Festool MFS Fence System User manual

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
1

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.
2
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
3
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.
4
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
5
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.
6

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
7
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
8

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.
9
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.
10
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.

Using the MFS as a large
and very accurate square.
Now matter what kind of furniture you
build, it is critical to be able to create very
accurate square components that are ex-
actly the size you want them to be. By
aligning all of the outer edges and ends
of the MFS extrusions, you form a very
accurate rectangle with close to perfect
90 degree corners.
In this photo you can see a large class 2
steel reference square placed inside the
MFS rectangle. To the right is a closer
view showing just how very square the
MFS rectangle really is.
The one shown is formed from the MFS
700 starter kit so it is 780mm by 480mm
outside. That is a square that is over 30”
by nearly 19”, larger than any accurate
square you are likely to encounter. For
visual reference that is a one meter (39”
long) MFS extrusion in the photo to the
left.
To use the MFS extrusions as a large
square, assemble the MFS into a rectan-
gle of maximum proportions and with the
ruler marked edges facing out. This is
easily done by using a block of wood to
make sure that each end and each edge
are carefully aligned at all four corners.
Tighten down the attachment screws and
recheck to make sure you really have a
rectangle. Measure the diagonals to
make sure.
With the MFS700 shown here the diago-
nal measurement will be 915.8mm. From
high school geometry you will remember
that any right triangle has a diagonal that
is the square root of the sum of the two
sides squared. In the case of the
MFS700 the two sides are 780mm (the
700mm profile length and the 80mm ad-
joining profile width) and 480mm long.
Square those numbers, add them to-
gether and take the square root of the
sum and you should get 915.86025mm.
Before you get carried away trying to
measure the diagonals with such preci-
sion, keep in mind that one millimeter is
about .040” (forty thousands of an inch)
11

so one tenth of a millimeter is just .004”
(four thousands of an inch) which most of
us would have a hard time seeing even
with the most accurate measuring stick.
If the cut lengths of your extruded pieces
are off by just one tenth of a millimeter,
the resulting diagonal measurement will
change by more than one tenth of a mil-
limeter. So, don’t get hung up on what
your measured diagonal is, only that the
two are the same so you know you have
as close to a perfect square as you can
measure.
Or, as I do, if you have a good reference
square that you trust, use it to confirm
that your MFS rectangle
is really square. If you
measure any difference
at all across the diago-
nals, loosen the
screws, make sure your
ends and edges are
carefully aligned and
tighten them again.
The resulting rectangle
is very rigid and popu-
lated with all those nice
“T” and “V” grooves so
there is no limit to how
you can use it to square
up just about anything
you make. The ruler
markings along all four
edges make for good
reference settings.
If you need an even bigger square, sim-
ply use longer extrusions or put two or
more extrusions end to end to form
longer ones.
If you need an open “L” or “T” shaped
square rather than a rectangle, you can
place the end connector inserts on both
sides of one extrusion so you draw it very
tightly up against the edge of another to
form a large “L” or “T” with very close to a
perfect 90 degree corner.
I can’t measure any out of square on my
extrusions joined this way when meas-
ured with the class 2 steel reference
square shown which has 500mm by
250mm arms. Since the degree of
square with just two pieces joined to-
gether is dependent on just how square
the ends of the extrusions were cut, I
would hesitate to call it “perfect”, but it is
very close.
When you put all four sides together, any
error in how square the
ends were cut will tend
to be cancelled out re-
sulting in a rectangle of
quite significant accu-
racy, certainly more ac-
curate than that
stamped framing
square you might have
been using up to this
point and, as we will
see in the next section,
far more useful than a
similar sized reference
square.
Now that you have a
really good large
square, start by laying
out a known square
corner into which you
can clamp all your square and rectangu-
lar components like rail and stile doors,
panels and the like. If you own a Festool
Multi-function Table you can quickly make
squaring arms as shown in the manual
“Getting the Most from the Festool Multi-
function Table” available for free down-
load from the Festool USA web site.
12
Two MFS profiles can be joined
anywhere along the edges to
form a “T” or “L” square

