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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    Austin, TX
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    Installing T-track

    Hello Everyone,

    I'm building a tapering jig that uses t-track that I can mount hold-downs to.

    My concern is that the little screws that would hold the t-track in would not keep the t-track from lifting out when I start cranking down on the hold-downs.

    Would screws and epoxy be secure enough?

    Mark

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
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    Central North Carolina
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    Epoxy works well, and the little screws hold well enough to hold the T track in place until the glue dries.

    Charley

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Rochester, NY
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    Hi Mark,

    I had the same concern when I built mine, so I drilled and countersunk twice as many holes.

    You can kind of see them here:

    P1020105.small.jpg

    Mike

  4. #4
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    Austin, TX
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    Mike,

    That jig looks a lot like the one I'm building. Can you say Dubby?

    I guess I'll glue and screw it. I'm thinking about going all the way through and using a nut in a counter bore. That may be over kill. I tend to over-build everything.

    Mark

  5. #5
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    Sep 2008
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    Rochester, NY
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    Hey Mark,

    I think I got my inspiration from one I saw in a Rockler catalog . The biggest weakness of this design is that tightening the holddowns too much tends to deflect the center of the fence upwards.

    Best of luck!

    Mike

  6. #6
    Mike.... Is there room behind the clamps to put a strip of plywood that turns the top piece into an "L" shape in profile? Attached to the edge between the 45-degree chamfers. That should eliminate all (or at least most) of the deflection.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe Angrisani View Post
    Mike.... Is there room behind the clamps to put a strip of plywood that turns the top piece into an "L" shape in profile? Attached to the edge between the 45-degree chamfers. That should eliminate all (or at least most) of the deflection.
    I'm going to add that to my design. Thanks Joe.

    Mark

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    Washington, NC
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    Liquid Nails is all you need. Rough up the outside of the T-track first with 80 grit. You are not making a vise, just a hold-down, it shouldn't need to be really strong if your blade is at all sharp.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    Northern Colorado
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alan Schaffter View Post
    Liquid Nails is all you need. Rough up the outside of the T-track first with 80 grit. You are not making a vise, just a hold-down, it shouldn't need to be really strong if your blade is at all sharp.
    +1

    Rockler uses screws, in MDF, and ... they don't last ... not even past the first sneeze.

    Liquid Nails would be my choice, too.

  10. #10
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    Sep 2008
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    Rochester, NY
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Duksta View Post

    Quote Originally Posted by Joe Angrisani View Post
    Mike.... Is there room behind the clamps to put a strip of plywood that turns the top piece into an "L" shape in profile? Attached to the edge between the 45-degree chamfers. That should eliminate all (or at least most) of the deflection.
    I'm going to add that to my design. Thanks Joe.

    Mark
    Joe, great idea. Mark, let us know how it works out!

    Mike

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Colorado Springs, CO
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    428
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Duksta View Post
    Hello Everyone,

    I'm building a tapering jig that uses t-track that I can mount hold-downs to.

    My concern is that the little screws that would hold the t-track in would not keep the t-track from lifting out when I start cranking down on the hold-downs.

    Would screws and epoxy be secure enough?

    Mark
    If you think about it there is not that much stress on the screws. What ever you are clamping down is applying downward force on the top of the T track. You are not actually clamping the stock to the table top but to the T track itself.
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  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
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    West Chester, PA
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    One way around the installation of T track. Dado slots on a substrate (I used ½" BB ply) about 3/16" deep and wide enough for the toilet-type jig bolts. Cover substrate with glued hardboard (I used ¼") with spacings over the dados for the bolts. All the thingies on the right are concepts for "hand-holds" on the jig.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  13. #13
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    Jan 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gary McKown View Post
    One way around the installation of T track. Dado slots on a substrate (I used ½" BB ply) about 3/16" deep and wide enough for the toilet-type jig bolts. Cover substrate with glued hardboard (I used ¼") with spacings over the dados for the bolts. All the thingies on the right are concepts for "hand-holds" on the jig.
    hey gary...didn't one of the wood working mags feature a plan like that using hardboard to create the slots?

  14. #14
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    Jul 2005
    Location
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    Quote Originally Posted by Joseph Tarantino View Post
    hey gary...didn't one of the wood working mags feature a plan like that using hardboard to create the slots?
    Could be, although I must have seen it on one of the WW forums because I haven't subscribed to any of the mags in years. It has been long enough that I really do not remember, though. I certainly am not about to claim credit for the idea, just the implementation.

  15. #15
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    Mar 2003
    Location
    Austin, TX
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    Thanks everyone for the replies. It seems there are many ways to install t-track. I haven't heard anyone say that they installed it a certain way that did not work.

    I chose to drill all the way through and use flat head machine screws and nuts. The nuts sit in counter bores.


    Mark
    Attached Images Attached Images

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