T-track doesn't fit?

[WestofLongBeach]

Several months ago, I bought a kit of t-track with some handy t-nuts & such @ Rockler. Very reasonable. However.

What I needed at the time was the t-nuts for some VERY simple jigs & such I had made, so paid little attention to the t-track. Especially since,

1) I would have to cut it to fit (it's long), something I don't do without some thought, and not until I need it for something, and
2) I wasn't anxious to drill new holes in my BT3100. Especially since it looked like, done properly, I would have to tap the holes. I have no way currently to cut threads in aluminum.

The other day I put the track in its slot and found that, to my dismay, IT STANDS PROUD OF THE SURFACE BY 1/8"! Never saw that one coming. If I install it, anything I cut that is larger than the distance between the blade and the slot will not lie square. Unless I take the track out each time, a ridiculously clumsy approach IMHO.

What is going on here? I thought these slots and the t-tracks must be standardized, like dog holes. They're not? Whaddaya do with something like this? Cover the rest of the surface with 1/8" veneer and replace as it becomes damaged? Cut 1/8" off the base of the t-track? Buy another saw? Panic?

[steve-norrell]

Welcome to the forum. You should be able to get some very good advice from the very knowledgeable participants.

First, unless I am missing something, I am not aware of any way of attaching T-slots directly to the BT3100. You certainly should not drill any holes until you hear from more members.

T-slots are usually placed in add-ons that mount either on the frame of the saw or on the rails or fence.

A picture or two, or a more specific description of what you want to do would make it easier to offer suggestions.

Good luck, Steve

Check out this thread for an add-on: http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=40919

[WestofLongBeach]

Steve,

Thanks for replying. I have the kit (it included such goodies as a sawdust bag, zero-clearance throatplates, wheels, etc.) that adds a narrow table extension, with slot, near the blade, presumably for t-track. Or?

Tomorrow I will try to get a picture together.

Don.

[Pappy]

Sounds like you are talking about the dual miter slots. The slots are not designed or intended to accept T tracks. Most people make runners to fit the slots for jigs such as cross cut sleds from woods like Hard Maple or from UHMW.

[rcp612]

Rockler offers their T-Track in 1/2" and 3/8" thicknesses. I believe the "kits" they offer come with the 1/2" track. Replace that with 3/8" track and voila, 1/8" difference.

[LCHIEN]

Steve,

Thanks for replying. I have the kit (it included such goodies as a sawdust bag, zero-clearance throatplates, wheels, etc.) that adds a narrow table extension, with slot, near the blade, presumably for t-track. Or?

Tomorrow I will try to get a picture together.

Don.

the dual miter slot in the BT3 accessory kit is for miter bars and miter gages, like this.

these have a standarized miter bar of 3/4" x 3/8" that slides in miter slots.
The miter gauge sort of duplicates the function of the SMT, e.g. setting the crosscut angle while pushing the workpiece thru the blade. There are some accessories that (e.g. tennoning fixture) that slide in these slots as they should be set to run precisely parallel to the blade.

The T-track you bought has a width of 3/4" so it actually fits in the miter slots, but its not really made for that.
The height or T-track is non-standard between makers, however most will be 3/4" wide.
I can't think of any reason to want to set a T-track parallel to the blade, like you are describing.

[LarryG]

If you want to secure something -- a featherboard, a jig or fixture, some sort of hold-down, whatever -- in a miter slot, the usual solution is a short runner that expands laterally when you tighten a knob. Ready-made versions are available, like these from Rockler, or you can fabricate your own from a strip of springy hardwood like oak or ash plus a flathead bolt and a knob or wingnut.

[WestofLongBeach]

OK, NOW I get it.

I wanted to be able to get closer to the blade with a featherboard, for starters, so believed that using the track was the best way to do that. Apparently not while using the t-track.

Boy, is my face red.

I also thought it would be useful for any jigs I might make.

Thanks to all the repliers (if that's a word) for the information. And I certainly see the wisdom of the expanding tool mentioned by LarryG for setting a featherboard, instead of fastening it into a t-track fastened into the slot.

Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind if someone pointed me to some of the standard uses for the track.

Finally, though I offered to get a picture into this discussion, I think we're all speaking the same language, now, and it is no longer necessary.

Thanks again.

Don.

[steve-norrell]

Don,

It looks like the forum's gurus came through - - - as they have always done for me.

