Woodpeckers has come out with another One Time Tool – an MFT Square. It’s designed to be perfect for squaring up Festool’s MFT multi-function tables, which are often used with Festool power tools and track saws to make straight, perpendicular, and miter cuts on sheet goods.
Although designed as an MFT guide rail and fence square-up solution, the MFT Square can also be used to calibrate and square up other equipment, such as miter and table saw blades and fences.
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The Woodpeckers MFQ Square is made from 3 main parts – a 3/32″ stainless steel plate that’s machined to size, and two 1-1/8″ thick legs made from anodized aircraft-grade aluminum. The legs are attached to the steel plate with socket head screws, meaning it can be recalibrated if it’s ever knocked out of squareness.
Both legs are 17″ long, making this a monstrously sized square. This size, and the ample thickness, are what make the MFT Square great for squaring up miter saws, table saws, and yes MFT guide rails and fences, where thinner tools can cause serious frustration.
The square weighs in at 4.8 pounds. It’ll eat your speed, rafter, and combination squares for breakfast.
Price: $270 plus shipping
ETA: June 2015
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COO: Made in USA
Order Deadline: February 16th, 2015
As this is a Woodpeckers “One Time Tool,” you order first, and then they will manufacture the squares later on when there’s machining time. If you don’t order by the deadline, you’re out of luck. There’s a signup sheet where you could request retired products be brought back to production, but that doesn’t happen often.
Woodpeckers ships the square with a mounting bracket that attaches to the side of Festool’s MFT tables.
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And here’s Woodpeckers’ promo video:
First Thoughts
$270 is a HUGE price to pay for a square. But, keep in mind that Woodpeckers makes top-quality tools (in the USA), and this square obviously requires a lot of machining steps. The final square weighs nearly 5 pounds, and Woodpeckers says that the legs start off weighing 5 pounds, with the context suggesting that it’s 5 pounds per leg. It’s no wonder it takes so long for Woodpeckers to fit One Time Tools into their regular production schedule!
Do you know of any other square with reference edges that are 17″ long and 1-1/8″ thick? I sure don’t, which makes the MFT Square even more desirable, at least in my opinion.
As has happened in the past, I know I’ll regret it if I pass on this One Time Tool, but nearly $300 is very hard to swallow. Maybe I’ll make due with my ordinary and downright puny-in-comparison squares until Woodpeckers comes out with a smaller version for half the price.
The only real way I could justify buying an MFT Square is if someone lets me buy a prototype in time to review it before the Feb 16th deadline. Hint Hint. I’ve got my credit card ready!
Nathan
granted I’ve not looked in a long while but surely there are squares out there that are 1-1/8 thick legs on them. perhaps not 17 x 17. but it’s expensive because it’s pretty. I mean what’s the triangle in the middle for? it’s pretty wall art for your garage/workshop. I find most of these woodpeckers tools to be that way.
make one with steel channel stock or AL extrustion – simpler pieces – still screw together if you feel it has to be calibratable. sell for around 70-90. could still be made in america.
Allen
Sounds like a Kickstarter project, I’m in.
Yadda
It looks great, but at that price I will make do with something much cheaper.
ktash
I’ve noticed that some of the Woodpeckers one-time tools are targeted at weaknesses in Festool products. They had a special jig for the Domino recently. I don’t own one but I’ve used the Domino and it’s not always easy or fast to get real accuracy on certain pieces. I still like the Domino, but clearly the woodpecker jig would have made it much better.
Same with this and the MFT, one of the weaknesses of the MFT is squaring and the Festool solutions aren’t very impressive. That’s if you are using it instead of a table saw.
I do own a couple of Festool tools and like them a lot, but wouldn’t get the whole line because of cost/benefit compared to other top line brands. I do love Woodpeckers stuff and drool over many of the one time tools, but saving for my next major tool purchase is why I keep my credit card in my wallet. I’d consider a somewhat smaller square at half the price, though, because I know it would be extremely useful.
Josh
Wouldn’t something like this work just as well?
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/144041/3D-Squares-2-pack.aspx
Nowhere near as sexy, but at 10% of the price…
I love Woodpecker’s stuff and wish I could justify half of it. This one seems kind of ridiculous though.
Stuart
Those are really too small for equipment calibration. I checked them out at a woodworking show a couple of years back, and they were a lot sturdier than they appear to be in online photos.
