glue flat pieces of plywood together. :D The one interesting part of constructing these assemblies is knocking off the corner where the vertical and horizontal come together at a rather high angle. After marking the workpieces up, including extending the lines down the edges, I clamped each to the slider's wagon, eye-balling the cut line with the main blade and the scoring blade as a visual guide. That made the angled cut fast and safe with no hands anywhere near the cutting action. While they were both spot-on, a tiny variation in the angle wouldn't have mattered since its only purpose is clearance when things flip around. If I had been using a cabinet saw or similar, I would have created a quick and dirty sled to make this cut.

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I then test fitted the "arms" and these frame parts which also allowed me to mark for and subsequently knock off the front, bottom corners to match those on the "arms". I then drilled the required holes in each assembly. Tomorrow, I'll finish assembling the frame and move on to the base of the MFSC.

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One small note...I've pretty much come to the conclusion that a good part of this project is going to be painted. I'm totally unhappy with the material I bought relative to the .5mm undersize thickness and the amount of voids in it. My mistake...and I'm glad it's a shop project. So once I fill the edges, paint it will be. Also, relative to the material thickness...that caused a small issue with the worktop support frame that I felt needed correcting. I did that today, also, replacing the four small interior components that connect to the end rails with new ones that were slightly longer. While I know it was a minor thing, it was really bothering me. I'm actually thinking about re-doing that frame and making a change to hardwood for the outside worktop support frame components. Not only will it look nicer, but I can engineer the longer sides out of thicker material that's more suitable to taking that t-track. The current version, with the undersized plywood thickness had no more than 1mm of material behind the t-track, causing me to have to glue in material to reinforce it and provide something for screws to bite into. I have plenty of scrap material that would work well for this and building that assembly again would go a lot quicker than the first time due to lessons learned, etc.

Jim Becker

12-18-2017, 9:26 PM

I spent a few hours in the shop today and started work by completing the support frame. The components I created yesterday afternoon were joined with the cross-member and were glued/screwed together permanently. Note that in the second photo you can see that I added a block in the center of the cross-member to stiffen it slightly...I had material correctly dimensioned from making the blocks used to mount the arms to the cross-member and it just felt like a good idea to sick one in the middle with a little glue.

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From there, I moved on to starting the base. The two side pieces are identical, mirror images of each other, so I drew the layouts on them on both sides to make it easier to make the stopped cuts necessary to complete them.

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Both sides get a dado that spans front to back on the inside face. Rather than use the router for this operation, I chose to just do it on the table saw so I could more easily compensate for the .5mm under thickness of the plywood I'm using. The 18mm router bit leaves things a bit too sloppy for this important, weight-bearing joinery. I also adjusted the dado depth slightly for the same reason, but can easily sand it slightly deeper if during the dry-fitting I find it is required. So after carefully cutting each side of the dado, I whittled away the remaining stock with multiple passes along the fence, moving the fence slightly for each pass.

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From there, I had a bunch of stopped cuts to do on the saw to remove material not needed in the finished sides. All but two of these could be run with the rip fence as a guide. The 12" blade was raised to maximum height for this and from a previous operation, I was able to eye-ball the stopping point for each cut to not over-extend it on the bottom where the blade exited the material ahead of the point where the teeth were just engaging the top of the workpieces. One cut on each piece is at an angle. To do that stopped cut, I put a handy...and very boring sled on my slider's wagon, clamping it to the miter fence. The edge of this simple piece of hard-board clearly defines the cut line so that I could line up the workpiece at an angle and clamp it down for the cut. Since the line was extended down the edge of the material, it was super simple to get both the leading edge and the trailing edge exactly on the line, clamp it down and do the deed.

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Jim Becker

12-18-2017, 9:32 PM

Once final thing at the table saw was a short rebate along the front edge which was done the same way as the dado was handled previously...cut the defined edge and then whittle away the rest. More sanding is required, of course...

