crosscut sled on jobsite saw or mft3?

[Gregory Keller]

Sort of a "what would you do" question. I'm building up my "shop" which is 1/2 of an unfinished basement that my wife is letting me do what I want with. I'm pretty heavy into hand tools for the majority of my joinery on small projects I've been working on and my workbench is the focal point of the shop and will be going forward. I've got my eyes on a bandsaw in the near future but there is one thing I'm struggling with. Part of my plan is to build furniture for our house as we replace the IKEA stuff we bought when we first moved in together. That means lots of nice projects out of solid wood and stuff like that, but also means wall cabinets and beds for the kids and stuff. Those projects will be plywood things that don't always work nicely with hand tools (I know it can be done, but might not be ideal). Here is my question. I currently have a small dewalt jobsite table saw that is fine for what it is as well as a festool tracksaw that is great at what it does. If you were in this situation would you prefer using a crosscut sled on a jobsite saw or a mft3 for cutting plywood parts to final length. Obviously dead square and repeatable are the two main things I'm looking for. I've got a first attempt at a crosscut sled and on the small table of the jobsite saw, my max width is around 15 inches and that is less than fun since the distance from the front of the table to front of blade isn't that big. It has no provisions for stopblocks, but that could be fixed. That being said it is dead nuts on 90 degrees all the time. The mft looks like it gives me what the crosscut doesn't but at a price of about 600 bucks. Ideas?

[lowell holmes]

I made a classic wooden work bench with a Paul Sellers influence. I can't imagine being without it.
The table looks flimsy in comparison to my bench.
see this link,
You can buy the wood at a lumber yard.


https://paulsellers.com/how-to-make-a-workbench-paul-sellers/

It was a fun project. My bench will out live me and be passed on to my heirs.

[Gregory Keller]

Yeah, my bench is in the build stage right now. I was not thinking about using the mft as a workbench but rather as a way to use my tracksaw for dead accurate crosscuts of sheet goods to final length. I don't use plywood all that much, but do have a handful of home projects that I'll be using it on in the next year or so. I'm building a heavy version of the nicholson bench and that is going to be the focal point of the shop for almost all projects, but cabinets, kids beds and a few built ins are in my nearish future and I am thinking the mft is the way to go for those.

[Edwin Santos]

Hi,
Normally I like crosscut sleds, but as you point out, the table top of a jobsite saw is small, so instead have a look at this video and see if you like this crosscut jig for your tracksaw:

http://www.finewoodworking.com/2016/06/01/tracksaw-crosscut-table

I like that it would store easily out of the way and you can set it up with some workstands wherever you like and take advantage of the excellent dust collection with your tracksaw. You could easily clamp a stop block on it for repetitive cuts. Maybe $20 in materials if that.
On the other hand, if money is no object, the MFT looks like a versatile piece of equipment. Good luck with whatever choice you make.
Edwin

[Jamie Buxton]

If your biggest concern is making accurate crosscuts with a track saw, you don't need to acquire a whole table like the MFT. You can build what is essentially a large Speed Square. That's what I did years ago, and that's what I've used ever since. It is inexpensive to make, and easy to store.

[Dick Mahany]

I use both an MFT/Tracksaw and a job site saw, depending on which is most convenient for the size of the plywood cross cut. I made a simple crosscut sled for my Dewalt 7491 job site saw, but as others have pointed out, the table top is a bit of a compromise. The crosscut sled is only about 12" front to rear however it handles fine with an outfeed table. The table saw is faster for me than the MFT when convenient.

More recently I have tried and really like the Insta-Rail Square that attaches directly to the track saw guide rail. I get perfectly square crosscuts with it, and no MFT surface is required, so I can take it anywhere.
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[Jim Becker]

The MFT is a very nice solution, albeit not inexpensive. I used mine indoors multiple times for home improvement work along with stand-alone tracks, depending on what needed to be done. The combination of the MFT with the regular tracks and saw you already own is very versatile, especially with sheet goods and "regular" S4S boards, etc. Cross-cutting on a jobsite table saw isn't something I'd every entertain, personally... ;)