Using the Festool MFS
fence system to accu-
rately position your guide
rails
This is one of the most basic things you
will do every day whether for cutting stock
to size or for routing grooves or for ma-
chining joints. There are several varia-
tions, but one of my favorites is using the
metric markings along the edges of two
extruded MFS profiles as a long and very
accurate vernier attached to a moveable
fence.
This photo shows the components you
will use sitting on top of a Festool Multi-
Function table. (Actually, in use here are
two Festool tables hooked together side
by side with table joining units.)
These tables are in daily use in my studio
and have been for a couple of years so
they show the spots and wear of heavy
industrially use. Even so they remain
dead on flat and, along with another table
made from three Festool table tops (they
call them “plates”), serve as my primary
assembly work stations.
The components you will use include a
MFS rectangle (in this case a 400mm by
700mm rectangle), one additional MFS
profile (in this case a 1000mm one), two
standard Festool “F” clamps which will
come up from under the table to secure
the individual profile against which the
rectangle will slide, a standard Festool
guide rail, and the side table mounts.
The first thing
is to mount the
single profile
into the “F”
clamps from
below the table
so the clamps
are not in the
way. In the
photo to the
right you can
see how the
“T” track on the
bottom of the
MFS profile receives the standard Festool
“F” clamp arm. I slide the arm over two
clamps (arrows) inserted from below the
table in the side most row of 20mm table
holes. Do not tighten the clamps yet.
Now mount the guide rail in the table side
mounts, set it on top of the individual
MFS profile and the MFS rectangle and
lock the height cams to hold the guide rail
properly in place. Make sure the under-
side of the hat groove on the guide rail
sits in the lip on the table side mount op-
13

posite the
pivot so it
is rigidly
controlled.
Use a
block of
wood to
register the
MFS rec-
tangle with the front edge of the guide rail
and bring the individual profile up against
the side of the rectangle so it is exactly
90 degrees to the leading edge of the
guide rail.
The shot above shows a closer look at
how simple it is to align the
individual profile to be at 90
degrees to the guide rail.
Now tighten the clamps from
below so the individual pro-
file cannot move.
At this point you could use
the rectangle to set all your
cutting lengths for both rip
and cross cuts, but let’s do
one more thing to take ad-
vantage of those nice ruler
markings along the edges of
the MFS profiles.
When you put two rulers side by side you
form a vernier that is very easy to read.
Actually in a true vernier you would have
nine marks on one side and ten in the
same space on the other so you can eas-
ily dial in .1 increments. With the MSF
profiles they are all marked the same so
we will just use the marks as a visual ref-
erence. It is easy to estimate down to
.2mm or lower with a bit of practice.
To quickly do the calibration, set a clamp
to lock down the rectangle as shown
above as we now want to slide the indi-
vidual profile
without alter-
ing square so
the marks
line up con-
veniently for
us.
I like to slide
the individual
profile until
an even unit
mark on it
lines up with
an even unit
mark on the rectangle. Where I have
14

them set for this photo the two 30 marks
conveniently align as is shown below.
Tighten the clamps again on the individ-
ual profile and release the clamp on the
rectangle as you now have calibrated the
scales so zero length of cut is when the
two 30 marks line up. To help me re-
member where zero is, I slide a couple of
the two hole “V” nuts into the “V” tracks,
align one end of each with the zero point
(the 30 marks in this case) and lock them
down with set screws.
Now we can slide the rectangle down to
whatever length of cut we want. As long
as you keep the edge of the rectangle
tightly against the edge of the individual
MFS profile, the leading
edge of the rectangle will
always be parallel with the
guide rail and a known
distance away from it’s
front edge.
So, if you want to rip a se-
ries of 5mm strips, just
move the rectangle 5mm
and clamp it down as
shown to the right. If you
want a 50mm wide cut,
move the rectangle 50mm as shown
here.
Note that the 50mm (or whatever
length of cut you set) will also show
when you lift the guide rail and see
how the leading edge of both the
fixed individual profile and the rectan-
gle line up as pictured below.
15
“V” nuts make an easy-to-see
reminder of which two marks (30
in this case) represent zero
length of cut relative to the front
edge of the guide rail
50 millimeters

Now that we know we can set any length
of cut easily and with great precision we
are ready to do some cutting.
Set the rectangle for the desired length of
cut. Let’s say we want to cut this glued
up maple board to 350mm long. Once
the rectangle is clamped down at 350mm
back from the front edge of the guide rail,
check to make sure it is snug against the
fixed individual profile and slide the work
piece into place.
One edge will be against the fixed indi-
vidual profile acting as a side fence and
the end will be against the leading edge
of the rectangle acting as a length stop.
A couple of things to note at this point.
Look at the photo above. Notice how,
just by positioning the work piece, your
eye can quickly confirm whether the cor-
ner closest to my hand is really square or
not. If it is not square, then your work
piece will not come out square since the
cut you are about to make will be 90 de-
grees to the side against the side fence.
Good practice is to first make a squaring
cut on this end before you set the rectan-
gle for the desired length of cut. Just
move the rectangle a bit further away and
put the edge of the work piece snugly
against the edge fence (the fixed individ-
ual MFS profile that is clamped to your
table top). Make a cut taking off just a bit
so you now know you have a really
square corner. Flip the board end for end
so the same edge is against the edge
fence, set your rectangle to
the desired length of cut and
slide the work piece into
place as shown in the photo
to the left. When you make
this cut you know you will
have two 90 degree angles
with the length exactly what
you want it to be.
This is the same principle as
using a sliding table indus-
trial table saw. Since you
calibrated your guide rail to
the fixed edge fence and are
sliding a known square rec-
tangle to act as the length
stop, you know your cuts will
be bang on straight (thanks
to the Festool guide rail and saw), with
perfect 90 degree corners (thanks to the
individual profile that you calibrated to be
at 90 degrees to the guide rail) and ex-
actly to the length you need (thanks to
the ruler marks on the MFS profiles).
Note one other thing in this photo. I have
my work piece set on top of a couple of
sacrificial scraps of thin plywood. That is
where the saw kerf is going to go, not into
my table top. Using this practice I never
need to be concerned about where I hap-
pen to set the guide rail table side sup-
ports. I just put them wherever it is most
convenient for the cuts I need to make.
16
Cut line

