Why you should NOT BUY this common shop supply anymore

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[StumpyNubs]

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[supposedlycollectable]

I am a metals recycler and I have the Best solution for this problem. When I recycle this my local yard pays $0.70 A Pound I'm not sure what T Track weights by the foot But my yard will sell any of the scrap to you for 2x what they paid for it I Purchase 10FT Extrusion Aluminum stock On a regular basis for projects That is much heavier than T Track for around $7 A Stick If you Purchase from your local scrap yard It is much Better for the environment too No shipping cost either

[michaeldocker]

Yeah, I started out cutting t tracks in with my router... Pretty much immediately switched to the aluminium ones. They're worth every penny. Not only are they far, far stronger than anything wooded (especially given you usually end up cutting the tracks along the grain) but they also have a far lower friction fit with much lower tolerances. Not always important if your after clamp points, but super important for jigs that need to slide along the track...

[aaronpreston]

A reasonable t-bolt is toilet flange bolts, there way cheaper than premium bolts.

[tomallen]

I use the Matchfit router bit with the Matchfit clamps.

[dsapp]

With an edge guide, you can route directly into jigs too. Drill press table, cross cut sled, etc. Anything with a 3/4" plywood top. And if it ever goes bad, just hog it out with a 3/4" groove and put that T-track in.

[genelomas]

T-track is insanely expensive to get here in Australia.. literally no-one sells it on the shelf, so it has to come from Amazon.
Mad expensive.
So, when adding clamp tracks to my table sled, I used 2 strips of 12x3mm aluminium flat bar. Drilled a bunch of counter sunk holes every 80mm.
Then routed a 10mm rebate into the 18mm thick sled base for the head of an M6 bolt (ground the sides of the head to form a 'T'), and a shallow 3.2mm rebate for the strips either side.
Screwed them down using the bolt as a spacer, and voila!

The groove for the head of the bolt is not as wide as the head, so as its tightened, the bolt rotates abouth an ⅛ of a turn, the 'wings' of the head touch the sides, and it doesn't spin.
It works, and since the 12mm bar is about 15 bucks for a 3mt (10 foot) long piece, I'm happy

[GrantOakes]

I have a bunch of 3/4" thick maple that was given to me. I rip cut it 3/8" and then made 2 passes on my table saw slightly off center, about 1/4" deep, flipped it over and cut again. The slot is almost 1/4" wide. I then used a T slot router bit designed just for this purpose and made a cut so it only takes a small amount of wood out instead of having to do all the work, risking burning the wood or stressing the router. I now have nearly 20' of wooden T track ready for my next fixture.

[eggsngritstn]

If you don't want to use routers at ALL, you can cut the wide groove in a piece of wood, glue a 3/16" thick piece of hardwood over the groove, then cut the narrower groove. Both cuts on the table saw using multiple cuts or dado stacks.

[KillerSpud]

T slot bits are great for making keyhole slots, which are a great way to hang shelves with no fasteners showing.

[mytuberforyou]

I use the Misumi 2020 extrusion and the best part is it's recyclable, I just pull it out of any old jigs that are getting scrapped and throw it on the shelf- you get four bolting surfaces out of it which makes it great for jigs that have right angles in them- just castellate the two halves so they intersect and bolt them to the track so the track is in the opposite side of the X from your work.

[Reno-man]

Hardwood is just as expensive as aluminum now in Canada.

[chipped]

You can also run a hand router using a fence.
I may be biased. But i have 4x8 tables and its more trouble to route a large oversized slot to drop in a secondary milled piece.

Aluminum is much stronger and a lot less work.
Amazon usually has returns for cheap.

A prepared individual builds cheaper.

[stormkhan]

As mentioned by some others already, you can make your own aluminum t-track. Get lengths of rectagular profile tubular aluminum and rout out the gap with a carbide bit.
I found some thick walled rectangular profile aluminum tubing that was 20mm wide with a 14mm wide hole. I routed out the centre gap with a 6mm wide carbide straight bit. You should be able to get the aluminum rectagular tubing from a big box store. Should be significantly cheaper than buying the equivalent lengths of t-track.😀

[billparrish]

I've always just used southern yellow pine (or the odd scrap of PT, which is made from that species), a harder pine but cheaper than hardwoods, and never had a problem with the edges breaking off. Of course, any fixture I've made to go with it has been fully seated across the gap, not up on standoffs, so the only pressure when tightening is transferred from the bolt head, through the edges, and into the base of the fixture, no flexing of the edges involved. Also, before I got the right router bits, I used to 'construct' the T-slot by gluing several pieces together, i.e., the bottom, the two sides (which could be from softer material), and the 2-piece top layer for the enclosing edges. As long as I didn't abuse it with poorly-designed fixtures or over-torquing, it worked just fine. I never made a lot of them, or put much 'mileage' on them, as it's just a hobby for me, not a business (maybe someday). But they lasted for years, through a lot of tightening and loosening, until I replaced or otherwise got rid of whatever work surface or shop furniture I had installed them. Never have ended up buying the extruded aluminum stuff (so far), or used any hardwood making them.

[garyhome]

I know this isn't the actual topic, but since you displayed it at the beginning of the video I have to mention it!
The benchtop jig I made from your plans gets a ton of use in my shop. It elevates the work surface, making it so I don't have to always bend over to make cuts or do layout. It's excellent for cutting dovetails and other joinery. It doesn't ever actually leave the bench unless I need the space for some reason.
It's well thought out, easy to modify, and can work in unison with my bench vice when I need it to.
The best jig I've ever made or own!

[rfrisbee]

I've found an easier and more durable solution is to screw steel or aluminium strips either side of a channel that is either routed or built up from layers of material. For a flush face the material can have a recess routed the thickness of the metal strips. The size and spacing of the screws is adjusted based on how much force the track needs to take. If the metal does get damaged, then simply unscrew it and either clean up with a file, turn it around or replace with a new piece.

Steel strip is pretty inexpensive and readily available online and in big box stores.

[NedMitchell-bp]

I remember using leftover laminate covered particle board and toilet bolts about 30 years ago and that worked well.

[J.A.Smith]

My boy blue, always bringing the goods. I got 2 of em embedded in the top of my workbench and one on a tenon cutting jig I made for my table saw. Never seen it done only copied off one the EXPENSIVE metal ones I seen in a magazine!

[joshuamurphy]

I like the MicroJig setup, but this is good advice all around, and slots are easier to find hardware for.

As another commenter suggested, cut your channels right into your jigs/ fixtures (when feasible) and materials cost goes to zero.

Nice one.