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I want to replace the aluminum miter slots on by BT with steel miter slots. Does anybody know of a company selling steel miter slots I can use to make my own MSTs? The aluminum MST is too soft and getting chewed up by my Incra miter sliders which must be harder grade of aluminum than the MST..
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Gary -
Hmmm ... good thought ... I have access to several machine shops as I'm a manufacturing engineer ... I'll sketch something up and get it quoted just to see what it would cost to get made, as I have a few Mom & Pop shops which have been really cheap for other stuff ... quantity is going to be the key here to the price ... once I find out, I'll post the results ...
One (1) or Two (2) Slots in the steel mitre table??? (will have impact on cost)
And hey, we could actually use some of those magnetic hold down then as well ...Last edited by JSCOOK; 12-24-2006, 10:11 AM."Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn". by C.S. Lewis -
A very timely post for me as I was minutes away from buying the Incra miter gauge from WoodCraft when it opens this morning. Bummer.May you die and go to heaven before the Devil knows you're dead. My Best, MacComment
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Sign me up for some steel miter slots! That is the major source of my cast iron top envy. My standard miter gauge is really sloppy in my BT3 double miter slot. I don't want to raise the surface of the miter gauge with a punch because I'm afraid it will tear the sides of the aluminum miter slot. Maybe I'm wrong about that.
Not sure what the reasoning behind a double miter slot is.
EddyLast edited by eddy merckx; 12-24-2006, 11:01 AM.Comment
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I'd consider being part of the steel miter slot purchasing group... but I might wimp out if the cost turns out to be high. Would want to see the drawing that JSCOOK creates prior to making a commitment. Single slot would be fine with me.Comment
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I would also be interested in steel slots, especially if they could replace the INCRA sliders. One important consideration would be that they are true "T-Slots", rather than the plain channels that are on Ryobi's miter slot table.
Regards, SNComment
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Only thought that's come to mind this morning while I was out (an Engineer's mind never sleeps
) is the weight of shipping them ... might be like shipping a brick ... another thought would be to use a higher grade of aluminum alloy ...
I gotta a couple of idea's ... let me get to sketching something up on SolidWorks and I'll post a couple of pic's ...Last edited by JSCOOK; 12-24-2006, 02:39 PM."Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn". by C.S. LewisComment
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I am a machinist and have free use of the shop I work at. I could make some out of steel. But I would think the easy way to solve this would to send the original aluminum ones to an anodizer, and have them hardcoated.Comment
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I made my own miter accessory table and used the Incra miter track. It is compatible w/ the Incra slider on my sled (no wear). I also use it w/ an Incra miter gauge (steel bar) and have had no problems there, either.Comment
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JSCOOK,Only thought that's come to mind this morning while I was out (an Engineer's mind never sleeps ) is the weight of shipping them ... might be like shipping a brick ... another thought would be to use a higher grade of aluminum alloy ...
I gotta a couple of idea's ... let me get to sketching something up on SolidWorks and I'll post a couple of pic's ...
How do you like Solidworks as opposed to other 3D modeling software? I'm using Alibre Design right now, I like it, but I'm always open to new stuff.
Jay RohrssenComment
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Would also be interested in steel miter slots ...
Trying to square up the SMT to the blade is a constant battle. I'd like to think that this would eliminate that.
Please keep us posted...
MikeComment
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Correct me if I am wrong but the aluminum track is extruded. The steel one would need to be machined. The cost would be pretty high I would think.
I know you can extrude steel but it would have to be done at the foundry. The cost would be pretty much prohibitive unless you have a huge production run.
The steel tables for other saws are machined I belive, but the quantaties are large.
Unless you could find an existing product that has the same dimentional specs as the aluminum track I dont think a steel track is possible in small numbers.
Have a look at this http://www.emachineshop.com/Last edited by Jnam; 01-09-2007, 05:11 PM.Comment
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What about Building something up, rather that milling it? Slots could be milled or purchased retail.
Here's a quick sketch of what I'm thinking. Is there a good way to do this without sacrificing the accuracy of the slots?
-LanceAttached FilesEx-Armchair Woodworker and newb galoot.Comment
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Thats fine if you want to build it yourself but not if you want to produce it in any quantity. The more steps the more materials you use the more expensive it becomes the less accurate it is.
I would imagine that if you could somehow make a deal with a manufacturer of cast table saw tops to make a run of your design with the minimum retooling would be the less expensive alternative.
Maybe what someone said earlier in the thread, just use better quality aluminum or harder aluminum or any metal that can be extruded into a track shape at a reasonable cost.
The problem is that you cant just make a steel track, you need to make a steel table extension with a track milled into it.Comment
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Any update on this?Comment
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