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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ต.ค. 2024
- [Edit: STL files of the 3D printed parts are linked down below]
Aluminum T-track systems are not easy to find everywhere like the bigger miter tracks.
What if you can easily make your own with common parts you can find in any hardware store and for a fraction of the cost?
I designed and 3D printed knob and clamp pads but you don't need a 3D printer, a washer and a wingnut are perfectly fine already and any rubber pad glued in place is enough to prevent the clamp from scratching the piece you're working on or the table itself.
I've been using this T-track system for a few years now on many of my jigs and machines and they're extremely versatile!
Do you like it? How would you improve it or make it different? Let me know in the comment section!
Thanks for watching!
STL files for the 3 printed parts on my Thingiverse page:
- Knob:
www.thingivers...
- Pads:
www.thingivers...
In this video (affiliate):
- Featherboards:
amzn.to/2w0aM3e
s.click.aliexp...
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#Ttrack #system #aluminum #DIY #howto #MakeON
Finally a simple solution. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you! It's very simple and versatile indeed! Besides using for years these t-tracks in many projects, I just got other 5 meters of tubing for a couple of upcoming ones.
Wow! Loved the simplicity! And your humor. Thanks.
Thank you very much, Sergio! I hope you found useful one or two bits in it if you also plan to make some!
Thank you. It was nice how you showed us how to make T-Track on our own. I have Fusion 360 too but not the 3D printer, yet, at least. You motivate me!
Thank you very much Daniel! It's really awesome to hear that I motivate you. The 3D printed parts can be replaced with common parts from any hardware store (as shown in the video) and then eventually you can swap them out when you get a 3D printer, if you want to.
More options are also mentioned in the comments by other viewers. Have fun!
Thanks for making and sharing this. Commercially available hold-downs are kinda pricey.... This video shows how I can make my own with stuff I have laying around in my junk box. The aluminum may be a little prone to breakage right at the bend where the knob presses down on it, but if it breaks, I'll throw it away and make another!
Thank you Carl!
I'm still using the hold down you saw in the video and other ones even older.
The wood piece you need to hold down, even hardwood, would get damaged way before the eventual breaking point of the clamp, you really don't need that much pressure.
It also depends on the aluminum used and a progressive, slow bend , but, if you want to go the extra mile, you can always heat up the bar before bending it.
it never occurred to me that I can cut a rectangle profile on my table saw to make a track. this simplifies things for me- THANK YOU!
Thank you!! Glad to hear that!
Awesome. Just what I was looking for.
Thank you. Glad to hear that!
❤ Super thank you ❤
Where did you purchased the end caps for your clamps. This is I have not been able to source. Thanks for sharing!
They're 3d printed. If you have access to a 3D printer, there's a link to all the files in the video description.
Otherwise, you can simply glue any kind of rubber or soft material around the edges.
I think the toilet bowl t- bolts would be a better solution than grinding the sides off of a regular boat and if you cut that bar in half and then just place it on top of some plywood or rip down some to buy four wood screw it down to have the same effect might be a cheaper way to go if you can't find the tubing
Better depends. I'd say it comes down to needs and availability. I chose aluminum for durability and I went with regular carriage bolts because you can find them pretty much everywhere, you can size them according to the tubing measure you find, the head is thicker and their square section by the head keys perfectly in the slot cut in the tube, leaving virtually no slack for the bolt to rotate or move up and down while tightening the hold down. There are many options to make them, I came up with this one for versatility and to make them as similar as I could in form and function to the commercial ones.
Hi, where did you get your aluminum tubing from?
Exactly... can't find it anywhere online..
!
Great idea for the track. That tubing is a fraction of the price of regular t track. Where did you get the plastic caps
Thank you!
I designed and printed the caps in TPU, you can download the STL files for caps and knob from the link in the video descripion, they're on my Thingiverse page.
A quicker alternative, even though maybe less durable than 3D printing, could be epoxying a strip of any kind of rubber or soft plastic around the edges.
@@MakeOnI bought some ally tube and cut it this morning, worked out well. I don't have a 3d printer but I found some stuff called "Plasti Dip" on Amazon, I'm going to give it a shot when it arrives.
