Dan Cameron
06-09-2009, 6:30 PM
There was recently some talk about using drawer slides in a homemade slot mortiser. I have come up with a technique for making slide mechanisms using plywood or mdf "dovetail" pieces and UHMW tape. The surface-to-surface contact here is wood-to-UHMW, and even when assembled for tight tolerences the pieces slide "slick as snot". No lubricant is required, and sawdust just seems to get pushed out of the way. One can do a reasonable job just cutting the angles on a tablesaw, but for higher precision use a good straight edge and a router with a chamfering bit. (20-30 degrees?) I used 0.01 in thick tape from Mcmaster-carr. It's kind of hard to see, but in the attached picture there are four strips of tape on the moving part. (the part with the T-slot) This particular sliding mechanism is a part of my box joint jig.