Aluminum T-track

[Adam Adolph]

I am wondering where the most reasonable place is to buy t-track for mu workbench.  I have a budget and it seems the the prices vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and web site to web site.  I do not have any wood working stores in the area I live and usually have to rely on local lumber yards and hardware stores or I can drive a short distance (still considered local) and go to a big box store (Menards, Home Depot, Lowes) for my project supplies and tools so I would have to buy online and have it shipped.  Any help would be great.

Thank you in advance for your help.

[justin waldron]

I went with the Inca T-track through Woodcraft, it's easy to cut with a hacksaw, comes with all the screws and was reasonable in price.  I would even check for it on Amazon.

[ray vile]

I have the rockler t track in my bench and it was 20.99 for a 4 ft pc. but I got it with free shipping, woodcraft and peachtree sells four ft lengths for 17.99 but I don't know if you can get any breaks on the shipping.

[John Schaben]

Price on t-track has increased dramatically the past year. Rockler used to have a t-track special for $20 which included 10-12 ft of track and a bucket of hardware. Today, they are asking $21.99 for a 4 ft hunk. I also used to get deals on the stuff from Hartville Tool also but it's the same story with them, and Peachtree also. Today, about the best you can do is a lot of searching for the best deal. A pretty good alternative is to get a t-slot router bit and cut your own. They won't be as durable but a nice option for jigs. You can also route or cut a groove where you want a slot and rebate along the edges so you can set aluminum or steel strips that overlap the groove. Creating a t-slot. Eagle America also has a system where you can route a t-slot with a special t-slot bit and insert an aluminum extrusion. Those extrusions sell for $7 for a 4' length right now. Course the router bit sells for about $40. Break even would be about 12' of t-slots though.

Good Luck.

[patrick in memphis(collierville)]

rockler has some at roughly 30.00 for a set

[Adam Adolph]

I will have to check out all these.  I know that last summer when I started this project, t-track was a heck of a lot cheaper.

 

Thanks for your help.

[patrick in memphis(collierville)]

4ft for 22 or 4ft plus 2 clamps 30 just checked for ya rockler.com

[Adam Adolph]

thanks.

[Gary roofner]

Check out grizzly abot $7.50 for 3ft.

[Gary roofner]

I just check again current price bought a couple months ago. http://www.grizzly.com/products/36-Aluminum-T-Slot-Track/H0878  Now 9.25. My daughter lives near grizzly store in Pa.

[John Schaben]

Nice catch Gary. Some reason I keep forgetting about Grizzly. Note though, that is the "mini" track. The "heavy duty" track is thicker(deeper). MLCS track and some Peachtree is "heavy  duty" and uses 5/16" hardware, 1/4" is a bit small to work with it. The "mini" size uses 1/4" hardware and 5/16 doesn't work. I think rockler is a bit different configuration and will use 1/4" standard hardware and 5/16" t-slot hardware.

Gary roofner said:

I just check again current price bought a couple months ago. http://www.grizzly.com/products/36-Aluminum-T-Slot-Track/H0878  Now 9.25. My daughter lives near grizzly store in Pa.

[Adam Adolph]

It does not matter to me if it is standard, heavy duty, or mini...i am mostly using it just for material hold downs and stops...not so much for  heavy clamping or jigs.

[John Schaben]

Hi Adam - I understand that. Just like to standardize my shop as much as possible. For example,  I use t-tracks on the router table fence as well as the table saw fence for featherboards. If the tracks were different, I would need to swap hardware each time or have dedicated featherboards.... PIA... That's just me though, the post was a FYI, not a recommendation. I have both in the shop but try to stick with the mini.

Adam Adolph said:

It does not matter to me if it is standard, heavy duty, or mini...i am mostly using it just for material hold downs and stops...not so much for  heavy clamping or jigs.