T Track & fittings

[Barry Burgess]

I have viewed the Rockler site in the USA which has a very good selection of T tracks and all the fittings. Viewing both the rutland ans Axminster sites they are well short of the Rockler offering. Is there any site in the UK that offers the Rockler range?
Is it just easier to import from Rockler??
I tried searching the list but track appears in too many posts.

 

[froglet]

I don't know of anyone stocking the Rockler range but I believe that http://www.woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/ can supply the incra T-track range. You will have to ring them though I don't think it is listed on their website.

Graeme

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Barry

When Rockler have a sale they normally reduce their T track and fittings to 19.99 usd. I have just checked and it is 10.99usd. Yes, TEN DOLLARS 99 cents. Look here.

IMHO it is still cheaper to import. I was lucky enough not to have to pay duty. If you do order from them then have it sent surface and, although they say six weeks, most people found that it was about ten days.

Cheers
Neil

 

[Anonymous]

Barry

I imported a Rockler mitre guauge and track and it worked out very cheap BUT I had to wait for ages for the delivery.

T slots can be cut into wood using a keyhole bit in a router - I have just cut 3 T slots in 3/4 plywood whilst making a table for my pillar drill. The keyhole cutte is a Trend one and cost me less than £20

 

[Barry Burgess]

Barry

I imported a Rockler mitre guauge and track and it worked out very cheap BUT I had to wait for ages for the delivery.

T slots can be cut into wood using a keyhole bit in a router - I have just cut 3 T slots in 3/4 plywood whilst making a table for my pillar drill. The keyhole cutte is a Trend one and cost me less than £20

Tony I have ordered 4 sets of track kit from Rockler but I have been searching the Trend catalogue for the cutter you are talking about.
Do you know a source of the T bolts that fit into the channel?
What I am trying to do is fasten a 1800mm worktop onto a 1200mm bench below and allow for the worktop to be interchanged
The track from Rockler is for a router table top and a mitre saw fence

 

[Steve Maskery]

You can make you own T-track without special tools very easily, and it's very seviceable.

1. Rout a slot 16mm wide and 12mm deep (or to fit your bolt-heads).

2. Rout to 6mm deep either side of that slot, and glue in a strip of 6mm MDF. You now have a rectangular hole 16x6 down the length of your job.

Alternatively, cover the whole face with 6mm MDF, to build up a thicker base (or whatever it is you are making).

3. Rout a 6mm slot through the MDF for the bolt.

Voilà!

To make your own sliding nuts, take a strip of 20x3mm mild steel, drill and tap a suitable hole then cut off to 25mm or so. Studding and a Bristol lever complete the job.

Cheers
Steve

 

[RogerS]

Hi Barry

When Rockler have a sale they normally reduce their T track and fittings to 19.99 usd. I have just checked and it is 10.99usd. Yes, TEN DOLLARS 99 cents.
Neil

Nice price but at $50+ shipping

 

[Steve Maskery]

I've just been looking at the Rockler website for this stuf. Yes, it's on offer. I'll have 4, thinks I.

Goods value $43.96

Credit Card will be debited $103.37

Doesn't start to look quite so cheap. I think I'll be sticking with my home-made versions.

Cheers
Steve

Edit - Roger, you beat me to it!

 

[Anonymous]

but I have been searching the Trend catalogue for the cutter you are talking about.
Do you know a source of the T bolts that fit into the channel?

Standard M6 bolts with 10mm heads fit the track very snuggly and slide along it nice and easily too.

Can't find it on the Trend site, but this is the Axminster version

 

[Barry Burgess]

Thanks Tony I found it in Trend craft range for £14 +VAT

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Tony I found it in Trend craft range for £14 +VAT

Nice one Barry, I couldn't find it :?

I ran a small and cheap parallel side bit along the centre first and then the keyhole bit. To be honest, I don't think you need to do this but I was worried about breaking the keyhole bit.

Just for info, I only tried it on the router table, not hand held

 

[Barry Burgess]

I will put it into my router table with my Triton - plenty of grunt
Thanks
again

 

[engineer one]

i've bought a couple of things from rockler, and find them a good company to deal with.

i find that their right angle supports are very useful for square boxes,
but remember all the rockler stuff like t slots is in imperial, and the t nuts you get here are all metric.

you can get some metric channel here, but it does seem hard to find.
paul :wink:

 

[OPJ]

You can make you own T-track without special tools very easily, and it's very seviceable...

Hi Steve,

I appreciate this advice, which was also well illustrated in GWW last month, but what about making a length to fit a T-slot?

I've got a fairly cheap table saw and the play in the mitre gauge drives me nuts, rendering it useless. I would think something like MDF or ply would be better than timber, or would oak do?

Also, would you carefully rebate the edges or build it up out of two layers?

 

[Steve Maskery]

Hi Olly
I'm sorry, I don't understand, what do you mean? Make a length of what to fit a t slot?
Cheers
Steve

 

[OPJ]

Well... Basically, I don't know the correct term, but it's the length of steel(?) which the mitre gauge is fixed to, which slides through the t-slot.

I want to replace that with something that has a much tighter fit.

Sorry, hope this makes more sense to you... :?

 

[Steve Maskery]

Ah! I see what you mean now. I'd call it the bar.


I wouldn't give up hope on your existing one if I were you. There are a number of tricks you can do to tighten it up.

The favourite one to stiffen it a bit is to use a centre punch on the edge of the bar. This creates a crater, the dimple is deep in the centre but all that steel gets pushed up to make a rim. Make a series of these along the length. You can make them small to start with and then raise them more by hitting harder if necessary.

If you have a thick enough bar the other option is to drill and tap small holes to take a row of grub screws, which can be adjusted to take up the slack. Don't forget to lock them in with a drop of compound.

If it is so bad that neither of them work (!) you could try to make a wooden one. I'd choose maple, it's smooth and hard and hardwearing. Start with a wide board thicknessed to the width of your bar, then double-rebate the edge to give you the right T profile. Then rip it off and thickness it.

HTH
Steve

 

[OPJ]

Thanks very much Steve, I'll give it a go!

I never would've thought of the grub screw idea, very smart thinking there (just like your jigs in GWW). I've got a set of nail punches and even a ball pein hammer, that might do the job?

Either way, I've got nothing to lose. A cheap mitre fence can only be replaced by something of an equal or greater value.

Thanks again, I appreciate your advice! :wink:

 

[frank]

another quick fix is parcel tape i used it on my clarke t/saw its so thin you might have to wrap it round the bar a few times till its just right .

frank

 

[OPJ]

Aha! Thanks Frank, there's another smart idea right there!