Thread: 1/4 inch T-Track sliding Mitre Gauge

As you are discovering, standard size for a long time is 3/4in x 3/8in. I have a 1960's table saw with mitre slots that size, so I guess it has been a standard for a long time. I have 8in and 12in Triton bandsaws, I knew the 12in was interchangable with the tablesaw, and the 8in was smaller, so I just went to the barn and measured it. The 8in uses a 3/8in x 3/16in ali bar. I had thought that since the two have common ownership that they might have been interchangable, but no such luck. 1/4 inch wide would be ultra flimsey, given that the minimum locking screw and pivot pin size would be in the order of 3/16. The 3/4 unit for my tablesaw uses 3/8in pin and locking screw.

GMC did do some very screwey things with budget range tools. Maybe consider making some sleds that run in the mitre slots (both if you have two slots), one set up for cutting square, and another set up for 45 deg left and right mitres, and others for any other odd angles you need regularly.

Hi malb,

Thanks for your reply. You are definitely on the right track regarding the sled. Thinking will have to find some similar width material and glue/attach to bottom of board and that will be my best option.

Thank you once again for your reply. Have yourself a good new year.

Ashley

You may have some sucess with 'T bolts' - Carbatec & McJing both sell them - which come with a 1/4"(6mm-ish) threaded shank and a fixed oval T head. You can also get the opposite arrangement, a threaded oval 'nut' that takes 1/4" bolts. This would hold your jigs to the table, but you should also make a 1/4" tongue to run in the slot so the steel bolt does not eat the sides of the slot - a cheap HD polythene cutting board is suitable to cut up into strips (they seem to get thinner every year) that you can screw to the bottom of your jigs. High Density Polythene is very popular for jigs so keep the bits for future projects.

If you head in the sled direction, you could probably rip some runners for the slots from 1/4 nom masonite and groove the sled bases and glue the runners into the base (edge on). Definitely would be viable for a single runner setup, and could work with a double runner if you can get the setup accurate enough.

G'day bsrlee and malb.

Thanks for the reference to McJing and Carbatec. McJing appear to have some items that might help with my project. I have heard about using old polythene and Masonite. What are your thoughts on ripping some hardwood strips? Are there benefits of one material over the other such as smoother sliding within the tracks?

HD Polythene, masonite (hardboard in the US) and other man made products don't swell or shrink noticeably with the weather. HDPE is also resistant to oil & grease.

Hardwood can (and probably will) expand & contract with changes in humidity, plus it may warp from the same cause. At 1/4" that may not be a problem for you. Use a dry wax type lube - hard traditional floor wax works, parafin wax (candle drippings/stubs) all work.