@TheBikerDodge Glad to hear that and good idea with the Plasti-dip! I've only used it once for a completely different thing, and it's holding up well even though it's not solicited like a clamp could end up being. Building up a few more layers could also work well, in case.
Please let me know how it goes, if you don't mind.
Very Nice. Saludo del Brasil.
Thank you!
Hi , Im Héctor from argentina. Here t trucks are very very expensive , so I cut the aluminium as you do. My question is how can i soften them becouse after cutting they are very sharp .
Of course I sand the truck but still are very sharp.
Thank you
Hi Héctor! I use a a double-cut flat metal file, the same I used in the video (it might not be very clear in the video because that part is sped up). Since aluminum is very soft, try to not push too hard on the file to better dial the amount of material removed. Usually a light pass, moving the file like if you wanted to slightly round the edge, makes quick work of it, but if it's still too rough you then can either use a finer file or stick 120 grit sandpaper to a piece of ply and finish the job. I hope it helps. Thank YOU! Have a good weekend!
Great tips! Not easy to find video on youtube about making a DIY metal hold down clamp, and yours is superb. Liked the t-track system! Smart idea!
How did you bend your hold down (assuming you’re not superman)? Did you metalworking specific tools, like an anvil and ball point hammer, or you used tools a DIYer is likely to have?
My wife gave me a broken stainless steel frying pan (ok, she threw away and I retrieved it from the trash), and I realized that cutting two parallel lines separated by about 30mm and perpendicular to the center line would gave me two metal hold down clamps, already bent with the shape that metal hold down clamps usualy have.
So, 6 dremel discs, and a million hand saw strokes later, I got two hold downs... 😅
Hey André, thank you very much!
Most of the times I used a vise and some gripping pliers to bend the piece. That's really the quicker way. Alternatively, you can use the vise and hit the bar with any hammer but aluminum is pretty soft and you need to be careful because it could crack.
Eventually, I made a jig with some wood scraps to hold the piece in the vise and bend it in a more controlled way tightening the vise, but it was probably overkilled and it worked best only with a certain length of the clamp. I might revise the jig design down the road to improve it and make it work with any clamp length in which case I'll make a video about it.
hahaha If they don't end up being too flexible, that's for sure another way to make them.👍
@@MakeOn Thanks. I’ll try to bend that way. My vise is very cheap, and i’m afraid of breaking it by hitting something in it with a hammer. If you don’t have pictures of that jig, I’ll look forward for that video.
@@MakeOn Well, they must be stronger than yours, after all, I couldn’t break it with a chisel 😂. Seriously, though, the pan is made of 1/8” stainless steel. But the finish of yours seems very professional, specially with the plastic caps.
Keep up the good work!
Thank you for the video. Could you give the dimensions in mm of the aluminum bar stock and square tubing?
Hi, thank you for watching!
The measures shown at the beginning of the video are already in mm:
Square tubing: 11.5x19.5x1.5 (1.5 being the wall thickness)
Flat bar: 25x5, I think it was from a 2m or 2.5m long stock
Bolts and nuts: all M8.
Duuude! love the close up shots, and the humor you sneak in the video ;) keep at it you did great!
Haha Thanks, Andrea! I wasn't feeling like filming myself cutting a piece of metal again with the usual tools...😁
@@MakeOn hehehe yeah it's boring sometimes, also bending metal 45° bare handed feels the same ;)
Thanks for showing an inexpensive alternative for T track and hold down clamps
Thank you!
Good Idea! Where did you purchase the plastic protectors, wich you stuck on the ends of the clamps? Please let me know!
Thank you! I designed them in Fusion360 and 3D printed them wth TPU filament, which is flexible. That's quite overkill, though, and the dimensions depend on the flat bar you have. Any piece of soft material can be used and glued in place, like rubber, silicone o even leather, just to mention two, and it'd work just fine.
Forgot to mention that, in case, i shared the files for all the 3d printed parts in this video and there is a link in the video description from which you can download them.
@@MakeOn Thanks a lot to you!!
What size is box section (did I miss it?)
It's 3/4"x1/2" with 1/16" wall, or 19.5x11.5x1.5 (mm).
