Buying vs building tools - the rationale for creating a MFT Table
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Brian asked:?
My question for you on currency rates is how does the Australian dollar hold against Australian product? Wages vs. cost? What¡¯s an average wage and what does a loaf of bread or a dozen eggs cost? Or even better, a pound of aluminum and what does anodizing cost? Those are my biggest expenses. This is out of my own curiosity¡.
Recently I decided to build a MFT with track hinge and fence.? Why build and not just purchase? Well, I was not sure if I would find a MFT useful for sawing (although I could see the value as an assembly table, and for hold work for routing and sanding). Plus the Festool MFT locally cost $1600 AUD ($800 USD in the USA), which was a lot to satisfy my curiosity.? In addition, reading the other FOG (Festool Owners Group), the Festool hinge system (for the rail on the MFT) had come in for quite a bit of criticism, and the preferred aftermarket hinges came from Benchdogs and Dashboard. The Benchdogs hinge is??190?from the UK ($340 AUD), and the Dashboard is $290 USD (or $430 AUD) before shipping costs are added in. The Benchdogs fence was another??90 ($160 AUD).?
So it came down to $1600 from Festool Australia vs around $800 from Benchdogs for the hinge and fence, and still need a MFT table top. These are all at least twice the cost of comparable items in the USA. I would add that the cost of living in Australia is than the USA, and so the 100% higher cost of tools indicates how much ground we have to make up. Further, average income in Australia ($57K USD p.a.) is about 25% lower than in the USA ($71K USD p.a.).??
I decided to build my own. Total costs: $50 for materials from a woodworking friend with CNC to make a template to rout the holes for a MFT top. And then around $90 for 6mm aluminium sheets to machine a hinge (using basic woodworking tools, such as a bandsaw, router and drill).?
Was it worth the effort? Was this false economy?
1200mm x 600mm MFT table (plus 300mm extension) ...
The Hinge
Front ...
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Rear (before added spacer) ...
After added spacer ...
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Detail of fence ...
Dimensions for all are on my website:??
Bottom line for me, Brian - I will happily purchase tools if they are affordable. In Oz they are priced excessively, and the current economic climate is not looking good, and getting worse. I am fortunate that I can afford most things, but that does not mean that I am willing to lash out. I am also fortunate that I have a go-for-it attitude, and will then just build what I want. These then get passed on to others, hopefully to benefit from my efforts.
Regards from Perth
Derek
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