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Lastly for these side pieces, a vertical slot is needed to support a dowel that's used as a guide. There are multiple ways to do that. My original inclination was to use a router, but I didn't feel like making that setup and chose to just drill the two ends and cut the line between them with my jig-saw. It worked and after cleaning up the cuts, after this photo, the end result was acceptable for the purpose, especially after paint is applied.

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There were two more, simpler pieces required for the base that also featured an angled cut. I used the same method as previously, but ganged them together and made a single cut for both.

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The next steps will be creating the vertical supports that, well...support...the frame as it moves up and down during height changes.

Jim Becker

12-21-2017, 9:30 PM

I continued work on this Tuesday, but forgot to post the photos after discovering a plumbing leak in the kitchen ceiling and working to deal with that.

As previously mentioned, the base has some components that serve as guides for the frame as it moves up and down. The front components are fixed L-shaped channels that interlock with the frame and the rear components serve both as a guide and as a brake to lock and stabilize the frame and worktop when it's at the desired height. The brake component has a threaded hole in a fixed portion of the component that allows a wooden bolt to press against the flexible portion of the component that actually comes in contact with the frame. The hole is drilled only to the depth necessary for it to be in the fixed portion...30mm deep was about right...and that's done before any of the cutting commences. Since the wooden bolts will be made with 3/4" dowel, the threading tap for the hole specifies that the hole should be 5/8" in diameter. I chose some scrap walnut for these components.

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Once the holes are drilled, the pieces can be cut. I used the table saw, but the band saw is what Timothy uses in his video. The cutting needs to be completed before the hole is tapped because otherwise, the tap will not get deep enough for the intended purpose. Even so, my wooden bolts will need their ends to be smaller in diameter to fully seat just because of how the tap is designed. In this photo, the side away from you is the side that the frame runs against. The top half of that isn't fixed to the base carcass. The bottom of it and the "block" at the right (top of the component) does get fixed to the base carcass. When the threaded bolt passes through to the floating part that the frame slides against, pressure can be placed so that it becomes a brake/lock for height and stability. Also show is the tap doing its thing...I used wax as a lubricant rather than oil. The walnut I chose for these components threads very nicely. The completed components are then ready for installation on the base sides.

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Since I already assembled the frame, I quickly cut two pieces of the same plywood to 100mm and 90mm width and nailed them together to act as a "frame vertical arm substitute" for fitting purposes. When installing the rear (brake) components, it's necessary to leave a very slight clearance so that the frame vertical arms can slide freely as the frame and worktop is moved up and down. A folded sheet of paper, as recommended by Timothy, was used as a spacer to get that spacing. Once both sides were completed, it was time to move on to assembling the base.

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Jim Becker

12-21-2017, 9:42 PM

Assembling the base is pretty straight-forward. There was a mistake in the cut sheet that resulted in the rear bottom piece being cut too short, but it only took a moment to cut another piece at the proper length to remediate that problem. Because of the dado in the side pieces, it was possible to just balance things across the work surface and attach them with generous glue and screws in pre-drilled holes...with only two hands. :)

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With most of the base built, the last step was to attach the casters. These are required so that actual height is available when doing the final setup of the worktop raising mechanism so that the work surface at "full up" is exactly 900mm from the floor. I chose the 5" wheel version of the Lee Valley double locking polyurethane tire casters that I often use for projects requiring mobility. They are not inexpensive at about $18 each, but they are very high quality. While fitting and marking for the holes to take the lag-bolts that hole the casters on, I discovered exactly why Timothy sculpts the bottom of the sides of his MFSC...the front casters will not fully turn around without doing that. While the video shows the curves, the plans do not. So I marked the sides and will cut these gentle curves with my jigsaw before I install the wheels.

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That's where the project stands so far. Unfortunately, I have to take some time off from this to do a little "re-muddling" in the kitchen due to a pluming leak in the ceiling and have chosen to make a few small changes to the room as part of that project. But I'll be back on this soon. The remaining sub-assembly to build is the lifting arm setup and once that's complete, it's time for final assembly, including installing the raising/lowering mechanism and then some painting to hide the disappointing plywood. :) (which doesn't affect functionality)