Good job. To cut the aluminum tubular with the saw bench, can you use the same blade that you use for wood? thanks
Yes, you can absolutely cut the aluminum with a blade for wood, no problem. Just be careful, make sure that the blade is not too dull and don't push the piece too fast while cutting.😉
Love the chisel cut! :)
It comes in handy sometimes... Thank you!
Please tell me that was a This old Tony homage :) Hilarious!
I love that channel!! Now that you make me think about it I could definitely pretend it was but in reality, at the moment, I simply didn't feel like filming yet another mitersaw cut and I had that chisel on the workbench from a previous project and... :D Thank you for watching!
@@MakeOn you owe me three chisels :P
@@ARichli Sorry! I forgot to mention that they had to be freshly sharped... 😜
where do you get the silicine or rubber end covers
I used Fusion360 to design them and then I 3Dprinted them in TPU filament which is a flexible material. There are links to all the 3D files used in this video in the video description.
Y no se te dañó el disco de la sierra de mesa al cortar el aluminio?.
Gracias
Aluminum is softer than many species of hardwood. There's no particular problem for the blade other than regular wear and tear as if you just cut wood with it.
I have no idea where to get such tubing. Can't buy it locally in small quantity.
I'm sorry to hear that. What's the minimum amount and length you can get locally?
@@maxquigley9524 Weird. I've bought it even from the Home Depot, some time ago. It's a pretty standard measurement. Online the first one I've just found is www.shapirosupply.com/alloy-6063-aluminum-rectangular-tubing-1-x-3-x-1-8-x-370.html even though it is more expensive than the last time I checked and, depending on the price of the available t-track, might or might not be worth it.
@@maxquigley9524 Wow! Yeah, with that shipping cost it gets ridiculously expensive. Mine end up being less than $6 for the same lenght as I usually buy the 10ft ones. The hold down clamps are so easy to make and cost a fraction of the commercial ones anyway. The thing for me is... if you have the stock available, it's easier and more fun spending 10-20 minutes and make your own when you need it than going around to buy some or wait for delivery.
T track stuff is a ripoff, why would you pay 12 dollars for 6 T Track bolts when you can buy 50 capheads for the same price?. great vid thank you.
Yes, they seem to be quite overpriced and they are hard to find around indeed. Unlike the miter tracks that you can find pretty much everywhere but they are too large and overkill for most of applications.
Thank you!
Good work very cool
From usa
Thank you!!
Do you have a source for rectangular tubing that costs less than $4.30 / ft.? That's about the price of T-track on Amazon.
Hey Don, I usually get the tubing at the hardware store for around $4.50/m(3.3ft.) or at the metal supplier where they have 6m pieces and it ends up being sensibly cheaper than the hardware store, about $3.75ish/m.
@@MakeOn Yeah, that IS a lot less expensive, like 1/3 or less. I keep forgetting Amazon isn't always the best way to go.
Thank you.
If you were able to bend the metal by hand, why wont it deform when you are using it clamp a workpiece?
The edit made it look way easier to bend than it was. :D The 5 mm tick bar along with the soft pads has actually enough flex to not dent or scratch the clamped part while still holding it firmly in place.
Where did you find your aluminum T-track
I usually get the stock square tubing you see me cutting in this video either from the hardware store or the local metal supplier.
we don't even see what it is and the purpose and no explanation...
Hey Pierre, thank you for taking the time.
A T-track system, in other words, is a bunch of repositionable hold-down clamps running along rails. Its purpose is to conveniently and firmly hold down parts when you work on them with various machines, You can see what it is and how it all works in the thumbnail before clicking on the video and towards the end of the video itself, here: th-cam.com/video/WJeSuIQuoWg/w-d-xo.html
@@MakeOn hum ok I don't really see moreover I arrived here to see a video about a bike's tool
How do you cut the aluminium bar to make the t track profile if you do not have a table saw? Would need to buy it online.
Aluminum is pretty much like wood.
Before getting my table saw I'd just make the "cut" with a metal file of the right size, it might not be as quick as with a table saw but it's a pretty quick job nonetheless.
Also, you can temporarly glue or clamp a straigh edge to keep the line or go without it if you feel confident.
Otherwise, any kind of saw will also work just fine.
Worse to worse, you could also score the bar over and over with an utility knife until you can pry off the channel cutout.
