Festool MFT 1080 Quick Review

[Jim Becker]

One of the things I put in the shop not long ago is the Festool MFT 1080 (Multi Function Table). This is a nice little setup that provides the means to guide a saw and router across material in a very controlled fashion. My intended in-shop use is for dados on casework, such as bookshelves, as well as cross cutting material too wide for the CMS and too long for the TS. "On site" uses are similar. It will also provide some additional workspace for assembly and clamping from time to time, but is easily stored away when not needed.

The MFT is a worksurface that holds both a fence and the guide rail for various Festool machines. While it's likely used for cuts/dados at 90º to the workpiece edge most of the time, the fence can be set to any angle. That, combined with the plunge saw's ability to cut bevels right on the guide line no matter what the angle, offers some very interesting compound angle cutting possibilities. The rail flips up on a hinge for easy placement of the stock and for times when you want to use the surface for other duties. The legs fold up for storage for for times when you want to put the whole assembly on another surface. The work surface is at about 32 inches in height when the table is sitting on the legs which should be comfortable for most folks when sawing or routing dados.

Setup was easy and the MFT was almost dead-on right out of the box (a very large box, I might add) relative to the perpendicular angle of the fence and the guide rail. This is a nice addition to anyone who wants to use the saw and router(s) for casework in the shop and on-site. It's well-built, but light enough at 73 lbs that most people can handle it easily.

Pics:

1) Fully assembled and ready to go. View from the right side.
2) View from the front.
3) View from the front with the guide raised.
4) Trimming the guide edge and scoring the table for the cut line.

[Greg Mann]

Jim,

I had posted pics of my 'homemade' version some time ago but hinted that I might buy the real thing. I did get the 1080 last week and am I ever glad I did. While I could have fabricated many of the features Festool supplies, it just wasn't worth my time. The MFT makes a fabulous cutting station. In just a few days I found myself going to it before my TS, mainly because I could 'lock in' my cuts exactly; square, clean, and right where I wanted them. FWIW, I usually keep the fence slid back so that it does not extend under the guiderail since I have been cutting thin material like 1/4 and 3/8 ply and luan. It is pretty simple to loosen two bolts to slide it under the rail if you are working with relatively short cut-offs. I also bought a couple extra length stops to put on the fence so that I could flip down whatever one is appropriate to get the most out of my stock. Once you have a couple stops set, you can go back and forth between different lengths, for example rails and stiles.

I also found that I could 'joint' an edge on a warped board by placing it under the guiderail with just enough sticking out to straighten the edge. I would block under the left side with a same thickness board. I keep reasonable down pressure on the saw and the board does not move.

I think my original table will become my assembly station.

Greg

[Todd Burch]

The MFT is also strong enough to hold my fat hiney (220 lbs) while installing and finishing ceiling beams. I'm glad I have one too. Todd

[Dave Avery]

Hi Jim,

Nice set-up...... I'm considering the same purchase. Did you buy a Festool router too? A router seems to be required to get full benefit from the MFT. But with a hand-held router, a plunge kit (both Makita) and a PC 7518 at home already, it's a bit hard to justify. If I could use either the saw or the router and table to edge joint veneer, it would go a long way toward justifying the purchase. Any thoughts? Thanks. Dave.

[Jim Becker]

Dave, yes, I picked up the OF 1010 specifically to use with the MFT (and hopefully my Leigh dovetail jig) and will also be getting the OF 1400 EQ Plus once it's available in the US. Between the router and the plunge saw, the MFT will be a very useful (and I believe often used) resource both in the shop and out. It's important to me that I actually use the tools I invest in and the more versatility, the better.

[Greg Mann]

Hi Jim,

Nice set-up...... I'm considering the same purchase. Did you buy a Festool router too? A router seems to be required to get full benefit from the MFT. But with a hand-held router, a plunge kit (both Makita) and a PC 7518 at home already, it's a bit hard to justify. If I could use either the saw or the router and table to edge joint veneer, it would go a long way toward justifying the purchase. Any thoughts? Thanks. Dave.

Dave,

While Festool has already done the design and build work to use their router to work elegantly with their system, I don't see any reason why you could not adapt another router to work with it. If you made a slotted block (hardwood or UHMW) that could ride on the guide rail with a couple holes in it to line up with the fence mounting holes in the base of your router you would be halfway there. If the rods are long enough you could mount some sort of outboard support on the overhanging side of the router as long as it did not interfere with any router functions. I did something like this with my Bosch to use with a guiderail and it wasn't too bad. In the end it made me appreciate all the more what a great job Festool has done in integrating these feature for us, so I bought the OF1010.

