Slider bar for bandsaw table

[bill.shitner]

Hello all.

I bought a bandsaw a few months back and having used it for a few jobs, it's a tool that I now wish I had bought years ago. Really useful.

The table of the bandsaw has slots in it, running along the axis of cutting. A cutting angle jig that came with the bandsaw runs on an aluminium extrusion that serves as a slider, captive in the slots of the table.

I would like to get some of the aluminium extrusion slider material to make my own, additional cutting guides/jigs. The problem is that I cannot find the material online. Various T-nuts for machine table slots are available, but I can't find a plain length of T-slot slider bar. Is there a special name for the profile that fits machine table slots, or can anyone recommend a place to look?

Thanks.

Bill.

[Tricky Dicky]

A lot depends on the type of bandsaw you have, industrial machines tend to have just a couple of variations of t-slots So it might be possible to get a length of bar from an engineers supplier. However, with hobby tools there seems to be no standards, so getting in touch with the machine maker might get a result, alternatively try to get a couple of strips of material to fit the major and minor slots and rivet them together. If you know anyone with a miller - vertical or horizontal they might be able to mill a few strips for you. You could try the D&T dept. of your local high school if they still have that kind of machinery about but I believe many have scrapped that type of equipment in favour of laser cutters and 3D printers.

Richard

[nothanks]

You could make one from a piece of straight-grained hardwood - a 5 minute job on a table saw - although do you actually need the T shape? A rectangular piece of hardwood that accurately fits the slot should be fine for a bandsaw. If you really want some vertical retention then you could put some "ears" in 3 or 4 places on a rectangular bar so that they run in the grooves.

[petek]

[petek]

Why does it need to be T-bar? When I made my cross cut sled for my table saw I just bought some aluminium strip of the appropriate width and used that. Works a treat.

[John Rumm]

Some of the tool shops will do slider bars typically designed for 19mm slots:

Or kits of hardware for making your own:

Having said that, you only need to make use of the Tee when you want your jig to be captive. In most cases just having a plain bar that matches the minor slot width is adequate for accurate tracking. On the table saw I normally make mine out of strips of hardwood.

(many machines only have a plain slot anyway)

Alternatively you can use steel or ali strips of the right width, and then "tune" the fit by centre punching the *top* of the strip near the edges to peen out a small amount of material from the sides to make the strip wider. (and a file or stone to make it narrower again)

[Andy Burns]

[bill.shitner]

Thanks for the replies.

As pointed out by various posters, I was probably making it harder than it needed to be. The slot is 14mm X 5mm, allowing a little play, so as not to be tight as a gnat's chuff. Wickes sell steel bar in precisely that profile, so a simple solution. I can fix some studs into the bar to give fixtures for the jig at table level. Job done.

Cheers.

Bill.