You should be aware that the dual miter table does not have true "T-slots" and, if you are not careful, your miter gauge might "tip out" and end up on the floor. Other than that, the dual miter table works well and komatoast's (on E-Bay) hardware kit is an excellent way to install it. LarryG's suggestion about friction-fit runners is worthy of consideration.

Another solution would be a home-made table, as shown in the picture. The T-slots came from INCRA, but the Rockler kit should also work just as well.

There is one very important caveat - - any installed miter table MUST be parallel to the blade.

Regards, Steve

[LCHIEN]

you're looking for something like this (see link below) that has two knobs that lock the width setting and also expand the split bar that fits the miter slot to lock it in place (as Larry described).

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...0070921x00003a

When i get home later i can post a pic here of my BT3 featherboard using the SMT.

As far as standard uses for the miter slot,
Saws without SMT use it for cross cuts with a miter gauge.
Tenon jigs (like available from Delta) use the slot to make the shoulder and cheek cuts on tenons for mortise and tenon joints; the parallelism to the blade cuts shoulder and cheek joints squarely and with controllable length (blade height)
Crosscut sleds - another alternative to SMT and miter gauges, the sleds often run in the mtiter slots.

[LarryG]

Don, don't feel too badly ... you were actually on the right track (no pun intended) with your thinking. T-track is typically used anywhere you need to hold something down on a temporary and/or adjustable basis. The only reason you wouldn't use it in a miter slot is because you'd normally want the slot to be available to a miter gauge, tenoning jig, crosscut sled, etc.

Here's an old picture I've posted several times, for various reasons. It shows my router table when it was still in my old shop. The fence slides back and forth on T-tracks at the outer edges of the table. On the upper part of the fence's face is a piece of T-track that can be used to secure stop blocks or bit guards or whatever. Barely visible atop the fence are two short pieces of T-track used to secure some attachments and extensions that I made for some specialized routing jobs.



The same principles could be applied to a drill press table (adjustable fence, hold-downs) or to a miter saw station (stop blocks for repetitive cuts) or to a host of other tools. T-track can also be used on jigs and fixtures that have hold-downs or adjustable settings of some sort.

You might want to browse the "plans" section of web sites for publications like ShopNotes and WOOD Magazine and the like. These offer downloadable plans for sale, but by just browsing the descriptions and photos you'll get a boatload of ideas on how T-track can be used.

[Bill in Buena Park]

I have found T-nuts that fit mitre track that can be used to secure featherboards, jigs, etc, at WoodCraft. The expanding-type inserts work fine too, but you might want to look at the T-Nuts that fit the Incra Miter Track.

[John Hunter]

When I built a table and fence for my drill press I used T-track for them. Here is a photo.

[DustyandLefty]

Another finger board idea

Jumping in kind of late here, but I just put together another way to attach a finger board to my BT3000 this week.

Instead of using the slider the clever way LChien showed on his October 3 posting and photo, I used a T-bolt and knob directly in the slot in the sliding table to hold down my long hand-made fingerboard ( it is about 3" wide by 12 inches long by 1/2 inch thick to reach the blade). The T-bolt fits snuggly in the slot and tightens up the fingerboard very well.

And when I needed to rip a 3/8" x 2 1/8" strip out of the edge of some 3/4" x 4 1/2 window sills that I'm making in order to thin the sills down underneath the window handles, I put a block under the finger board to raise it up to clear the part I was cutting out. I needed a way to safely put pressure on the window sill board against my tall rip fence while cutting out a 3/8 sliver 2 1/8 inches tall. The block was 3" x 5" x 2 1/4 inches tall, and the same T-bolt was just long enough to be used either way. It worked very well, and I was able to get all 120 feet of window sill done last night.

I'll have to see if I can borrow a digital camera to try and explain this better. I've got a 5 inch tall MDF fence attached to my regular fence, which allows me to rip taller boards on edge.

Very Dusty and Lefty

[dbhost]

Okay I am a month plus from the original post, but here's some more useful info...

Mother Lode of BT3x00 related information. was posted on a thread called New saw, new member or something like that. This is basically a series of .pdf files with WAY more than you would ever want to know about the BT, and its mods.

You will also be served well by taking a serious look through the owners manual, if the one for the BT doesn't cover shop built featherboards, the one for the BTS 21 sure does. (BTS-21 manual see Figure 18 page 22).

And no need to be red faced at all. Lord knows I have shared plenty of my screw ups here. There are lots of folks here with different levels of experience. Most are happy to share what experiences they have with you.