Festool MFS Fence System Manuel utilisateur

Advanced Cutting and Routing Techniques

Using the Festool MFS Fence System

Text and Photos by Jerry Work

Isn’t it interesting how every so often a simple appearing new tool or technique comes

along that offers us the opportunity to make a quantum leap in our productivity? Once

put to use, we can’t believe we ever got along without it. Yet, when we ﬁrst look at it we

have trouble comprehending just how it can make such an impact. I want to share with

you one such simple appearing new tool that can radically improve the accuracy and

ﬂexibility of Festool guided rail cutting and routing - the Festool MFS fence system.

While it is described in the Festool literature as a “multi-routing template,” and it is very

good at that function, we will discover here just how much more than that it becomes

when used in conjunction with Festool guide rails as a universal squaring, aligning,

cutting and routing guide. We will learn how greatly it increases the versatility and

accuracy of setting guide rails for precise and repeatable cutting and routing operations.

We will learn how it facilitates cutting of everything from multiple, identical narrow strips

to adding sliding table-saw-like accuracy to breaking down large panels. We will also

see how using it we can prep solid wood stock to be perfectly square and precisely di-

mensioned just as one would normally do on large industrial machinery as well as how

we can cut complex joints like haunched tenons and interlocking sliding dovetails using

just Festool hand power tools, the Festool Multi Function Table, Festool guide rails and

the Festool MFS fence system.

Most readers of this piece already have

some experi-

ence with or

at least an

understand-

ing of Fes-

tool guided

rail cutting.

Since the in-

troduction of

hand power

tools, users

have created

a whole vari-

ety of jigs

and ﬁxtures

to help guide

a saw or

router in a straight line.

Unfortu-

nately, most

of those ef-

forts depend

on the user

being able to

keep the

base of the

saw or router

ﬁrmly against

the edge of

some sort of

fence. Many

ﬁnd it hard to

do that with

accuracy and

repeatability

since saws and routers are subjected

both to in-thrust forces which tend to

push the saw or router against the fence

as well as out-thrust forces which tend to

push the saw or router away from the

fence. Far too often the result is a less

than perfect straight cut.

The innovative engineers at Festool de-

veloped a unique guide rail (the horizon-

tal piece in this photo) which features a

hat shaped track onto which each of its

cutting tools rides. A “U” shaped channel

is cast or cut

into the base

of each cut-

ting tool or

into a guide

made just for

that cutting

tool. That

channel has

gibbs which

can be ad-

justed so the

channel ﬁts

ﬁrmly on the

hat shaped

section on

the guide

rail. Since

the base of

the cutting tool is held ﬁrmly on both

sides as the two sides of the “U” engage

the two sides of the hat, the tool is guided

in a perfectly straight line whether sub-

jected to in-thrust or out-thrust forces.

This is the heart of Festool guided rail

cutting and routing.

What this allows is a whole new way of

machining wood. Instead of passing the

work piece by a stationary cutter, guided

rail machining allows the cutter to be

moved past the stationary work piece in a

highly controlled manner. This opens up

all sorts of things that become easy to do

which previously, using the old tech-

niques, were hard to do.

One example is the ability to easily cut

multiple mirrored stopped dados or slid-

ing dovetail slots on either side of a cabi-

net carcass. When you try to do this with

conventional stationary cutting tools you

wind up referencing some of the cuts off

of the top of one piece and their mates off

of the bottom of the other piece. You

might get lucky and have two such

stopped mir-

rored slots

line up that

way, but it is

a rare crafts-

person who

can make

four, ﬁve, six

or more such

slots line up.

Using Fes-

tool guided

rail routing it

is easy to do

as many

such stopped

mirrored

slots as you

wish and

have them all align perfectly.

Since the Festool offerings are all con-

sidered parts of one system, there are

many components from which to choose.

Many people start with a Festool circular

saw, a guide rail, some clamps to hold

the guide rail ﬁrmly to the work piece and

one of the excellent Festool dust collec-

tors so that the cutting operation makes

far less mess of saw dust all over the

place.

