Friday, August 24, 2012

Mobile MFT3 Cart with Boom Arm and Storage

My "workshop" is, like many people, in the garage and one stipulation from She Who Must Be Obeyed for letting me indulge in my hobby is that the garage must still be able to function for its intended purpose for at least one car.  That means being able to move stuff around and out of the way.   While the MFT/3 is not super heavy, it doesn't motivate me to want to me to move it.  Besides moving the table itself there is the vac and other pieces of equipment that needs to be moved as well.  I decided that what I need is a mobile cart with storage that will keep everything together and I just need to roll one thing around.

The result is this mobile storage cart for my MFT3:


I got a lot of the inspiration from others especially those who posted on the Festool Owners Group.  I added a boom arm to hold up the vacuum hose and power cord so they stay out of the way when I'm cutting.  There are 3 compartments for storing things in the front and a small storage place in the back as well.  The caster are machine leveling casters from WoodRiver which keeps it stable and stationary when, but when I want to move it I can lower the wheel.

Finding a place to keep the saw between cuts has always been a pain so I decided to have  space next to the table to put it down.  I put in some sides to prevent it from accidentally falling off.


I haven't done too much since building the cart, but I have some projects in mind if only I can find the time... :-)

8 comments:

  1. Hi, I just found your blog. Nice woodworking writeups and pictures. Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is a nice setup! I'm going to have to copy a lot of your details like the pvc pipe boom arm (lot cheaper than the festool one!), the storage areas below, the place to set the saw, the casters, etc... Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Any plans you could share for this? I'm planning on building something similar soon.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love this setup! Do you happen to have any plans/dimensions you could share so I can build one for my MFT3?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Really want to build something like for my MFT. Do you have any plans/dimensions you could share?

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry, but I don't have any plans for this. I made it from pictures of various similar carts that I saw online. Simply make the depth of it the size of your MFT and then for the width you extend it wide enough to hold the saw.

      Delete
    2. no worries, how did you attach the mft to the top of the cart?

      Delete
    3. I attached 4 wood blocks on the cart top that acts as stoppers. This way the MFT won't accidentally slide around but I can lift the MFT off the card if needed. I put the MFT on the card, put the wood blocks behind the legs at each corner, marked their location, removed the MFT, screwed in the blocks and then put the MFT back.

      Delete