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Post by woodster on May 1, 2014 16:23:02 GMT -5
Hi all, not sure this is correct place to introduce myself, but I'm here now... anyway just got a Erika 85 today and love it, wondered if anybody else has same machine as wondering if anybody has had any luck making their own table extension inserts using mafell supports and fence extension. Really pleased i found this forum as have quite a lot of mafell which I've bought over the years, the quality is unrivalled, as from experience their festool etc equivalents bought at the same time are generally in bits whilst the mafells are still going strong, so generally the most cost effective brand I've ever purchased, anyway be good to hear anybody's opinions regarding table inserts, and hope i can contribute to the forum.
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Post by wrightwoodwork on May 1, 2014 17:29:50 GMT -5
welcome aboard you will love the Erika. I also did think of making a homemade table for the extension rails. Just never got round to it. Ended up getting the table
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questa
Junior Member
Posts: 62
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Post by questa on May 1, 2014 17:58:52 GMT -5
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Post by GhostFist on May 1, 2014 18:09:13 GMT -5
Welcome aboard woodster! look forward to input on shop made extensions. I don't have an erika.....yet.
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Post by woodster on May 2, 2014 18:06:37 GMT -5
Hi thanks to all for your warm greeting
really put the Erika to work today, fantastic machine, the build tolerances are incredible, I also own a Festool cs70 which is good, and a cs50 which is really handy for site work albeit limited in capacity, probably will sell one of the festool saws now i have the erika getting to the point where my saw collection is worth more than my house!! just a quick question for anybody that bought the table extension support rails, are they constructed in such a way that a shop made extension say from mdf would be able to just drop in or are they more technical than that? Questa thanks for the link the holzwerker guy has one serious setup there, seems to use it more as a shop saw which of course it is more than capable of, pretty versatile machine.
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Post by christoph on May 4, 2014 16:32:38 GMT -5
Just a quick question for anybody that bought the table extension support rails, are they constructed in such a way that a shop made extension say from mdf would be able to just drop in or are they more technical than that? Questa thanks for the link the holzwerker guy has one serious setup there, seems to use it more as a shop saw which of course it is more than capable of, pretty versatile machine. - table extension mafell/mdf: i don't have the original table extension, but i will buy it soon. Don't think its possible to make an extension out of mdf that can compete with the original from mafell. Perhaps you ask Heiko (german "Holzwerkerblog"), he speaks english and he is a certified master cabinet maker here in germany, perhaps he can give you an advice?! - Heikos Erika/Mefall setup: he is a well known blogger here in germany and he is supported by Mafell like Michael Hild (another well known blogger) is supported by festool. Don't think its affecting his opinion, but you should know (and for shure he is not making a secret out of this Mafell-sponsoring).
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Post by GhostFist on May 4, 2014 16:47:17 GMT -5
It is good to know. Just a reminder, WE are not supported by mafell or anyone. There is the danger that we could become "fanboys" though. Every mafell tool I have so far I love but I see myself running the risk of turning completely red as of late. gonna ease up on the spending.....or try at least.
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Post by wrightwoodwork on May 4, 2014 17:23:01 GMT -5
Yeah that is what I thought as well I am glad I got the mafell table extension I would never have produced anything with the same tolerance or as good also with tables you can add a router. Mafell's own just screw on. With other routers you need a plate. On the mafell routers there must be 2 screw holes in a different place. Where on my festool of1010 I would need the adapter plate. Also I'm not 100% sure but I think the adjustable legs can be used at the end of the extension rails, which would make a really solid router table. I will find out shortly as I have got a couple legs and some other bits and pieces on order for making an extended drop fence. With the 1m rails there is enough room to add 2 extension tables in some situations might be handy. Will need to look into it a bit more
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Post by wrightwoodwork on May 4, 2014 17:35:06 GMT -5
It is good to know. Just a reminder, WE are not supported by mafell or anyone. There is the danger that we could become "fanboys" though. Every mafell tool I have so far I love but I see myself running the risk of turning completely red as of late. gonna ease up on the spending.....or try at least. Yeah that is the problem bit there tools are so good when you go back to using other tools you wonder how they can't just make the tool right. I was at a tool trade show where I was looking at the Fien cordless drills. I must say on first impressions was very impressed with the feel and quality. I was thinking festool pdc drill with the centotec chuck, but am put off slightly as I don't want locked into the whole festool eco system. Where the Fien I can use any standard hex bit ends in the quick chuck
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Post by GhostFist on May 4, 2014 17:54:41 GMT -5
I have two festool drills and love them both but the centrotec thing is a bother. They could have easily made the same functionality with standard ball detent bits but festool wants you to buy their add ons which are much more expensive than standard bits. The same goes with a lot of their tools, they want you to buy their expensive accessories and consumables. Similar to the apple marketing model, which for the record I'm not a fan of. We're straying off topic now though. Back to the Erika.
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Post by woodster on May 5, 2014 14:30:14 GMT -5
thanks for replies everybody, looks like I'll order the stock extension eventually, ordered the support rails which should hopefully arrive soon so i will let you know how i progress hopefully looking to make an mft style extension, will post pics if it works out, if i don't post pics you can assume it was an expensive disaster!
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Post by GhostFist on May 5, 2014 17:33:49 GMT -5
ha. I don't know the specs or how extensions connect to the Erika, but can something be done with 80/20 aluminum extrusions?
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Post by kalas on May 5, 2014 20:34:38 GMT -5
I have the 85 and a very happy owner at that. I would recommend that to anyone. I bought it with the rails for the extension table but I found the stock router table too small. I will install a router in that space as shown as an option in the mafell design layout, but I felt I needed a different solution than what the mafell router adapter kit offered. I don't mind if it gets a little bulkier as long as I can build it out to suit my needs.
Shopping around a while back, I wanted a compact saw that would allow for a flexible use of my shop space. A saw that I could roll out of the space when I am not using it, or use the table surface for a variety of other things. Lots of cabinet saws seem to take up a lot of space for the sake of mass alone, and I am sure that is a good thing for some uses (if this is what you want, get a Northfield..) Even still, I don't intend to lift this saw out of my shop much, and if I do, it is not up stairs and such. I bought the Erika instead of a Hammer, for instance, for a variety of reasons, but one of which was the possibility to build it out with the t slots on all sides and the optimized interface with a small dust extractor. I haven't had the cash to do it yet, but I will build it out with some 8020 stuff so I can have the small mafell vac sitting right next to it and below the router. (So far I have only bought a router/saw fence. A 48" piece of 10s 2040 on eBay. It was a success and the mafell t slot nuts slide right in. You can mount it over the edge of the sides using the clamping piece that mafell sells. )
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Post by checkmax on Aug 15, 2014 7:17:00 GMT -5
I'm curious to know whether the Erika can replace a scms like a Kapex for example?
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Post by kalas on Aug 15, 2014 8:50:29 GMT -5
I did. I had Festool Kapex that was very well replaced by the Erika. I don't miss it at all.
I also replaced a couple of other Festools with Mafells and I am also happy with those exchanges. I like Festool a lot, I just don't think they have all the answers.
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