Festool MFS Fence System Instruction Manual page 54

The jig is constructed from standard Fes-
tool catalog MFT rail pieces, Festool
knobs, hardwood scraps and a couple of
pieces of hardwood plywood, resin
coated board or mdf.
MFT side rail sections form both the
structure for the jig and guide the router
base plate while it is raised or lowered to
expose more or less of the dovetail bit.
The key to the safety of this jig is that the
bit is fully trapped down inside a fence
these photos. The fence base into which
the bit is recessed is just a scrap of wood
held to the top of the MFT side or end
rails by recessed 8mm flat head screws
threaded into nuts in the top "T" slot on
the MFT side rail. For dovetail bits larger
than 14mm it will be necessary to route a
recess in the aluminum side rails to let
the bit drop low enough for some cuts.
54
base that
rests in the
gap between
the top sur-
face of the
MFT and the
top of the ex-
truded alumi-
num side rails
as shown in
Only enough of the bit should ever be ex-
posed to cut the proper width of male
dovetail on one side of the work piece.
Flip the work piece over to cut the other
side at the same setting so the male
dovetail is always centered on the work
piece.
Be sure you limit the router
travel so it is not possible to
raise the router high enough to
allow you to work with the bit on
top of the work piece! From my
point of view, that is way too
dangerous to ever consider.
In the photo above a thin brass sheet is
used as a wear surface and to make it
easier to slide the work piece past the bit.
The top surface of the MFT itself is used
as the horizontal sliding surface for the jig
so the size of work piece that can be ac-