Festool MultiFunction Table 1080

by Jim Harsha

Over the holidays a Festool MultiFunction Table 1080 made its way into my shop. This is a great tool!

My shop is very small and having the MFT has allowed me to perform crosscuts on large/long pieces and then fold it up against the wall and reclaim the space for other tasks. I like it so much I sold my Makita 1013 SCMS that took up a huge amount of room with it's base etc.

The table is 28"x45" and allows for crosscuts of up to 30" (in standard configuration) and if you own one of the longer guide rails from Festool you can crosscut (or rip) up to about 46".

The MDF top has 3/4"(20mm) holes over it's whole surface for use with Festool clamping fixtures but also allows the use of standard 3/4" bench dogs and clamping systems (e.g.Veritas' Wonder Dog/Pup). The table top is surrounded by heavy aluminum extrusions that will hold any number of jigs/fixtures. The table comes with a 42" guide rail that is connected to a sliding fixture on the backrail that is adjustable for height and flips up out of the way to access the table. On the front side of the table is another sliding height adjustable fixture that has a "nub" that helps locate the guide rail when it is in the down position.

Also supplied is a 48" long Angle Stop (a miter gauge) that controls the cutting of miters etc. This stop is equipped with a sliding adjustable stop for repeatable length cuts and a clamp unit that rides in the left side rail to anchor the end of the Angle Stop. I did make a couple of modifications to the Angle Stop, I added a self-adhesive tape measure and an eyebolt to facilitate hanging on peg board when not in use. The cuts at various angles were right on and very repeatable.

After trimming the splinter guard on the guide per instructions you are ready to go.

If you have the Festool Plunge Saw I highly recommend the MFT. It makes short work of those wide/long crosscuts that can be so troublesome on a table saw. For those that do on-site work this is must, combined with other tools in Festool line up it is a "real" system.

The usual disclaimers apply. I'm just an avid user.