Why you should NOT BUY this common shop supply anymore 

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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

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...

I use the Matchfit router bit with the Matchfit clamps.

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.

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

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.

Thanks, James. I’ve been using this bit for years to make T tracks in pine, and it’s never failed.

Great job James, great information too. Really enjoyed the demonstration. Stay safe, Fred.

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!

Thanks for the info, I was preparing to do just this and you have provided measurements saving me experiment time.

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

Thanks for the tip, James.

Hardwood is just as expensive as aluminum now in Canada.

Thanks James for continuing to add to our knowledge build. I’m willing to give this a try, providing i can find a cheap(-er) 3/4 or 4/4 board. My supplier occasionally has these laying around from orders that weren’t picked up, or those too blemished for use the intended job. It might not look pretty, by if it works, it works. Also seems like a way to put off cuts to good use.

I love this channel and the videos, even the ones I don't need at the moment. You never know what future holds. I have to ask a question on this one though. Is it common to need "miles of T track"? Perhaps a follow up video called "a dozen ways to use T-track" is in order.

I’m in west Michigan, been watching your channel for a long time. I’ve learned a great deal of information. Thank you.

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.

Amazing information Great job looking forward to part 4

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

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

Thanks for all the tips, James! 😊 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

Thanks for this idea!

Hardwood is so expensive that I'm not sure how cheaper this is versus t-track purchased online.

I haven't yet used t track, but it loomks to be very useful and this tip could save real money. A great use for a router table. Thanks!

Good point on the cost of t-track, it’s absurd, especially considering how many sizes there are. I could see making some hardwood t-slot certain circumstances. But the strength issue is one of the arguments for Matchfit… I’ve been using that system for shop jigs for years and been wildly satisfied. And because the dovetail channel carries uplift pressure against the long angled shoulder, it’s so much stronger than a t-slot shoulder that I’ve done a ton of them in plywood that are still in service after many years. That 3/16” t-slot shoulder would rip right out of ply under any clamping uplift, so Matchfit lets me haul out a router and make a jig in minutes. For that softer, laminated stock I usually don’t even need to precut a groove (though sometimes I should and don’t 😃)

Terrific know how video James! I will have to try this myself! Thanks 👍👍

This is a great idea! I've used these slot bits to make slat wall using 4x8 MDF(when it was cheaper) which I prefer to a bulky French cleat wall.

Great idea!

Great idea Thanks for sharing.

Love your videos, so good and informative

This is a fine idea. Many of us will have plenty of pieces of hardwood acquired a long time ago, which makes it viable.

Thanks as always. Very interesting subject. Here in the UK I paid £14.25 about $19 for a single two foot length of the small T track from Axminster tools not including postage. It’s so I can build a router table. I will be giving the T slot bit a go. Cheers from John with the shaky hands from County Durham, England.

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.

Great idea, thanks.

Woodpeckers makes a one pass T-track bit, I highly recommend it. It even chamfers the top surface. They have one for standard T-Track, and they also have one that fits track saw guide rail clamps, so you don't need to go buy a bunch of matchfit clamps that don't work with your tracks.

Now that’s a good idea. Thanks.

Awesome! Thanks!

Excellent, especially since I have more scrap than time when in the middle of a project I need a hold down.

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.😀

I like MicroJig’s dovetail setup. Fast, easy to cut, secure and extremely versatile !

not just for hardwood, also works great in melamine ply :)

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.

I made these and have aluminum ones, the aluminum are way better IMO and I buy them dirt cheap at Temu

Definitely worth looking into in my opinion, even from a business perspective. You probably are already going to mill a slot in a piece of wood anyway to fit the track. What might be worth considering is wear, not only of the track, but also the tools. I'd go with aluminium for the maintenance and wear on the parts, brass if you are made of money and into the high end stuff that looks fancy. For my RAS fence I simply screwed track on the backside with some flip stops, no need to cut slots etc and very time saving. Just do what you prefer and seems the most cost effective way for your situation.

Any Stumpy Nubs video is a good video. 👍 Always enjoy your content and appreciate you sharing!

I've made T-track by laminating different thicknesses of baltic birch. Works pretty good.

A very informative piece and a potential money saver to boot, 😊. Like deployed 👍

Can you recommend any hold-down clamps to go with this? I have some hold-down clamps where there's a good bit of distance between the place where the force is applied to the board and where the force is applied to the track, which is somewhat problematic even with aluminum t-tracks.

I started "bush carpentry" at age 12, back in the late 60s. My life took me in other directions for the next 40 or so years, and now I'm slowly teaching myself finer woodworking along with metalworking and electronics (which is where those "other directions" went) and so I'll opt to buy cheap Chinese T-track rather than risk my ignorance of wood hardness scales . . . 😸

I bought some cheap bits about 5 years ago on ali-baba and they do this exact thing. For simple, slap together jigs that I don't intend to make "show pieces" like a lot of guys do, I love those bits so much cheaper, and the same end result.

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.

Very interesting.

About 6 or so weeks ago, Talor Tools was selling the Cubitron sanding sheets that came as a roll in a box for use on palm sanders. I bought one box of each grit. Their ad was worded as though there was an attachment for the sanders that would allow the sheets to work. That ended up not being the case. These sanding sheets were also perforated to the exact size of the palm sanders' pad, so the spring clips could not be used. I scoured the internet trying to find pads or attachments that would work but could not. I may have not keyed in the correct language so something would pop up, but I tried a few different wordings and had no luck. After a few emails to customer service, which usually took 2 or 3 days waiting for them to reply, they admitted the ad's wording was wrong, and they couldn't help me find a way for the sheets to work. Anyway, they sent me a call tag to ship the boxes back to them. I was disappointed.

