- T-slot Table Top (aluminum Extrusion)
- T-slot Table Top
- 3018 Pro Aluminum T-slot Table Top
- T Slot Table Saw
- The table top extrusion t-slot is designed to allow fastening various hold-downs with its dual level slots - on one side you have 6.2mm slots and on the opposite surface you have 8.2mm slot openings for more strength for workload fastening. It incorporates t-slots which gives added strength and functionality for any project.
- Includes tips for sharpening router bits, and setting router table fence distance. Why spend money on buying t-tracks, when you can cut your own t-slots,.
- CALIDAKA Miter Track,400mm 75 Type Aluminum Miter T-Track,DIY T Slot Bandsaw Jig Miter Track,T-Slot Miter Track Jig,Woodworking Table Saw Mini T Track Rail for Fence Fixture $26.49 $ 26. 49 $2.00 shipping.
Here you can find our T-slot plates produced from steel and cast aluminum, and accessories such as clamps and T-slot nuts. Cast aluminum T-slot plates: Tolerance/Precision: +/- 0.01 mm /200 mm Steel (C45) T-slot plates: Tolerance/Precision: +/- 0.05 mm /200 mm. TSLOTS is the top choice for structural extrusion and so much more! You can literally have a CAD model drawn, price quoted, pieces cut, assembled, and shipped to your door in the amount of time it takes most companies just to quote. Truly made in the USA, and you can feel the local touch from start to finish.
- Cast aluminum T-slot plates: Tolerance/Precision: +/- 0.01 mm /200 mm
- Steel (C45) T-slot plates: Tolerance/Precision: +/- 0.05 mm /200 mm
- Steel (C45) T-slot plates (shaped finely): Tolerance/Precision: +/- 0.01 mm /200 mm
- Steel (C45) T-slot plates 'BigBlock' 50mm strong: Tolerance/Precision: +/- 0.01 mm /200 mm
Steel cross slot plate 4030 'X-Block'
$ 839.00*Final price*, plus shipping
Cast aluminium T-slot plate 8' x 6'
$ 49.00*Final price*, plus shipping
Cast aluminium T-slot plate 20' x 16'
$ 279.00*Final price*, plus shipping
Bestseller
Cast aluminium T-slot plate 12' x 12'
$ 125.00*Final price*, plus shipping
Cast aluminium T-slot plate 24' x 12'
$ 249.00*Final price*, plus shipping
Cast aluminium T-slot plate 20' x 12'
$ 209.00*Final price*, plus shipping
Cast aluminium T-slot plate 24' x 16'
$ 334.00*Final price*, plus shipping
Cast aluminium T-slot plate 16' x 8'
$ 109.00*Final price*, plus shipping
Cast aluminium T-slot plate 16' x 12'
$ 169.00*Final price*, plus shipping
The following illustrations show 17 ways of how to attach the tabletop to the table structure.
We have prepared a 3D view and 2D drawings to make it easier for you to understand how each of the methods really works.
At first, the answer to the question of how to fasten a tabletop to the table structure may seem very simple. Only when we look at the problem a little closer we can see that this is not an easy task. The way in which we should fasten the tabletop must meet several criteria:
- the tabletop must be firmly fixed to the table structure;
- with time, the tabletop must remain flat and undeformed;
- the attachment method shouldn't compromise the design of the table.
Properly installed, a tabletop can contract and expand with changes in humidity while staying flat and firmly connected to construction of the table.
Wood is hygroscopic, which means that it gains or loses moisture from the air, and this is always dependent on the surrounding conditions. If the humidity of air is increased, wood absorbs moisture and thus starts expanding. If, on the other hand, the humidity of air is decreased, wood releases accumulated moisture and starts shrinking. Wood's movement (difference in dimensions due to expansion and shrinking) can be significant (especially for large tabletops). In case that movement is disabled, the tabletop will start to deform and crack. The most dramatic movement occurs acroos the grain. Movement along the grain is so small that it can be ignored. To what degree the movement will occur, depends on the following: width of the tabletop, type of wood, initial moisture content of the wood, range of humidity extremes...
T-slot Table Top (aluminum Extrusion)
There are two groups of methods to fasten the tabletop to the table structure:
- Free-moving fastening method – allow expansion and contraction of the wood
- Stationary fastening method – keep the tabletop stationary. This method is usually employed where tabletop is of frame construction, made of laminated materials or for smaller tables where the tabletop is not large enough to produce much movement.
- Free-moving tabletop fastening method
1. Button fasteners – As the tabletop expands and contracts, button fasteners are free to slide within the groove. Grooves can be made along the entire apron, or to be slightly longer than the button width. Easy to make and install, it allows movement in two directions (along the apron and perpendicular to it).
2. Button fastener with kerf – This method is similar to the previous one, the only difference is that the kerf under the working end of the button can be bent up or down. This bending can be very useful if you have a groove made a little higher or lower than it should be. Grooves can be made along the entire apron, or to be slightly longer than the button width.
3. Metal table clips (Z fastener, S-shaped clips) – Z-fasteners are a metal version of the button fasteners. It is an inexpensive and easy to install, and allows for a great deal of wood movement.
4. Flat twin circle clip (figure 8 clip, or figure 8 fastener) – Easy to install and inexpensive. The shape of the figure 8 fastener allows them to pivot as the tabletop expands and contracts. Depending on accessibility, these fasteners can be installed on the inside or outside of the apron.
5. Cleat with slotted hole (wooden blocks) – Glued to the apron and screwed to the underside of the tabletop. Block must be designed so that the long grain (not the end grain) is glued to the apron. If the block were made without a groove, this way would fall into the stationary method.
6. Screw block (cleat) – This method is similar to the previous one, the only difference is that the block is fixed to the apron with wood screws and not by gluing. If the block were made without a groove, this way would fall into the stationary method.
7. Dovetail block – allows the most movement but is the hardest to make. A dovetail shaped part is screwed to the tabletop, and a block with corresponding slot is glued to the apron.
8. Beveled cleat
9. Dovetail cleat – Slot and dovetail cleat taper 1/16in. in width from one end to the other. The dovetailed cleats keep a tabletop flat, and they also allow movement.
- Stationary tabletop fastening method
10. Pocket hole – great for small tables. The holes are drilled at an angle of 10 degrees. Pocket holes can be made to allow for slight movement of the tabletop in two ways: by drilling slightly oversized pilot holes or by making the holes oval in the direction of movement.
11. Corner iron
By making grooves instead of holes, this method would become a free-moving fastening method.
12. Dowel
13. Screw – If shank hole and counterbore are oversized, this will allow the tabletop slight movement.
14. Screw and plugs
15. Top pin – Top pin can be tapered or threaded. This method is suitable for heavy and large tables that often need to be moved when expanded. In the past, it was mainly used for tables in pubs, butchers' tables and the like.
T-slot Table Top
Tapered top pin
Threaded top pin
3018 Pro Aluminum T-slot Table Top
16. In the next picture you can see how to attach the tabletop to a tripod table structure.
T Slot Table Saw
17. In the next picture you can see how to attach the tabletop to a table structure that has no apron.