power-loc for MFT type tops

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reible
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Re: power-loc for MFT type tops

Post by reible »

First things first. I noticed that the MDF I have has this printed on the edge:
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I have some sheets of 1/2" waiting for another project and one of them also has the edge treatment. I got this at my local Menard's store.

Made a good deal of progress on this project today. You will notice that the cut out looks a lot different this time around as the design has evolved.
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I'm now happy with the fit as well:
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And yes I used the SO for this portion of the cutout:
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I used my Woodpecker MFT guide for the holes. Messed up the first two holes so I had to fill them and do them over. Dumb mistake cost me time and distracts from the looks but functionally it will work fine. Here it is mounted to my shopsmith MFT like extension table:
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And here is a shot of the connector in place holding things together and the reason for the thread:
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Not much to look at but it sure seem to work well. I attempted to order another couple of them but they are having supply line issues and not taking more orders.

Going to add some finish on it and then wax it. And then actually mount the router to the plate and test it in operation and then test the oscillating sander. If all goes well it will be operational by Monday or Tuesday.

Ed
{Knight of the Shopsmith} [Hero's don't wear capes, they wear dog tags]
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reible
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Re: power-loc for MFT type tops

Post by reible »

The plan was to put a couple of coats of Danish oil on the top. Well either I'm out of it or I have stuck it some place in an attempt to hide it and did a good job of that. Being Easter I decided to just work with what I had on hand that might work, that being a sanding sealer. Put on two coats of that on the top and bottom 4 on the edges. I could have kept doing that but as much fun as that is I had other things to do. The good news is it drys very fast.
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After the sealer I did a quick sand with a piece of brown paper. That works so well that I hope others give it a try, an old but good trick of the trade.
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I then applied several coats of wax to give it a nice slippery feel. I also when and checked all the holes since I didn't take much care when applying the sealer, no problem so on to the next step of mounting it again on my shopsmith version extension table.

I got the router mounted and popped it in to see how it fit. Pretty happy with the fit and no reason to want to bolt it in place.
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Next I wanted to make a pivot fence. Nice and easy, just a chunk of oak and a hole, well a 20mm hole near one end.
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Any open hole will work for the pivot and then a clamp on the other end to hold it in place.
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I may at some point make a fence for other purposes but for now I'm functional as I need to be.

Ed
{Knight of the Shopsmith} [Hero's don't wear capes, they wear dog tags]
RFGuy
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Re: power-loc for MFT type tops

Post by RFGuy »

Ed,

It is an interesting design. So, how stable is the far end of this new MFT since it is cantilevered off of this aux table? Just wondering how well using just 2 of the power-loc fasteners works to hold it. Wondering because I have one of the Shopsmith router tables that hang off the end and it flexes some on the outer part, but that is just one table whereas you have a 2nd table hanging off here.
📶RF Guy

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reible
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Re: power-loc for MFT type tops

Post by reible »

Moving from the router to the sander. I knew there was going to be an issue with the sander and the dust port. Still working that out in my mind but hey what is a little sanding dust for today. The router fence seemed like a good place to test out the sander so after mounting it I did a small amount of sanding.
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Here is a shot under the table at the dust port issue:
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The controls for the sander are easy to reach but I might add a deadman foot switch at some point.
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I then shot a short video of the system in use:

https://youtu.be/ParcIU_xX48

So that is about it for this power-loc use thread.

If you would like a video of the router in operation let me know. I have a tripod and cell phone holder now to shoot some of these sorts of videos. I don't have a remote button that works for video.... I got one but it only seems to take pictures and doesn't work with video or perhaps I just haven't found the secret to it??

Ed
{Knight of the Shopsmith} [Hero's don't wear capes, they wear dog tags]
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reible
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Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:08 pm
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Re: power-loc for MFT type tops

Post by reible »

This is for light duty applications so I see no reason to believe that there will be any flex issues. The connectors seem to work really well for this and with the over lap of MFT to this table I see no movement between them.

I have not really looked at movement out on the far side of the table. It has only been attached twice and it did not seem to be floating in the wind. The shopsmith extension MFT table has a short side and a long side from where the tubes attach. I'm using the short side to attach too. I did the side attachment but it can attach on any side and in any orientation. The sander is light and the router not much heavier, now if I were to go to a mid size router (which I could do as Rockler sells a plate for that) it might start feeling to light???? The top is 20-5/8 x 20-5/8 so it is not that massive, and I hope just about the perfect size for me. One could use plywood to lower the weigh if necessary.

I have a small router related project in the planning stage and will see how stable it feels when routing.

Ed
{Knight of the Shopsmith} [Hero's don't wear capes, they wear dog tags]
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