Festool MFS system components

The ﬁrst few cuts using this set up are

often a revelation for the user. Suddenly

it is easy to break down that large sheet

of plywood or MDF that is so awkward

and potentially dangerous to cut on a

conventional table saw. The user is

blown away by the fact that the ﬁrst cut

with the circular saw cuts a rubber edge

on the guide rail to be zero clearance to

the saw blade from that point forward.

That zero clearance edge on the guide

rail makes setting the guide rail to meas-

ured marks a cinch, and it

also provides for a splinter

free cut along the inside of

the cut line. On the TS se-

ries circular saws there is

also a sacriﬁcial plastic part

that provides a zero clear-

ance, chip free cut on the

outside of the cut line as well.

While it is easy to set the

guide rail accurately to marks

measured out on both edges

of a work piece, measure-

ment errors can creep in if

you want to cut multiple

pieces of exactly the same

size. We will show in a mo-

ment how to use the MFS

universal squaring, aligning, cutting and

routing guide to make multiple perfectly

sized pieces with one simple set up.

Since we will be referring to the MFS

guide frequently in this manual I will leave

off the “universal squaring, aligning, cut-

ting and routing” part of its name and

simply refer to it as the “MFS guide” or

“fence” from here on.

Once new users get used to guided rail

cutting, they often will add next a Festool

Multi-function Table (MFT) to support the

work pieces at a more comfortable work-

ing height.

When they ﬁrst look at the MFT, they see

a nicely constructed portable table with a

bunch of holes in the top. A bit closer in-

spection reveals that the table also

comes with supports to hold the guide rail

in exactly the same place every time it is

mounted to the table and with a miter

fence so the work piece can be held at a

precise angle relative to the guide rail.

The miter fence has a “T” slot which ac-

cepts stops so that once a measured dis-

tance back from the front edge of the

guide rail is established, work pieces can

be positioned for repeat cross cuts of the

same length with very good results.

Again, however, the precision of the

length dimension is a function of how well

users read the tape measure, how accu-

rately they make their mark at the in-

tended length of cut, and how accurately

they set the stop to the mark. The proc-

ess works very well for most cross cuts

The MFS system used as a very

precise vernier fence for posi-

tioning the work piece relative to

Festool guide rails

but measurement errors can again creep

in.

Rips, especially thin rip cuts, are another

matter all together. Most users ﬁnd it dif-

ﬁcult to accurately set up the guide rail for

rip cuts as they again must rely on meas-

ured marks on two edges of the work

piece. Then they must align the front

edge of the guide rail to those marks.

Doing so for one rip cut usually works

okay so long as the work piece is wide

enough to provide good purchase for the

guide rail. If the intent is to produce mul-

tiple rip cuts of exactly the same width, as

in making rail and stile components,

things get a bit more difﬁcult, especially

for ﬁrst time users.

Also, if the intent is to produce multiple

thin strips, say 10mm (3/8”) or less in

width, that is also difﬁcult for most to do

accurately. If the work piece is set under

the guide rail for good purchase then the

work piece has to be moved out each

time by the sum of the intended work

piece width plus the actual saw kerf

width. It is certainly possible to set up

stops or fences to do that, but the proc-

ess is not very fast and can be frustrating

for some.

We will see shortly how we can use the

Festool MFS fence components to make

very precisely dimensioned thin or wide

rip cuts limited only by the length of the

guide rail in use and the ability to support

the work piece across its length. One

example we will use will be making rail

and stile components to a very close tol-

erance and cutting haunched tenons on

the ends of the rails all using just the Fes-

tool guide rails and MFS fence compo-

nents. In another example we will rip

multiple 5mm wide strips to use as inlay

material, again just using Festool guide

rails and MFS guides.

We will also show how to use the com-

ponents of the MFS fence system as

measured “story sticks” to aid setting

guide rails on large sheet goods very

precisely as is shown in this photo.

Then we will turn our attention to the

use of the MFS fence system for guiding

a Festool router for doing everything

from open ﬁeld inlay work to delicate

string inlays, to complex pattern and tem-

plate routing to produce multiple com-

plexly shaped parts quickly and easily.

Once we tackle all of these uses for the

MFS fence system, I think you will reach

the same conclusion I did that the Festool

MFS is a simple looking tool which can

radically improve the accuracy of all your

guided rail cutting and routing operations

thereby helping you make a quantum

leap in your productivity.