Make On Hi, thanks for the feedback. Will give it a try.
@@arnolddavies6734 You're welcome, Arnold. Glad to help!
Molto bravo, adoro le cose semplici!
Grazie!!
Great material! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you!!
04:15 But that chisel has to be resharpened.
Yep! And it took a while! 😅
Cool name, by the way! Free as in freedom!
that Thor's chisel
Pure uru metal indeed! 😄
👏👍👍
Thank you!
bue da fixe
Thanks!👍
exceelente, brillante, lo voy a poner en practica, muchas gracias!!!
como se llama esta herramienta de corte
th-cam.com/video/WJeSuIQuoWg/w-d-xo.html
Thank you!! Great to hear you're giving it a try!
BTW... That tool is called "Pleasetellmeyouarenotactuallyusingmeforthis". He's a funny tool.😉
Thank you for the vid. I like the the idea to use aluminium for hold down clamps. Better and less bulkier then wood. As for T-Track; Commercial T-Track has thicker wall aluminium. Do you find 1.5mm wall thickness is sufficient and it doesn't distort with use?
Thank you!! I've been using these T-track for years now and they've been very reliable. Probably the ones I stress the most are those on the drill press table where I usually tight down the clamps the most to prevent the parts I'm drilling from shifting or moving and they are just fine. Soft pads at the ends of the clamp parts and the slightest flex in the hold-down itself also help a lot increasing the grip on the part without having to exaggeratedly overtighten the knob, though.
@@MakeOn Thank you , this is encouraging. I just went to my local Bunnigs store here in Australia and bought 20x10x2mm. I noticed some people are gluing in T-tracks. What is your opinion for using glue or epoxy instead of screws?
Hi, where did you get the rubber/plastic pieces for the ends of the clamp please? You have encouraged me to make some of these, thank you.
Tony.
Hi Tony, Thank YOU! I designed the rubber and plastic parts in Fusion360 and then I 3D printed them. If you have access to a 3D printer you can download the files from my Thingiverse page, links to them are in the video description.
Another option could be gluing in place with some epoxy pieces of rubber like from inner tubes or really anything else that helps preventing the metal from scratching the pieces. lI means a lot to me that you decided to give it a shot. I'd love to see your take on these.
If you have any other question, feel free to ask!
Have fun with your build! 😉
I was thinking a couple layers of electrical heat shrink might do the job
@@rmar127 A good idea Rhys, thank you. Tony.
@Mama C i was thinking of using plasti-dip, did it work well?
what if you just round the edges?
so i love the content , but i noticed you are wearing gloves while using the bench grinder, please dont. if the fabric gets caught its going to suck your fingers in, but if your thumb skin gets sucked in its just gonna tear or at worse grind down some skin. had to go to a few different classes for machining and gloves on anything that spins was always whats talked about , along with loose clothing
Thank you!
Yes, your advice is absolutely correct and it's also the best practice.
In that particular case though the very fine grit of the grinding wheel and the leather finger tips of the gloves make pretty impossible for the gloves to get grabbed by the wheel. And even if it happened the very weak motor of that grinder would stall pretty much immediately... so much so that I always have to limit the pressure i put on the parts to prevent it from stalling alone.
what kind of aluminum tube? Cant understand u and u didnt leave it in the link or where to get so i can try and find it. Thanks
Hi Zach, the tube measures are on the label, it's 11.5x19.5x1.5mm, and it works best with 8mm carriage bolts. If you need Imperial equivalents, start from 5/16" carriage bolts that you can find at Home Depot, Menards, or any other hardware store and look for rectangular tubing around 1/2"x3/4"x1/16". As to where to find it, the best bet would be at a local metal supplier, if your hardware store doesn't have it. I hope this will help. Please let me know if you have any further questions.
@@MakeOn Thank u very much for taking the time. Hope u have a great week and a better weekend.
@@themegasexybasterd Thank you, you too!
Make On hi mate, your far too generous by taking the time to give the imperial measurements as well. 😆
After all, Most Americans that make videos don’t include metric for us civilized folks.
lol, I've spent quite some time in American hardware stores and I got familiar with the imperial units of lenght and weight, but please don't ask me to convert the volume ones... 😅