I use the t track just to hold down a temporary wasteboard.
The wasteboard always gets cut into, it has to be easily changeable.
Then I use ca glue and blue tape to hold down the stock.
The glue/tape method works PERFECTLY.
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I am afraid to use t tracks until I go thru the learning curve. I could see me routing to deep and hitting the track.
I found some tape I want to try. Accidentally bought this and tried it to hold some wood in place for a project I was working on. It is removable but not easily. It is very strong. I had to put some elbow grease on it to break it apart. We now use it all around the house if we want temporary but a very strong bond.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07ZVDBCZV?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
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I had the same fear and early on, did make some errors. But all the errors were my not paying attention to details. I have started to zero my Z off the waste board. Taking this approach, it forces me to use calipers to dial in the size of the material.
Here is the tape I and others use to hold down the parts during machining. Its pretty cheap and it comes off the pieces without leaving any glue behind. I’ve been happy with its performance.
I have both the 1" and 2" wide for different applications.
-Alex
Thanks for posting! Added to my shopping list (that never seems to get shorter!)
Agreed - Good prices on the t-Tracks, but shipping from orange aluminum is costly…30.00 to ship to North Carolina unless I spend 100.00.
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I ordered these from e-bay. They are 24" but can take 1/4 inch bolts as well… not sure the need for t-track the entire 32 inches is needed as I would most likely stagger my clamps anyhow. Currently using double sided tape - seems to work well with MDF and Pine - but DS tape is $$
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While the machined aluminum clamps are nice, inevitably you will place one in the wrong location of a tool path and your wood cutting bit will NOT be happy with what you did. Don’t ask me how I know this problem.
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I plan to use T-Track for my second spoil board. I’ll make low risk of damage mistakes so I can just break bits to start rather than destroy my tracks.
p.s. Congrats on your retirement from USAF, I’m right behind you!
What do you use for hold downs
I use a combination of painters tape and CA glue and the Rockler t-track clamps. 70% of the time it’s painters tape and CA glue only.
I plan to use the tape and glue technique during my ~first year of learning.
Hey @waynecottle I use a varied set of clamps for my T-Track, 95% of them are DIY solutions based on the oops clamps but made of wood strips. I also have some Rockler clamps that I have modified to work with my extra 3/4" MDF sacrificial board. I also use double stick tape to hold down parts that are not very clamp friendly.
-Alex
For what its worth, I’m going to give a dovetail spoilboard a try a la https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJABIIzeI_I
Take it with a grain of salt tho…my Onefinity is still in boxes while I finish a work table.
-Mark
I’m going t-track, and putting the track “below” my wasteboard, and having the wasteboard overlap the t-track. It’s supposed to help prevent the clamp from pulling the t-track up out of the slot (MDF doesn’t hold screws real well…).
I this picture, nothing is screwed or glued down - everything is loose. And, the clamp tightens up just fine.
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Continuing the discussion from T track? Or no t track:
My base is 3/4 plywood, then I screwed down the T trac which are 1/2 inch thick, and then installed 3/4 inch thick MDF between the trac. I made some clamps by cutting some hard wood 5.5 inch long by 3/4 inch thick by 1.5 inch wide. At each end I cut a 3/8 inch by 3/8 inch notch. In the middle of each unit I cut 1/4 inch wide slot in the middle about 3.5 inches long. This lets you buy the standard 1/4 hex head bolt and use knobs that can be purchased a lot of places.
I found using the track brackets and clamps at the bottom of the piece to be plenty of hold strength and clearance from going to cutting the edges for about 50% of the material
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I like the numerical grid markings. Do you have them up the left side too? Would you be able to tell me the with of the slats and share the file?
My slats are 5.51in each with each t-slot being .75in. I used the zero of each axis to find the edges and started my rails there. The numbers I just added to the grid after drawing it out on carveco using a 2 inch spacing from 0. Unfortunately I only saved the toolpath and closed the software before saving the project or drawing or I would post it.
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I am using 3/4in mdf sitting on top of a larger sheet of 1/2in mdf 33x40