Cubetron OK has been the mainstay of knife maker for several years now. 3M claims it fractures and self sharpens under load.

I recently purchased the Cubitron sanding disks from Taylor Tools and was impressed. My only complaint is that the hook material wore out before the sandpaper. The hook pad on my sander is relatively new. Hopefully this was a fluke

i've got some on my list at the jungle site, i'm gonna use em for the table on the cnc machine i'm building, starting with the table from an old 3018pro. 4x300mm pieces, for future i'll just build em from pieces of alum bar, they'd be cheaper, but cheap non-brand tracks are competitive for some lengths.

Is 3/4 plywood strong enough for t slots in a sled or jigs?

This seems like a good match for a composite like high density fiberboard (the only form I can get is 1/8inch "Hardboard") or whatever else you can get in the correct size for a track.

I kinda like the "WoodAnchor" fixturing system, by Toolquest (a small American company!). You need their proprietary bit (manufactured by Whiteside) and some proprietary nuts, but the rest is standard 1/4-20 hardware.

At what price should one dispense with the hardwood milling and buy aluminum track? There’s a set of four 48- inch pieces on Amazon for $34. Is two bucks and a few pennies a foot still too expensive?

Well, damn. Look at that. As usual, wonderful, useful stuff. Thank you.

Is there a bit that makes it one and done?

grain orientation?

Is there benefit to soaking the upper lips in CA glue? I'll be making a gaming table and will be making the accessory rails out of wood.

I do pretty much the same as eggsngritstn (below) who glues 3/16" thick hardwood over at routed or table sawed groove for the base of the t-post. The difference is that I use 6m birch ply that has never failed. I cut it straight and put a spacer in the slot when I glue it down. Works great.

TEMU I got a bunch of 18" alum tracks for $2.50 each.

This is a great alternative! I’m going to use this on my CNC next time I change the spoilboard. I’d rather hit a piece of hardwood with my bit than an aluminum channel. Even though aluminum is soft, no metal chips will be introduced.

thanks

How does the 3M sand paper compare to the Dura Grit Carbide Sanding Disc?

I bought some of that sand papper sure it works good and could last good but it doesn't stay stuck on the velcrow very good so more waste

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.

DIY or 'store-bought', both come with their own set of requirements, pro's & cons costs and work required. Use the option that matches your situation best.

Warping over time?

I use dado stack for the first cut.

I just checked on Amazon, in Canada I can get 4 48” lengths of anodized aluminum T track for $64.95 with free shipping.

Grain orientation is very important; don't want your pieces to split when you tighten hardware. Instead of using a straight bit, I use a stacked dado set in my table saw because it is much faster and I don't have to change the set-up on my router table.

Thanks! If one has handheld routers, straight and t-slot bits already, as I do, this routed-in option is far cheaper and more versatile; for example, if you need a four-way t-track intersection for workbench, tool-tops, etc.; Aluminum 4-way’s would be far more expensive than this option.

Since this adds a lot of stress between grain fibers rather than along, any suggestions on which hardwood species are better than others?

I cut the starter groove on the table saw ... no need to swap router bits.

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.

I use strut in stead.

Great

I tried wood tracks. Blew them all out eventually. The metal tracks are WAY stronger.

How about just making a wide, shallow dado/groove the thickness of some aluminium flatbar and the width of twice said flatbar plus clearance for the hardware you use and then a deeper slot down the middle of the first one and screw the flatbar on either side? Aluminium flatbar is about the equivalent of $5 a yard where I live.

Cool

I wonder how this would work with engineered hardwood such as hardwood ply or kitchen worktop.

Thank you. Would really appreciate it if you could add metric measurements aswell.

My grandfather’s home made table saw had guide strips made of lignum vitae. I don’t think you can get that anymore. I wish I knew where that saw went.

Where do you find ¾" hardwood for "pennies per foot" (after you've cut it into strips)?

Great video as usual...Make those tracks out of Osage Orange and I'd be willing to bet they will last a very long time.

I've worked with wood many times before, but nowhere near the detail of work I've recently gotten in to. Your videos have been a big help. But with my inexperience I hope you'll forgive the ignorance behind my question. I've seen people cut a lot of aluminum with their table saws. Could you - in theory - buy the 3/4 square aluminum stock and route your own slot in that too?

Route a T shaped groove and screw two sections of cheap aluminium flat extrusion into the horizontal part of the T , leaving a gap between them. This creates a T slot that is flush with the surface and is superior to the T section extrusion and is stronger and more durable than a purely wooden T slot in hardwood.

This is great information for every woodworker to know. Mr. Nubs is the best at that. I only have 6-7 years experience in woodworking so I'm not expert, but the MatchFit system is what I've switched to. I made my first cross-cut sled with aluminum t-track. Since then, I tried the MatchFit system and it's just so much easier to implement. In many ways, you get a tool that has multiple uses and that's huge for a small shop. I would venture to say that all these things, aluminum t-track, homemade t-track and the MatchFit system, all have their place. One isn't so much as better than the other, it really comes down to preference and application. Maybe Mr. Nubs has started a whole new "pockethole" debate.

Stumpy coming through in a pinch

Norton's Blaze line...I'll put that up against 3M anyday

What's the jig on the table?

I love your channel and am gratefu for this and all your videos, but i wonder if it isn't a little too harsh to call it the biggest rip-off? Given that many need it and cannot economically make their own out of hardwood, and aluminum is more expensive to source and work, are most companies really overcharging for the aluminum version? Anyway, have a great day.

Welp... now I know what to do with that hop hornbeam wood (aka iron wood) that I've been squirrelling away for years!

Matchfit all the way!!!