Now we can make the cut as shown be-
low. Wear ear protection, use the Festool
dust collector (the CT33 shown below the
table behind me) and make sure you
have the right blade mounted for the cut
you are about to make.
With the TS line of circular saws it is so
fast and easy to change blades that there
never is a reason to force a cross cut
blade to make a rip or to use a rip blade
to try to do a clean cross cut.
A couple of other things to note. In this
sequence of photos the cut I am about to
make is on stock that is thicker than the
16mm thickness of the MFS profiles. As
a result the stock itself supports the guide
rail and keeps it from flexing down. If you
need to cut stock that is thinner than
16mm add sacrificial spacer stock like the
plywood I use either below (much pre-
ferred) or above the work piece so the
guide rail is supported across the full
width of the cut.
If you plan to work on relatively smaller
work pieces, say up to around 700mm
long (27 1/2”), having the fixed side ex-
truded piece back 60mm from the cut
edge of the guide rail will re-
sult in the 30 marks lining
up as shown before and will
provide good support for the
rectangle to move over this
range. For longer work
pieces it works best to move
the fixed side extrusion back
further away from the lead-
ing edge of the guide rail so
the MFS rectangle will be
well supported when pulled
back more than 700mm or
so.
With this set up it doesn’t
matter whether you use one
Multi-Function Table or two
or more joined together.
You don’t need to worry about the factory
guide rail support stops. They have to be
removed to attach two or more MFTs to-
gether side to side anyway. No matter
where you set the guide rail, since you
are calibrating everything to it, you can
get perfectly square cuts from any posi-
tion on any number of tables.
For all of your normal cross cuts this set
up is fast, reliable and repeatable. It
doesn’t matter whether you need a dozen
pieces all the same size or a dozen
pieces all different sizes. You have the
work piece referenced at 90 degrees to
the cut line by the fixed MFS side extru-
sion and the length determined by the
moveable MFS rectangle acting as your
length depth stop.
Cutting very narrow strips that are all ex-
actly the same width is also easy so long
as the length of the strips is shorter than
the length of the guide rail. The MFS rec-
tangle under the guide rail is now going
17

to act as your rip fence. For longer rips
turn the rectangle so the long edge is
parallel with the guide rail to properly
support the work piece if you need to.
If you need narrow strips that are longer
than the length of the table, you can join
the two tables end to end in-
stead of side to side. That
way you can use a longer
guide rail, or join two or more
to make up a longer guide
rail. You may also want to
make a larger rectangle from
the available longer MFS ex-
trusions so your work piece
is well supported along the
length of the cut.
As the length of cut in-
creases, the requirement
for care and precision in
your set up increases
dramatically. Once the cut
length exceeds the length
of a 1080 MFT I suggest in-
stead that you use the “story stick”
method outlined in an upcoming sec-
tion.
Before starting to cut these narrow strips,
first move the MFS rectangle back out of
the way and make a rip to straighten one
edge of the work piece. Once you know
you have a perfectly straight edge you
can place that edge against the fence
(the leading edge of the MFS rectangle
that is under the guide rail) and know
that your first and all subsequent rip cuts
will be exactly parallel with that edge.
I find it easy with this set up to rapidly
make repeat rips to get a bunch of narrow
strips and can’t measure any difference in
width from one end to the other or from
one strip to another. All are the same
size. I always clamp the work piece to
the table so it can’t move which would
spoil this accuracy. When the work piece
becomes too narrow to safely clamp
down it is also too narrow to safely cut
into more strips.
In this photo you can see the set up (the
DC hose, saw power cord and the out-
side splinter guard have been removed
for clarity). The rectangle was moved
back 5mm from the edge of the guide rail.
The work piece is cut straight and then
butted against the leading edge of the
rectangle and clamped down. Notice that
I have the work piece on top of a sacrifi-
cial hunk of thin plywood to bring it up to
a bit beyond the 16mm thickness of the
MFS profiles so the guide rail will sit flat
on the work piece without deflecting
downward. In this photo the first thin strip
is about half way cut off.
Since the cut off piece is under the guide
rail and the remainder of the work piece
is in front of the guide rail clamped to the
table, cutting these narrow strips is inher-
ently safe. With guided rail sawing the
18