As a side note, and I hope Jim won't mind me saying this on his thread, I have been using the Festool router bits with replaceable blades. In our industry we call them inserts, and they are superb. I have been using primarily the 16mm plunge bit and it is very free cutting. The blades usually provide 2 or 4 renewable cutting edges and they are very sharp. DAMHIKT. I think something that might easily be overlooked is that changing the edges amounts to a regrind but you don't lose any size (or the inconvenience of sending it out). In fact, in some instances, if you were doing a lot of heavy cutting, you could use one set of edges for that rough work and keep the opposite side reserved for finish work. The cutter settings would be identical.

Greg

[Jim Becker]

Greg...thanks for mentioning the cutters. They are a great design and probably the best idea for this kind of work. When you are cutting dados in sheet goods and "man-made" stuff like MDF and particle board cores, bit edges wear very, very quickly. One of the quickest way to ruin a cut is with a dull bit. In the long term, replacable cutter type tooling is very cost effective for this purpose.

[Rich Konopka]

Jim:

The last picture shows the plunge saw in action and it looks as if you cutting into the table. Is the top a sacrificial top that is replaceable? I assume the holes are for dawgs?

Thanks again. I learn so much here at the creek and your contributions are very much appreciated. I hope that someday soon I can contribute back as much as you and the others.

Soaking it up for now !!

[Jim Becker]

The last picture shows the plunge saw in action and it looks as if you cutting into the table. Is the top a sacrificial top that is replaceable? I assume the holes are for dawgs?

The top is replaceable/reversable and made of MDF. The dog holes are 20mm and are there for easy clamping of material for a variety of operations.

In the picture, I was scoring the table top with the blade set just a few mm below the surface to provide a reference line. I did this after I went through the initial setup and alignment checking in the, umm...instructions. (Which is a term I use lightly...like many tool companies, Festool's manuals are not all that great)

There are a few folks who post on the Festool forum at Yahoo who are making "really big" MFT setups for processing full sheets. Some are drilling a gazillion holes in a pattern, while others are just putting them where necessary and opting to just drill a new one where it is needed for a clamp or something.

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Jim,

Is there a way to set the fence for accurate repeat cut like 8" shelves and sides for a book case? Or would you have to measure for each one.

Is this the big or the small table?

How easy would it be to do trim or should I plan on keeping the CMS?

Thanks,

Chuck

[Jerry Golick]

Is there a way to set the fence for accurate repeat cut like 8" shelves and sides for a book case? Or would you have to measure for each one.

Is this the big or the small table?

How easy would it be to do trim or should I plan on keeping the CMS?

Hi Chuck,

Let me kick in my own .02

There are numerous ways to get repeatable cuts using the MFT. I've attached a photo below with some of the various clamps and stops available. In the lower left hand corner are two stops that come with the table (though I've only ever used one at a time). They slide anywhere along the rail (which is about 48" if memory serves) and can be dogged down at any point. The metal bar swings over and acts as a stop for the work.

The guide rail limits the length of the crosscut to around 28", but with a longer rail it would be possible to get to 45" or so.

Where this system has some limitations, imo, is when trying to cut thin strips. The guide rail is about 6" wide and needs to be supported when in use. There are a number of ways to do this, but they require a bit more setup.

FWIW - I don't own a CMS and haven't missed it very much. But I'm still somewhat of a newbie as they say.

Hope this helps.

[Jim Becker]

Charles, I opted for the larger version. Jerry's comments are very good. Crown would be tricky, but most other type of "miter" work would be a snap. I use a sled on my table saw for "serious" miter work, such as framing and small crowns for the most part. My CMS only has been used for breaking down lumber, although I trust it more now that I have the ChopMaster on it. At any rate, the MFT could do a lot of things that a CMS is used for (as well as a RAS) and has capacity for much wider material. Is it a replacement? Not always. But that's fine with me.

Oh, as far as repeatability...stops of several kinds fill the bill.

[Jim Brigman]

Jim,

I have the Festool Plunge saw and think it is awesome, but the pics here seem to show MAJOR deflection in the guide rail during your cuts???

[Jim Becker]

I have the Festool Plunge saw and think it is awesome, but the pics here seem to show MAJOR deflection in the guide rail during your cuts???

You'll also notice that there is no material under the rail and it's up a little due to the fact that I (stupidly) didn't pull the fence back out from under it...that was one cut just to score the table. With material under the guide, there would be no deflection. The pic was taken during setup of the table...what can I say?

[Frank Pellow]

Jim,

I have the Festool Plunge saw and think it is awesome, but the pics here seem to show MAJOR deflection in the guide rail during your cuts???

Jim (Brigman, obviously not Becker with his over 5000 posts), I see that this is your first posting to Saw Mill Creek. Let me be the first to welcome you. I have that saw too, and it has become indespensible to me.