Which T-track??

[Rick Moyer]

I need to get some T-track for jigs, etc. but I'm not sure which brand or if it even matters. I know either the Incra or Kreg takes a deeper groove than the other one. Don't know about others. Any thoughts as to whether it makes any difference what I get? What I should be taking into account?

I don't currently have anything with any particular T-track in it, so whatever I choose could be the new go-to track if it matters.

[Gary Curtis]

It's relatively cheap so i would get several different brands, and a few styles from each mfgr. If the track will be embedded in wood and might pull up and out of the wood, get some track with the little flanges instead of the straight "U" shape. Lee Valley and Hartville Tool sell it.

You'll need a different router bit to cut the channel for the 'winged' T track. A straight bit will cut all sizes of Dado in wood to seat normal track.

[Erik France]

I haven't used anything but Incra T-Track and Miter Track. One thing to note was that the 5/16" T-bolts in my 129pc rockler jig kit didn't fit my incra track. The T-bolts in my 1/4" LV kit do. On a lot of wood jigs I'll just route slot with a t-cutter and skip the track.

[glenn bradley]

As Erik noticed, different track is suited to different tasks. Most folks run 1/4" hardware. Rockler is big on 5/16" hardware and their universal track supports their 5/16" and 1/4" t-bolts and 1/4" hex head bolts. Lee Valleys t-nuts are larger than most folks t-bolts and I have to modify them to work on any of my track. Incra t-nuts fit almost anything. I have a mix of makers and sizes (all have been very satisfactory) and so at this point (including yesterday) I buy Rockler's universal track when I need "plain old" t-track. I picked up 48" track and a variety of t-bolts and knobs that they sell as a pack on sale for $19. Pretty good deal but, I really don't need anymore knobs ;-)

[Kent A Bathurst]

I stuff I have came from Rockler - their "universal T-Track". Works fine for me. Never tried other brands.......kind of a utilitarian item, from my perspective. I don't think you can go wrong, to be honest........not like you are going to spend hours and hours installing the stuff - you just want something that works when you are done. I don't recall if I had to drill and countersink my own holes - maybe - but I likely would have done that regardless, to get the spacing I needed with custom applications.

The one thing I have learned...the heads on the std hex bolts have a pretty tight fit, so I use flange bolts [toilet bolts] instead. They are much, much easier to slide in and out. The "universal" design permits using either style.

[Michael Peet]

I stuff I have came from Rockler - their "universal T-Track". Works fine for me. Never tried other brands...

Same here, I've used only Rockler T-track and bolts. One thing is that sometimes the bolts stick rather than slide down the track. I don't know if this is unique to my setup or inherent in the system as a whole.


The one thing I have learned...the heads on the std hex bolts have a pretty tight fit, so I use flange bolts [toilet bolts] instead. They are much, much easier to slide in and out. The "universal" design permits using either style.

Now that's a great tip; I shall have to try it.

Mike

[Dave Wagner]

I just got the Rockler T-track and hardware Kit on sale for $19.95

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=21276

if the bolts stick, just run the the straight side on the belt sander, just a bit off each side, works slick.

[Craig Michael]

Can anyone provide some info on the T Tracks. Will the incra or Rockler universal work with Festool quick clamps, Kreg bench clamps, etc.? I am looking at getting either the incra or rockler tracks, leaning towards getting some Rockler because of the sale right now on the T Track.

Thanks.

[Steve Wurster]

I don't think the Incra ones will work the Kreg clamps, but I think the Rockler may work. I can check this evening when I get home to the shop if nobody else finds the answer before then.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I have used Incra and Rockler, and cannot really tell much difference. Flange bolts will definitely work better than hex head bolts, but either will do fine in my opinion. I bought a pack of bolts/knobs a while back that has numerous lengths and knob styles, and have never needed to add to it. If you look at my photos, my router table has Incra tracks in the table, and Rockler tracks in the fence and they all work well.

[Cyrus Brewster 7]

I have used Incra and Rockler, and cannot really tell much difference. Flange bolts will definitely work better than hex head bolts, but either will do fine in my opinion. I bought a pack of bolts/knobs a while back that has numerous lengths and knob styles, and have never needed to add to it. If you look at my photos, my router table has Incra tracks in the table, and Rockler tracks in the fence and they all work well.

The biggest difference between the Incra and Rockler is the depth of the track (the Incra will also not accept 5/16 flange bolts). The Incra track is deeper and better suited for situations when you need to bolt the track down - like on a drill press table - to keep the track from ripping out. The heads of the bolts (10-32 button head) used to secure the track will not come in contact with the bolts that slide in the track. Incra also makes T-track Plus. This is a side-by-side track with one of the tracks facing down. This "upside down" track will take 1/4" bolts for securing to table. Not only are these super secure, they also come with scales. I used the T track Plus on my router table to hold the fence.

The Rockler track, however, is better suited in situations where large upward forces will not present themselves. First, they accept 5/16" flange, 1/4" flange and 1/4" hex bolts. Second (obviously) being thinner requires a shallower dado in the material you are cutting. This is beneficial so as not to take away too much material and weaken your jig. I made a 3/4" sled for my miter gauge and wanted to put in a t-track to hold a bracket so the miter gauge fence would not deflect. The Inca track (1/2") would have been too deep and only left a 1/4" of material under it. The Rockler track is 3/8".

