MFT top, make one or buy in?

[basssound]

Two birch ply MFT tops arrived just now from CNC Designs Wrexham, can't believe I was thinking of not using them. The quality is second to none, service was second to none, order at 11 yesterday, arrived at 12.30 today.

Just need to wax the tops and the holes as the dogs are really tight.

Any suggestions on a good wax or sealer to water proof and protect.

 

[Farmer Giles]

I just swapped out the table top I made with the Axminster/UJK Technology parf guide system with one made to order by Mick at Formatic CNC. Great service, very swift, well packaged.

I was getting iffy results, it wasn't spot on so I ended up planing components to make them fit. I had a small MFT top knocking around so I laid that on top and there was a small but noticeable lip on some holes where they didn't line up.

I'm pretty sure it is not the Parf guide system, but me, I believe the Mk II system makes it harder to screw up, I have the mark I and somehow, I did.

I now have a top I can rely on. I've only made a few cabinets for the utility room so far, and they were all different so it didn't bother me too much. Now I'm about too embark on the bulk of the cabinets, about 20 or so for the kitchen including wall cabinets so it should speed up delivery as I can spend a day cutting and get identical components without having to plane them.

 

[DBT85]

Farmer Giles would you mind sharing a price? They don't list anything on their site.

 

[Farmer Giles]

My MDF top, virtually a full sheet was 85 quid plus transport. The transport bit is expensive, too big to fit on a pallet and the couriers charge a fair bit. I think it was 45 quid. So all in, about the same price as the Mk1 UJK parf jig

There was a place closer, but up in Harrogate and I didn't fancy going through the Yorkshire show traffic this week, and by the time you paid for fuel, I probably would have saved 20 quid plus wasted a morning where I could be in the workshop.

 

[DBT85]

Ahh not so bad for such a large mft I suppose. Plus you know it's accurate.

I'm weighing up whether to get one from cnc designs to make up a part of an assembly table on wheels. My workbench is too high for using the tracksaw and frankly it's not great using it on the 2 plastic saw horses I have.

Also planning on making a router table just like Gosforth Handyman so getting one of the regular mft sized boards is probably a better idea for me. Not to mention a full sheet is a bit big for my workshop.

One day 30sqm will be mine.

One day.

 

[DBT85]

Incidentally, your man at formatic is doing a standard mft in mrmdf for £43 posted on ebay. The birch ply one is only £57.

In case anyone doesnt want to email him about one.

 

[Steve Maskery]

For anyone who likes the idea of one of these but doesn't have the space for a permanent setup, Aiden's design for a KD cutting table, subsequently modified by several people is well worth consideration:
sore-hoarses-mkii-now-with-added-plans-t44761.html

 

[Farmer Giles]

Incidentally, your man at formatic is doing a standard mft in mrmdf for £43 posted on ebay. The birch ply one is only £57.

In case anyone doesnt want to email him about one.

I wanted a specific size and hole offset ready to drop on, nearly a full sheet of MDF, but that is a good price for a standard MFT table size.