The larger reference surfaces of the MFT Square should make it a LOT easier to quickly calibrate machine surfaces.
This is definitely a luxury tool. Ultimately, I think I’m going to have to pass. If there was one available now that I could buy and quickly test and evaluate before the deadline, I’d find a way to pay for it. But for personal use, I can’t justify it. As mentioned in the post, a smaller version that sells for half the price would be a lot harder to say no to.
Jimmie
While I won’t poo-poo the usefulness of a good medium-sized engineer’s square, here’s what you do if you need something larger for clamping or for squaring up a miter saw, etc:
1) Go to your local college bookscore and buy an acrylic drafting triangle. I have an old 45-45-90 one that measures 16″ on the short sides but I’ve seen them up to around 24″.
2) Use double-sided tape to secure said triangle to a piece of 3/4″ Baltic birch or MDF. If you want something thicker, laminate two 3/4″ pieces together.
4) Using a pattern router bit, mill the wood to match the triangle.
You can make a dozen in an hour each just as accurate as the triangle itself.
I’ve made dozens in various sizes that I use for clamping cabinets and frames. They’re not sexy and won’t look particularly pretty hanging on the wall but they do the job. And if one gets damaged somehow, it’s trivial to make another.
ktash
Thanks for the good idea! I just ordered a square from Dick Blick Art supply online. All the regular bookstores are gone though we still have local colleges, so hope mine comes square and not banged up. The largest 45-90 square they had was 18″, but that seems decent.
I like the idea of making these to square cabinets. I have a couple like that I made, but not sure they are square enough for fine tuning quick checks. The square with shipping was around $15. Amazon had some 24″ acrylic artists squares but they were over $60 with shipping. That’s the price point where I start saving for a Woodpeckers square 😉
RICHARD DECKERT
It’s a niche tool! No thanks, i’m just a regular guy.
CB
I know I’m way late on this but in case anybody finds this post, they may find it useful.
If $300 is too much too swallow for a Gucci tool, you want to try this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-GROUND-STRAIGHT-EDGE-SQUARE-18-034-X-8-034-MADE-IN-POLAND-FREE-SHIP-/251782200428?nma=true&si=bR4EZWHzsZxnukkH3Dynq39aJHs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
They can be found on Ebay and at other places and sell for $80 shipped, the company is called TMX and is from Poland; they make reference tools for machinist. Similar to the squares sold at Woodcraft and Rockler but better, this one is not made in India like Groz squares.
This square is solid tool steel, 18″ x 8″ and rather thick (1/2″+) throughout and hardened to 55 rockwell hardness and precision grounded to .0008″. I would say guaranteed to stay way more accurate and stable than Woodpeckers 3/32″ stainless and aluminum square. This square is big and solid. Always try to get reference tools made for machinist over ones made for woodworkers, their overkill but there better and will last a life time. This square’s 18” edge could also work in a pinch as a straight edge on smaller jointers, the edge is thick enough to stand up on it’s own; although ideally a 36” straight edge is better for that.
The Woodpeckers is sexy looking and for sure would look great on the wall but not sure I would trust it over time, a square with three parts fastened together with screws?
While the woodpecker can be re-aligned to make square again your going to need a accurate square near the same size to do so. So what’s the point of having this one? Two years ago I purchased a 36” Woodpeckers straightedge that had to be returned because it arrived not straight, it was twisted.
I would love Stuart to get the Woodpecker on review and try it out in a real world environment and post a review.
For something as a real cheap ($17) alternative, accurate (probably just as accurate as the Woodpecker or more) and very useful is the 12” rafters square from Empire sold at Home Depot. These rafter squares have surprisingly proven to be way more accurate than a lot other rafter squares I’ve measured. I have checked the Empire against my 18” (grade A) Brown & Sharpe tool room square and it was accurate. Their great around the shop for squaring things up. I highly recommend having one in the shop, same with the blue laser etched Big Foot 7” version (wish they made it in 12”).
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Empire-Magnum-Rafter-Square-3990/100174397
I hope this helps
Glynster
Woodworking has become infected with a disease of spending – how about you just cut a piece of 1″ ply perfectly square – check it, double check it and test it again. Write the word SQUARE on it and hang it on our wall. Instant MFT setup, cost $2