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.