So, grab a beverage, sit back and let’s

take this journey together.

MFS proﬁles used as “story

sticks” to accurately position

Festool guide rails

What is the Festool

MFS fence or guide

system?

At it’s heart, the MFS is a very

precise, complex aluminum extru-

sion 80mm wide and 16mm thick.

It comes in 200mm, 400mm,

700mm, 1000mm and 2000mm

lengths shown in this photo sitting

on top of a Festool guide rail.

That is roughly 3 1/8” wide, 5/8”

thick with standard lengths of a bit

over 8”, a bit over 16”, 27 1/2”, 39

3/8” and 78 3/4”. From here on I

will only refer to the metric sizes as that is

how each of these extrusions is identiﬁed

and marked.

Along one edge are ruled marks in milli-

meters starting at zero and going to the

length of the extrusion. The ends are cut

very accurately at 90 degrees.

On the top and bottom 80mm widths are

“T” tracks the same size and shape as

the Festool guide rail “T” tracks so the

same Festool clamps and other

accessories will ﬁt.

On both sides of the 80mm

widths and along each 16mm

side are “V” shaped tracks

unique to the MFS. Festool

supplies a variety of different

nuts that slide into these “V”

tracks to allow the attachment

of different supplied and shop

built components.

One of the nuts that ﬁts into the

track on one or both 16mm

sides is a threaded insert

(shown below) which is held

ﬁrmly in place. A hole through

that insert allows a 4mm cap

Special MFS “V” track, one

on each side and three on

each face

Standard Festool “T”

track on each face

head machine screw to pass through to

thread into a short “V” nut. By sliding that

short “V” nut into the side “V” track in an-

other unit, two extruded pieces can be

assembled at right angles to one another.

The picture above shows how a standard

Festool “F” style clamp (48957 and

489571) ﬁts into the “T” slot on either face

so you have lots of options as to how to

clamp these proﬁles to your work piece or

to a Festool Multi-function table.

This picture shows how the special MFS

“V” nuts ﬁt into the “V” track to hold all

kinds of jigs and ﬁxtures. The round

piece in the center is a pivot point for the

circle and arc routing which is easily done

using the MFS proﬁles. Here are detailed

shots of that standard piece and the

two standard “V” nuts. The one with two

holes is threaded for 5mm, the smaller

one with the detent ball for 4mm.

Four such extruded pieces assembled at

right angles to one another form a very

square and ad-

justable rectan-

gle.

A ball headed

3mm Allen key

is supplied to

allow you to

easily tighten or

loosen these

connecting

points so you

can slide the

extruded pieces

to form rectan-

gles of any size

up to the length

of the extrusion

plus the 80mm

width of the ad-

joining extruded

piece. The in-

side rectangle

formed is the

length of the extruded piece less

the 80mm width of the adjoining

extruded piece.

For example, the starter set

492610 which is listed in the Fes-

tool catalog as 15.7” by 7.8” and

called MFS 400 has two 200mm

extruded pieces and two 400mm

extruded pieces. They will make

a rectangle up to 280mm by

480mm outside and 120mm by

320mm inside.

Starter set MFS 700 shown

above with the Festool catalog

open for size comparison has two

400mm and two 700mm extru-

sions so it will make a rectangle as large

as 780mm by 480mm outside and

320mm by 620mm inside.

You can also purchase

additional longer extru-

sions in either 1000mm

or 2000mm lengths.

Two or more extrusions

can be joined end to

end with MFS joining

units (the two hole “V”

nuts and 5mm set

screws shown on the

previous page) so there

is really no limit to how

large a rectangle you

can form for special ap-

plications.

The starter kits also in-

clude two heavy metal

angles (shown in the

photo left) roughly

80mm wide with one

30mm and one 60mm

side. These have two

4.5mm slots cut into them through which

4mm bolts can pass to thread into one of

Standard components shipped

with the MFS 700 starter kit

the special nuts that ﬁt into the “V” slots.

This allows the heavy metal angle pieces

to be used to locate the extrusions rela-

tive to the sides or edges of a work piece

and/or to fasten the extrusions to the

work piece.

