80/20 tracks and Festool clamps

[Mike Wilkins]

Got this idea for a new workbench with MFT-style top and extruded tracks on the side. Does anyone know if the Festool clamps will work on these extrusions and if so which ones.
Thanks for any insight.

[Greg Quenneville]

I use pieces of Maytec extrusions on the side of my MFT style big bench to store my clamps…they slot inverted into the extrusion. I think all extrusion companies publish dimensions so it should be easy to figure if your clamps will grab in any particular feature.

[Steve Eure]

Check out the specs as Greg mentioned. I made an MFT style table out of 2060 extrusion and it will only take a M5 screw and/or nut made especially for that extrusion. Most companies will say whether their extrusion will take lets say a 1/4" bolt head or a 5/16" flange type head. A 6 mm head is close to a 1/4". I'm not sure what the Festool clamp size is, but I'd measure that first before ordering. I found out the hard way by not doing my research.

[Jim Becker]

80/20 and others have both metric and imperial sizing available. That said, I don't recall the specifics of the tracks in the Festool extrusions and my MFT is currently "buried" in storage until I have my shop building up so I can't actually measure.

[Greg Funk]

I used the older Festool extrusions when building my MFT style outfeed table.
Below is a comparison of the Festool extrusion with an 80/20 profile. The small rectangle inside the Festool extrusion is the size of the clamp bar (5.5 x 11.5mm). Doesn't look like it would fit inside the standard 80/20 profile.

Is there a reason you don't want to use the Festool extrusions?

Screenshot 2022-03-21 121309.png

[Jim Becker]

Here's another purveyor of aluminum extrusions that I got from a 'Tuber I've been watching lately...the have a pretty diverse lineup and can even kit out a solution.

https://www.framingtech.com/

[Mike Wilkins]

Hey Greg, I didn't know Festool sold the MFT style extrusions. I will look into it-Thanks.

[Greg Funk]

Hey Greg, I didn't know Festool sold the MFT style extrusions. I will look into it-Thanks.

Part number for the current version of extensions is Festool 496824. I don't think it's available in the US but you can likely find it in the UK. I used the previous version 488555.

[Brad Rucker]

The short answer on 8020 and Festool clamps is 'yes'. I just built a new workbench with 8020 sides (these are series 1530, meaning they are 1.5" thick and 3" wide) and a 2" thick hard maple frame. The extruded aluminum fits Festool clamps perfectly.

New workbench 2.jpgNew workbench 1.jpg

[Paul F Franklin]

Nice table Brad! I suspect the matchfit clamps might fit 8020 extrusion as well, but I haven't tried it. The matchfit clamps are a bit less spendy....

[Brad Rucker]

Thank you, Paul. I haven't tried the matchfit clamps. Will have to do so.

[Mike Wilkins]

Thanks Brad-that is the info I was seeking. That is a well made work bench and similar to what I was thinking of building. Time to go shopping.