Annoyed- "T" Tracks
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Annoyed- "T" Tracks
I just received my upgrade ripfence for the 500. I was stunned to discover that SS still has proprietary dimensions for the "T." Are the rest of you filing down the "nut" for sliding jigs and stopblocks. On my OPR, when my Eagle America order gets here, all of the "T" slot portions will be changed to industry standard. I have a Miter Express coming and noted that Mr. Reible's photos on that unit show jury rigging - if the Incra I ordered from SS does not fit the slots in the table(500)-it does not say it only fits 510 or 520-well, I'm going to "kick a cat" or something like that.JET
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chiroindixon
- Gold Member
- Posts: 233
- Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2006 1:42 pm
- Location: QCA Iowa
Mike..
The SS T slots are a standard. You can buy that track size, among others, from Woodhaven, about 15 miles from you....I put them on my miter saw station so my SS T slotted stuff would fit.
SS is geared to use the 514491 T nuts, page 36 of my Fathers Day catalog. They are geared to also fit the T slotted miter tracks on a 505/510/520, newer band saw tables, the newer fences like yours.
If you have an older 500 miter slot, you'll see it may not have the included T channel, but is cut to the standard 3/4"x3/8". Personally, I find the T modification a much better and safer miter slot arrangement.
Now my Dubby sled has another T slot size, and no, I don't have to file the nuts down. I just went to the hardware store and got the right thickness nuts for that thread size. Not all nuts for a given thread size are the same thickness. Your problem also frustrated me until I figured it out...
Doc
The SS T slots are a standard. You can buy that track size, among others, from Woodhaven, about 15 miles from you....I put them on my miter saw station so my SS T slotted stuff would fit.
SS is geared to use the 514491 T nuts, page 36 of my Fathers Day catalog. They are geared to also fit the T slotted miter tracks on a 505/510/520, newer band saw tables, the newer fences like yours.
If you have an older 500 miter slot, you'll see it may not have the included T channel, but is cut to the standard 3/4"x3/8". Personally, I find the T modification a much better and safer miter slot arrangement.
Now my Dubby sled has another T slot size, and no, I don't have to file the nuts down. I just went to the hardware store and got the right thickness nuts for that thread size. Not all nuts for a given thread size are the same thickness. Your problem also frustrated me until I figured it out...
Doc
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RobertTaylor
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 560
- Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:28 am
- Location: North Canton, Ohio
doc. i hate to be the one to break it to you, but you do not have "it" figured out.
shopsmith miter slots and t-tacks are very proprietory. they are not 3/4 by 3/8.
if you buy an incra jig from shopsmith it will indeed have a miter bar that will fit your shopsmith.
if you buy an incra jig or any other tool from anyone other than shopsmith you will have to modify it to work on your shopsmith unless it was specifically designed for shopsmith.
when building jigs or accessories to use with your shopsmith tools you can purchase t-nuts and/or t-track from shopsmith at competitive prices. if you use hardware store t-tracks and/or t-nuts for your jigs you will need to keep two sets handy and of course they will not interchange.
don't mean to be harsh, just accurate. hope this helps, bob
shopsmith miter slots and t-tacks are very proprietory. they are not 3/4 by 3/8.
if you buy an incra jig from shopsmith it will indeed have a miter bar that will fit your shopsmith.
if you buy an incra jig or any other tool from anyone other than shopsmith you will have to modify it to work on your shopsmith unless it was specifically designed for shopsmith.
when building jigs or accessories to use with your shopsmith tools you can purchase t-nuts and/or t-track from shopsmith at competitive prices. if you use hardware store t-tracks and/or t-nuts for your jigs you will need to keep two sets handy and of course they will not interchange.
don't mean to be harsh, just accurate. hope this helps, bob
Bob
1954 greenie, 1963 anniversary edition now a mini,
1984 500, 1985 510, 1987 510, pro-planer, bandsaw, dust collector
1954 greenie, 1963 anniversary edition now a mini,
1984 500, 1985 510, 1987 510, pro-planer, bandsaw, dust collector
I can't speak for the rest of us but I got the parts to match the t-slot from shopsmith. Since it is a shopsmith standard it fits all the shopsmith items with t-slots.
As far as a "standard t-slot" there are many standards... I have at least 4 different standard t-slots and no the hardware doesn't exchange very well.
As far as the shopsmith miter express the changes you saw are not to make it work but to extend the operation of the unit by using parts not designed to work with it. It will fit the table slots but you will loose the extra safety feature of the t-slots.
