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More on the long legs for the FMT

December 30, 2008 By

The new base I made for the FMT worried some people that it may not be safe. This is the setup to allow me to cut tenons on very long rails:

fmt-on-legs

Some of the questions I received addressed how I would use this setup, and how safe it might be. Safety was paramount when I designed the new base; it is rigid (mortise and tenon construction), but light enough that I can lift it by myself onto the bench top:

fmt-lift-legs

Notice the cleats I screwed onto the bottom of the legs, and on the stretchers. These provide extra stability and peace of mind; they greatly reduce vibrations that could affect the stability of the table on the workbench.

Once on the bench top, I attach the table with the new Leigh bench-mount clamps, using the bench dog holes; I especially worried about table movement, especially if the table moved toward the back of the workbench. This could be a real problem; if the long work piece creates extra tension on the clamps holding the workpiece on the FMT, the workpiece could move. Possible result: Bad tenons, a no-no for this project.

The bench-mount clamps provided a neat solution. They have great holding power; the cam action has a long, reliable history, both on the Leigh D4, and on the FMT. Santa was good to me, and brought me one extra clamp of each model; I placed the clamps on the near front edge of the bench – one clamp on each side of the table:

fmt-leg-cleats-leftt

fmt-leg-cleats-right

The clamps on the back are trigger clamps, and have good holding ability. The spring-loaded and trigger action are great for this application. If any issues develop with these, I will install two Leigh surface mount clamps on the back of the bench, as there are no dog holes back there.

It was essential to have the FMT securely attached to the table at this working height. Since I started using the Leigh surface mount clamps on the workbench, it was natural to extend their use to this table:

fmt-leg-holddowns

Now I feel I have a very nice and safe clamping arrangement for the FMT at its new height. All that remains is a solid platform for me to stand on while cutting tenons on long rails. I think I have that one figured out.

.

Leigh Industries

Filed Under: Blog, FMT Pro, Leigh jig, Safety

Adding long legs to the Leigh FMT

December 26, 2008 By

Sometimes a project calls for drastic action. This is exactly what I had to do, to allow me to cut integral tenons on very long rails for a project for a client.I normally work with the Leigh FMT on the workbench. But now I am using the workbench to make a stand that will allow me to set the FMT on this new stand on the bench: A kind of self-raising, tower crane. I start the process by milling stock for the legs, and all rails. After a couple of test cuts, I am ready to cut the mortises, and then the tenons:

Cutting the mortises:

fmt-mortise-legs

And now, cutting the tenons:

fmt-tenons-rail

I always dry fit, prior to glue-up.
I do it in stages – I like to glue up the legs first:

fmt-legs-dryfit

Then I glue the rails onto the two sets
of legs previously assembled, and check for square:

fmt-glueup-legs

Some tweaking is required – and
hand tools are sometimes the
quickest way to get
it done – thus, the integrated shop:

fmt-tweak-legs

Now I can test the surface mount
Leigh clamps on the new plywood top:

fmt-on-legs-3

The self-raising, tower crane-like FMT
on its new perch, with a mock-up of a long rail;
I must design a cleat to make attachment
to the bench a little cleaner:

fmt-on-legs

This little stand will allow me to cut integral tenons on long work pieces. But I still must figure out a way to better clamp all four corners – I think I will probably use cleats on either side of the stand.

.

Leigh Industries

Filed Under: Blog, FMT Pro, Leigh jig, Safety Tagged With: , ,

Intro to the Leigh FMT

April 16, 2008 By

Download Quicktime (*.mov)



In this episode I introduce Leigh Industries’ FMT, their flagship Frame Mortise & Tenon (M&T) jig. This is the latest tool in our shop.

Why the FMT? Because it excels at cutting mortises and tenons with high accuracy. With this jig we have the following options:

  1. Use the FMT to cut all integral tenons and mortises for a project. The result: Perfect-fitting M&Ts.

  2. As an alternative, cut all the mortises with the FMT, and also shape long tenons with the FMT. These tenons are then cut off on the table saw, to make loose tenons. The result: Perfect-fitting M&Ts.

  3. A secondary alternative: Use the FMT to cut all the mortises, and cut loose tenon stock on the table saw, followed by shaping on the router table. With this option the loose tenons may require some “shaving off” and tweaking to optimize the fit.

I have confirmed that the versatility, simplicity, and the ease of use of this jig was the correct decision for me. The best way I can explain this is as follows. I need to make only one layout for the mortises, and one layout for the tenons; I then select one router bit and its matching guide, and make test cuts to confirm that my layout is OK. From this point on I can make as many tenons and matching mortises as I need for a particular project.

Enjoy the video, and let me have your Comments, either here or via e-mail (please note the e-mail tab in the menu above).

Relevant links:
Leigh FMT page
Leigh video page (the FMT is near the bottom of the page – 4 videos in total)

Recognition: I thank my friend and woodworking colleague John Fry (Chisel and Bit Custom Crafted Furniture) for reviewing the draft of this post, and for his feedback.

500-40_leigh-logo.png

The Leigh FMT at Woodcraft:
LEIGH Frame Mortise & Tenon Jig at Woodcraft.com

 

 

Filed Under: Blog, FMT Pro, Leigh jig, Mortise, Shop tools, Sponsor

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