saw blade is turning away from you and
is held by the uncut portion of the work
piece until after the leading edge of the
blade passes the far end of the work
piece. With the blade set to cut just a
couple of millimeters deeper than the
thickness of the work piece, the cut off
piece is only exposed to that small
amount of blade travel and the cut off
piece is trapped from above so it cannot
be lifted off of the table. If the cut off
piece does get trapped between the
fence and the blade, it will be thrown
away from you but usually is secured by
the rubber on the bottom of the guide rail.
On a traditional table saw it is just the re-
verse. The blade is rotating towards you
so the trapped portion of the cut off is free
to be thrown up and back at you, a situa-
tion called “kickback” that nearly every-
one who has used a conventional table
saw to cut narrow strips against a fence
has experienced. This is a far more dan-
gerous situation than using the Festool
MFS fence and Festool guide rail to make
these thin strip rip cuts.
Here you can see three thin strips all
5mm wide, safely and quickly cut from
the work piece on top of the guide rail
behind them, this done with no kick back
and no fingers in harm’s way.
One of the nicest things about this MFS
rectangle sliding against a stationary
MFS profile set up is that you can recon-
figure it on a moment’s notice and rees-
tablish the right angle relationship be-
tween the leading edge of the guide rail
and the MFS rectangle acting as a rip
fence or as a length stop in less than a
minute, no matter where you set the
guide rail. For example, the whole set up
could have been moved further down on
the table to more fully support the work
piece, but I find clamping the work piece
usually does the job even with the set up
this far towards one edge of the table(s).
You can take down and transport the
MFS extrusions as a stack of 80mm by
16mm by whatever length components
and do the whole set up in an off site
work place or can leave the set up just
like it is for repeated in work shop or stu-
dio use. The “V” track nuts, fasteners
and other MFS system components
are very small and easily stored or
transported in a Festool Systainer or
Sortainer.
The MFS is certainly one way to un-
lock the full potential of Festool
guided rail cutting.
Use this set-up for routing as
well
Just cutting pieces to exact size is not
where the usefulness of this set up
stops. You can also rout joints such as
square shouldered tenons to quickly
make rail and stile components, or you
can rout precisely established sliding
dovetails or dados. You also can quickly
rout matching dovetail or dado slots ex-
19

actly the same distance from two ends of
a work piece by simply moving the rec-
tangle to establish the desired cut line on
one end, make the cut, reverse the work
piece and make the other cut.
Remember, with Festool guided rail rout-
ing it doesn’t matter which way you move
the router since the guide rail will hold
against in-thrust or out-thrust forces.
Machining clean tenons
Just take all the pieces that are to have
the tenons and stack them together
aligned with the fixed MFS side extrusion.
I still like to add a side clamp such as the
Festool clamping element 488030 to
make sure nothing moves.
Move the the MFS rectangle towards the
guide rail to establish the exact length
you want the tenons to be. Set the saw
blade to cut down into the work piece the
depth you want the shoulder to be. Make
one pass cutting the shoulder in all of the
pieces at one time. Rotate them
and make a second pass to cut
the other side of the shoulder. If
you want the tenon to be
haunched, rotate the pieces up
on edge, place the guide rail on
top and make the third pass. Ro-
tate and make the fourth pass to
establish haunches on both
edges.
To remove the remainder of the
tenon you will use your Festool
router with a flat bottom bit. Un-
like the saw blade which cuts
zero clearance to the front edge
of the guide rail, you need to ad-
just the router and slide to establish the
desired cut line to be in front of the guide
rail so as not to tear up the zero clear-
ance rubber edge.
I like to set the router so the center of the
cut is 20mm in front of the guide rail.
There is a convenient center mark on the
base of Festool routers so it is easy and
fast to make that alignment. If you use a
20mm diameter router bit, the edge of the
cut will be 10mm in front of and parallel
with the guide rail. That makes it easy to
set the fence to remove the rest of the
tenon with the router.
You can skip the part about making a saw
blade cut to establish the shoulders of the
tenons, but usually cutting them just with
the router will leave a bit of fuzz, and on
some woods may result in a bit of tear out
on the shoulders.
A quick additional routing example
The next few photos show the MFS com-
ponents utilized to quickly make a small
stand with a shelf, half back and drawer.
To make it easier to see, I have pre-
finished all the components, shown here
and in the next several photos.
20