Festool MFT, Circ saw combo

[Allen Grimes]

To those of you who own the MFT/Circular saw combo as well as a table saw,

What the heck do you use your table saw for?

Everytime I watch the videos for the MFT and the TS 55 from the Festool website, not only do I want them both very very very badly, but I also wonder what the heck I even bought a table saw for in the first place.

[Michael Ballent]

Hehe... I have their saw and the MFT... I have found myself using it mostly for assembly of things and crosscutting... I still rip wood on the TS :) besides my black SawStop really gets the oohhhhs and aaahhhhs (Tim Allen where are you )


To those of you who own the MFT/Circular saw combo as well as a table saw,

What the heck do you use your table saw for?

Everytime I watch the videos for the MFT and the TS 55 from the Festool website, not only do I want them both very very very badly, but I also wonder what the heck I even bought a table saw for in the first place.

[Allen Grimes]

Michael,

Which did you buy first?

[Michael Ballent]

I bought the Festool Saw (but I already owned a Dewalt hybrid) Sold the Dewalt and upgraded (big time :D) to the SawStop and finally bought the MFT for Christmas. I find that the MFT is really handy to hold things down during assembly... The thing that sold me on the MFT was Jerry Work's writeup on the MFT

http://www.festoolusa.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=9&prodid=492652#

should take you to it.



Michael,

Which did you buy first?

[Allen Grimes]

Thanks,

Im going to check out some of these reviews. Just one more question for you. What do you use more, the MFT/Circ saw combo, or the table saw?

[Jason Tuinstra]

Michael, I'm with you. The article by Jerry was outstanding! I'd love to have to room to build the table he has!

I have a Unisaw and the Festool system. I can't imagine not having a table saw, though. The Festool table is very, very handy. I use it all the time, by itself and with the saw. The cross cut ability is fantastic especially for those extra long pieces that would be too much for the table saw. Again, I can't imagine not having a table saw, but hey, feel free to lead the way! Festool makes a great system of tools! I'm sure Uncle "B" would be happy to help you out with all your trying-to-live-without-a-table-saw needs. :D :p :)

[Michael Ballent]

I would say it would depend on what has the least clutter ;) I have been leaning toward the Circ saw a little more... I just like the fact that I have a few more options in the quest of precision cut firewood ;) :D I do know that I will be buying another MFT (the basic one) and hooking them up


Thanks,

Im going to check out some of these reviews. Just one more question for you. What do you use more, the MFT/Circ saw combo, or the table saw?

[Allen Grimes]

Thanks guys,

Jason, I have a table saw and I dont plan on getting rid of it. I really am just looking for an excuse to buy the TS 55. I'm pretty much sold on the MFT.

[Frank Pellow]

I have the Festool AFT55 circular saw, the Festool MFT, a knock down platform for cutting sheet goods with my circular saw, and a General 650 table saw.

The table saw is used mostly for smaller pieces and, in particular, for smaller pieces when I am making several cuts of one size. Another use for my table saw, is ripping boards (not sheet goods) that are longer than a couple of metres. I also use my MFT for lots of glue-ups and, when it is occcupied, I do use my table saw for larger cuts.

One thing that some folks might use their table saws for are dados and rabetts, but I prefer to cut those on my MFT with my Festool router.

[Mark Singer]

I have the festool plunge saw...I use it to "breakdown" sheet goods...put a straightline on a board .....I use m tablesaw a lot more! I have a couple of nice sleds and aluminium extrusions to straignt line and the tablesaw is great. The smaller Festool won't cut through a rough 8/4 board....the blade is too small. The power is marginal also. Fot mant things its great! I need both and the tablesaw is a workhorse!

[Bill Simmeth]

I'd love to have to room to build the table he has!The table is nice, but I'd love to have that shop floor he has! :eek: :p

Sorry, carry on with your conversation...

[John Stevens]

If the cut can be done with the table saw or the Festool saw, I usually prefer to use the Festool saw, just because it seems safer for me. Others may not have those concerns.

That said, I prefer to use the table saw for almost all rip cuts except when jointing the first side of a board. It's faster/easier to achieve the same accuracy on the TS for rip cuts. The time savings really adds up when you design your project so that many of the components are ripped to the same width.

For precision cross-cutting, I wouldn't even bother making a crosscut sled now that I have the Festool circular saw and MFT. I've been able to set up the MFT to cross-cut boards 500mm wide, then butt them together without any visible gap, by using the double-error squaring method Rick Christopherson describes on his web site:

http://waterfront-woods.home.att.net

Regards,

John

[Rob Blaustein]

Allen,
You may already know of these sites, but if not check them out. There are some very thoughtful reviews and many useful bits of info on MFT and TS55. Might just push you over the edge and have you reach for Uncle Bob's number...

John Lucas's (an SMC member) site--here (http://woodshopdemos.com/men-fes.htm) is the Festool portion.
Jack Loganbill's site--the reviews section is here (http://www.thewoodshop.20m.com/reviews.htm).

--Rob

[Dave Falkenstein]

I have had a table saw for many years (Jet CS) and cannot envision my home shop without one. I have owned the ATF55 and MFT for well over a year, and really enjoy using it as well. I like the MFT so well I added a second MFT and built a larger table that measures 45X56. As mentioned earlier, Jerry Work's manual, "Getting the most from your MFT multifunction table" is full of great ideas. Get it here:

http://www.festoolusa.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=9&prodid=492652

I don't think the plunge saw and MFT are a replacement for a table saw, but they sure do some jobs better than a table saw, like cutting sheet goods and guided routing. The saw and long guide rail do a great job of straightlining a piece of hardwood too, faster and more accurate than a jointer, IMHO. If you have the room in your shop, both tools are wonderful to use.

[Jim Becker]

I was skeptical about the MFT--until I bought one and started using it. It now handles all the panel cross cutting and dadoing that I previously struggled to do at the table saw. The combination of the stops and excellent cut quality really makes repeatablilty easy. My table saw gets a lot of use for things it does better...like ripping, mitering, grooving and rabbeting. They are complimentary workstations in my shop.

[Dave Avery]

Ripping only...... I have a Dewalt DW746 and was thinking of upgrading - until I bought the big MFT and ATF-55. The only reason to upgrade the TS now is because I "want" a new saw rather than "needing" a new saw.

[Allen Grimes]

First of all, thanks to everybody who posted in this thread.

I decided that I will buy the MFT/TS55 combo, but not until I get some other tool purchases out of the way. Also I figure that there are a couple other tools that I want from Festool, so maybe I can save up and buy them all at once.

Thanks for the help guys.