I don't know if you have looked at upgrading to a 520 but there are a lot of advantages to doing that. I put it off for years and purchased lots of items that upgraded my 500 to the best it could be.... in the long run I wasted over a $1000 doing so. Saw arbors for the 500 don't work with the 505/510/520 systems. The sanding disks hubs are different also. The list is long and expensive for me. So if you are thinking of doing it do it sooner rather then upgrading the 500.
Ed
As far as a "standard t-slot" there are many standards... I have at least 4 different standard t-slots and no the hardware doesn't exchange very well.
As far as the shopsmith miter express the changes you saw are not to make it work but to extend the operation of the unit by using parts not designed to work with it. It will fit the table slots but you will loose the extra safety feature of the t-slots.
I don't know if you have looked at upgrading to a 520 but there are a lot of advantages to doing that. I put it off for years and purchased lots of items that upgraded my 500 to the best it could be.... in the long run I wasted over a $1000 doing so. Saw arbors for the 500 don't work with the 505/510/520 systems. The sanding disks hubs are different also. The list is long and expensive for me. So if you are thinking of doing it do it sooner rather then upgrading the 500.
Ed
{Knight of the Shopsmith} [Hero's don't wear capes, they wear dog tags]
Thanks to all. I am not always a whiner. I just assumed that when the true "T" slots were grafted into the 510-520 that SS wuld not have kept their .004 tighter slots. I can't complain about SS prices on many things- it is just that I have been playing with and building router tables for friends and whether it is Eagle America, Hartville, Lee Valley, Woodcraft and more, the sliders and "T" nuts have all interchanged, albeit with differing fit characteristics.
My miter express was ordered from SS so I am assured that it will have the SS bars. That is fine with me. I have an Incra 2000 Spec. Ed. mitergauge and fence that will be thrown into the express- that should turn out fine.
My goal is to get my SS set up well enough that I can feel comfortable selling my stand -alone TS and some other duplicate power tools.
Ed, I did give some early consideration to going with the 520 upgrade package; at this point, with three tables(2 on carriages and the right-hand extender) there is not much daylight under anything I want to cut.
I am fairly well there now- I don't have much need to panel saw flatstock so a well outfitted SS is ideal for me. I have three miter gauge/clamp assemblies so I can have ready to go jigs and tonight I will be adding a sacrificial sub-fence to my new rip fence. Actually, things are coming along nicely.
I really appreciate you folks rallying around me to help. Regards, mt
My miter express was ordered from SS so I am assured that it will have the SS bars. That is fine with me. I have an Incra 2000 Spec. Ed. mitergauge and fence that will be thrown into the express- that should turn out fine.
My goal is to get my SS set up well enough that I can feel comfortable selling my stand -alone TS and some other duplicate power tools.
Ed, I did give some early consideration to going with the 520 upgrade package; at this point, with three tables(2 on carriages and the right-hand extender) there is not much daylight under anything I want to cut.
I am fairly well there now- I don't have much need to panel saw flatstock so a well outfitted SS is ideal for me. I have three miter gauge/clamp assemblies so I can have ready to go jigs and tonight I will be adding a sacrificial sub-fence to my new rip fence. Actually, things are coming along nicely.
I really appreciate you folks rallying around me to help. Regards, mt
1983 Mark V- beltsander, jigsaw, Stripsander,jointer, bandsaw-double carriage and tables with molders and drums, Over Arm Pin Routers(Freestanding x 2)Second Mark V.
This might be of interest to some of you. The t-slot channels on the old OPR and several of there older pieces of equipment, I think even the joint-matic are special shopsmith patented parts. The are adjustable to take out slop in the miter gauge slot by use of the screws in the bottom. Yes they were designed to do that and were unique enough to get a patent. Oh yea it can be too tight as well so if you are having problems moving the miter gauge you might just want to adjust it.
Ed
Ed
{Knight of the Shopsmith} [Hero's don't wear capes, they wear dog tags]
"My miter express was ordered from SS so I am assured that it will have the SS bars. That is fine with me. I have an Incra 2000 Spec. Ed. mitergauge and fence that will be thrown into the express- that should turn out fine."
If you happened to catch my review you will soon find the limits of that set-up with the miter 2000. I'm now waiting until I have tool money again to buy a Incra 1000 or 3000 for my set up. I have stopped using the 2000 for that operation and just use the shopsmith miter gauge. Of course you may find it fits your needs fully.
Ed
If you happened to catch my review you will soon find the limits of that set-up with the miter 2000. I'm now waiting until I have tool money again to buy a Incra 1000 or 3000 for my set up. I have stopped using the 2000 for that operation and just use the shopsmith miter gauge. Of course you may find it fits your needs fully.
Ed
{Knight of the Shopsmith} [Hero's don't wear capes, they wear dog tags]