I just finished watching Nick's Shop Tip on T-Nuts and mounting jigs. As usual Nick has provided us with another basket full of good information and ideas - Thanks to Nick & Shopsmith once again!
But I did end up with a couple of questions regarding mounting jigs and T-Nuts in general.
1. Is there a right way and a wrong way to secure a T-Nut in the track?
The locking T-Nut assemblies that I have gotten from Shopsmith in the past included a T-Nut, fender washer, and a 1 inch knob. This causes the top ridge in the track to be "pinched" between theT-Nut flanges and the washer/knob when the knob is tightened (see attached photos). [ATTACH]2071[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]2072[/ATTACH]
I have also seen photos on the forum where it appears that a bolt has been threaded down thru the T-Nut to the bottom of the track and "jacking up" the T-Nut flanges into the bottom face of the top ridge in the track as the bolt is tightened.
Are both methods OK? Any advantages/disadvantages to either method?
2. In the Shop Tip video, Nick was explaining how the flat washers were used to allow the tenon jig to be tightened down yet slide easily along the track. Unfortunately the audio was a bit garbled just at the wrong moment and despite listening a couple of times, I can't quite make out what is being said.
Nick goes on to mention that these T-Nuts can be slightly skewed as they are tightened to take the play out of the jig assembly Can someone enlighten me on how all of this works?3. The video Blackboard also showed a modified flat washer (Along with some nice plans for three jigs
) but I'm not sure of this modified washer's function.Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dennis