Festool also supplies a machined alumi-

num piece shown below that is 50mm by

50mm and 16mm thick with a 30.25mm

hole in the center and a tongue on two of

its sides that ﬁts into the “V” slots. One of

the tongues is split with a set screw that

will widen the split to fasten the aluminum

piece in place anywhere along the edge

of any of the extruded pieces.

This piece has a number of uses, the

most common of which is to receive a

30mm guide bushing on a router. A 5mm

pivot point (shown before) is also sup-

plied which will fasten to one of the spe-

cial nuts that slide in the “V” slots. With a

pivot point at one end and a guide bush-

ing holder at the other, you can quickly

establish a circle or arc routing jig limited

only by the combined lengths of all of the

MFS extrusions you own. With the wide

variety of router bits available you can

use this set up to cut and/or edge route a

bewildering array of arced or circular

shaped work pieces.

For example, an elegant head board can

be made with a sophisticated long radius

arc across the top that would be very

hard to duplicate any other way.

The ﬁnal component supplied with either

the MFS 400 or MFS 700 starter kits is

the clever molded plastic anti-tip ring

shown in the two photos above which will

support the router base while you are

edge routing around either the inside or

the outside of the formed rectangle. This

black molded piece accommodates

24mm, 27mm, 30mm or 40mm diameter

router guide bushings. The design of this

piece allows the guide bushing to rotate

while you move along the edge keeping

this anti-tip piece always with maximum

support for the overhanging base of the

router. Note how the lip on the guide

bushing sits in a recess in the anti-tip

piece so, no matter where you go with the

router, this anti-tip piece stays in place

doing its job of stabilizing the router so it

stays ﬂat and level with the top of the

MFS proﬁles. Very slick and very useful.

Also available is what Festool calls a

“routing slide” shown in the picture above.

This is a heavy stamped metal bridge

750mm long and 180mm wide with a slot

cut down the center sized to receive a

30mm guide bushing and a bent up lip on

each long side for rigidity. The Festool

router bases ﬁt comfortably inside the two

bent lips so you can attach a 30mm guide

bushing and pass a router bit across the

full inside width of any rectangle up to the

size of the MFS 700. The guide bushing

keeps the router and the bit centered on

the slot.

Along one short edge the bridge features

a lip bent down with holes in it positioned

for a 4mm threaded lock lever screwed

into one of the special “V” nuts. This is

shown at the front of the slide in the pic-

ture below left.

When you insert the “V” nut into one of

the “V” grooves on the 16mm edges of

the extruded piece, two stamped tongues

also engage in one of the top “V” grooves

on that same extruded piece which will

allow the bridge to move easily

side to side at 90 degrees to

the MFS proﬁle or be locked

into place by the lever bolt

shown.

A pointer indicating the center

line of the slot, and hence the

router bit, makes setting the

desired center line measure-

ment a breeze. In the photo

below it is set to exactly

120mm from the right inner

edge of the MFS rectangle.

With the router slide you have

two dimensional control over

the movement of the router

suspended over the top face of the work

piece. Since the router can plunge up or

down, you wind up with three dimensional

control of the router cutter.

Stamped tongues

keep the routing

slide square

Lever bolt locks

position

While there are many uses for this ar-

rangement, the most common is to route

a recess into the face of a work

piece to receive what is called

“open ﬁeld” inlays like the sample

shown here.

Adding inlays such as these to a

top, front or sides of a chest or

shelf unit is a fast way to really

increase the perceived value of

your work with little additional ef-

fort on your part. This is just one

of the ways the MFS helps you

make a quantum leap in your

productivity. We will cover this

feature in more detail when we

get to the chapter on inlays.

Open ﬁeld inlay in sample piece after

being polished with the Festool

RO150. The ﬁeld is Brazilian cherry.

The dark red inlay is South African

blood wood. The lighter colored inlay

is Oregon Big Leaf maple burl that

was cut from the piece above.

Notice how clean the corners, ﬂoor and

edges of an open ﬁeld female recess

are when your router is guided by the

MFS proﬁles and the router slide. This

piece is African Mahogany, a wood no-

torious for its tendency to splinter along

edges like this.

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