[Kevin Gagne]

The Incra ones work with the Festool clamps but the Rockler ones do not.

[Jay Jeffery]

I bought some Shop Fox branded T-track on Amazon a few years ago and used it on a router table. It worked fine, but it was not made to nearly the same standard as Incra or Rockler.

The $20 kit from Rockler strikes me as the best value out there.

If you want a miter chanel included, Woodpeckers seems to have that for a decent enough price.

[Halgeir Wold]

What dim's are the tracks you use... ?
Can't really get any of it over here, and must look for other sources.....

[Mike Nguyen]

I like the Rockler T-track because it's only 3/8 deep. And if you only need 24" long and don't need the bolts and knobs, they are on sale until the end of the week for $6.99 which is 50% off.

[Guy Belleman]

+1 on the Rockler track. For most of my applications I prefer the 5/16" bolts, as the knobs are a little larger, easier to tighten, and have a larger base area. Only once did I have to change to the smaller 1/4" bolt and knob due to spacing. Rockler always sends the t-track in a nice tube so it doesn't get damaged, which is something I have not experienced with others.

[david brum]

I also have a bunch of the Rockler track. It is often on sale for under $20 for a 48" section, along with a bag of asst T bolts and knobs. It's a hard deal to beat, as long as you like blue.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Any experience with track from Woodpecker?

[Steve Wurster]

I've used their combo track and their dual track. Both allow for securing from underneath using hex head bolts. I used both on my router table. Nice stuff.

[Rick Moyer]

Well, I ended up buying some Incra stuff from Woodcraft, along with an assortment of hardware for same. Should be set for a while.

[Thomas Canfield]

The blue Rockler I have used is 3/4" wide by 1/2" high and uses a 5/16" hex head bolt or T-head bolts. There is also some track out there that is 3/4" wide by 3/8" deep. The 1/2" deep track works well with 1/2" MDF being the same thickness and you can just cut square some 1/2" MDF and butt up against the track and screw the MDF and track to a backer piece without need for cutting a groove for the track.

[Fred Freitag]

I like the Rockler t-track or any track that accepts t-bolts rather than normal machine bolts. The reason why is because the t-bolts slide in the track to reposition whatever (ie. hold downs or jigs, etc.) so much easier than machine bolts. I realize though that some manufacturers t-track won't accept t-bolts but only machine bolts. I have some t-track from P-Tree, Rockler, Incra and Bench Dog. All are very good t-track but I prefer any t-track where I can use t-bolts as compared to machine bolts if I'm going to be sliding something routinely - ie. a "flip-stop" or hold-down. I have not used the t-track with the "wings" but that seems like alot more work to install than it's worth given that I've never had t-track pull out or always used t-track in 3/4" material so I'm able to use screws.

So my biggest thing about t-track is that I like to use t-bolts whenever possible because they slide so much easier in the track. However, some aluminum track doesn't allow for the use of t-bolts and if that be the case - I haven't found any differences between the various brands.

I will say that I have used P-Tree t-track as "runners" for my miter slots and they are great and have no "slop". That being how I use their t-track - I'm not sliding bolts within when I'm using it.

[Ed Weiser]

Not to confuse the issue-BUT-I have a Hammer B3 coming and for the life of me I cannot find information about the size of the t-track on the Hammer sliding table. Anybody out there that can help?

[Mike Heidrick]

A couple great ones from Ebay 8020 garage sale.

15S 1575 is 1.5" wide by 3/4" thick - on Ebay search 8020 15s 1575
10s 1050 is 1" wide .5" thick - on Ebay search 8020 10s 1050

I used the 10s series and drilled my own holes and then used 6-32 flat head screws from amazon. I then buy toilet bots in teh contractor packs from Lowes - you get 20 or so 1/4-20 for under $5.

CNC guys use these all the time on the beds of their machines. One you start using them you will not go back to the cheapo rockler and incra track.

[Michael W. Clark]

I also like the Rockler and the 5/16" T-bolts (toilet flange bolts). I had some that only took the 1/4" hex bolts and didn't really like it.

I've thought about some of the track from this place
http://www.ttrackusa.com/

I think this may be the Peachtree track mentioned above by Fred.

Mike

[Rich Engelhardt]

I've been happy with the Hartville Hdwe. house brand.

[George Gyulatyan]

Anyone use the Peachtree tracks? Looks like they have a very comprehensive selection. Up to this point I've just been using the Rockler stuff, just because I have a couple of stores I go to, one near my work, and the other near my house.

[Lori Kleinberg]

I have also used the Hartville T-track on a couple jigs.

[Michael Mayo]

Anyone use the Peachtree tracks? Looks like they have a very comprehensive selection. Up to this point I've just been using the Rockler stuff, just because I have a couple of stores I go to, one near my work, and the other near my house.

I have bought some of the T-TrackUSA stuff and I liked it better than the Rockler stuff. The Standard Miter T-Bar (http://www.ttrackusa.com/track_%20systems.htm#1018) is great to use as runners for tablesaw sleds it fits perfectly in my Rigid 3650 miter slots. It is the same as Rockler t-track except it isn't anodized a pretty blue color. I have used the large miter track with the standard miter track to install the fence on my router table worked like a charm. And used the large miter track for the front of the router table to use a miter handle in.