SCMS T-track advice

[Jon Snider]

I would appreciate some advice here, and it’s likely I’m not the first to do this but can’t find anything similar w searches.

I want to put in some t track with a rule to attach stop blocks to the left of the blade, but don’t want any fence or anything sticking up above table surface. I’ve found I rarely need any more than the regular saw fence. But I do want something for cutoffs, something I could put on or take off when not used.

I was thinking about something like this Incra track with some knobs and blocks made by me. I don’t see how any of the commercially available flip stops would work since they all require a raised fence surface above countertop.

https://www.amazon.com/Incra-TTRACKPLUS48-48-Inch-T-Track-Plus/dp/B0186M6SH2/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=incra+track+plus&qid=1558456325&s=gateway&sr=8-8

thx for any better brainstorming.

jon

[Bryan Lisowski]

Make your own like you planned, don't over think it.

[Andrew More]

Been thing about something similar, since my miterstation doubles as a workbench. Putting in a fence would cut the space in half.

I see two solutions:
1) Clamp a block to the work surface in some manner. I made a short fence that clamps to the front face of the workbench. The problem I've found with that is that the saw sits fairly far back from the front of the fence (~12" to the saw's fence), so I get some deflection. I also find that I have a dead zone where it's difficult to put a stop block, because of the way I've blocked off the area around the SCMS for dust collection. If I could avoid the defection, I could put a stop block in that area.

This video goes more indepth on this approach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTFDeLoEP0g

2) Route a dado into the table top, to recess the T-track.
This video goes into more depth on this approach. I think I'm going to migrate to this, but approach one is super quick and easy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-wP4SlTXm0

[Jon Snider]

Thx. If I went the track route I would definitely rout a recess in top to make it flush.

[Paul F Franklin]

I did something similar and it works fine. The track fills up with sawdust fairly quickly, even with decent dust collection, but it's easy enough to brush it out or blow it out. Just leave the far end of the track open so you can brush or blow the track out, and so you can slide in the stop from the end when needed.

[Sam Blasco]

I went real low rent. I stuck a tape rule to the back of my side extension table and use a Speed Square to as a stop when needed. For a series of cuts to the same dimension I'll add a quick clamp to hold it in place. I only use my SCMS in the field, never in the shop, so quick setup and knock down are the priority, and this simple system has worked flawlessly for, at least, 10 years (that's about when I modified my Dewalt base horse to be more mobile.)

[Jon Snider]

I did something similar and it works fine. The track fills up with sawdust fairly quickly, even with decent dust collection, but it's easy enough to brush it out or blow it out. Just leave the far end of the track open so you can brush or blow the track out, and so you can slide in the stop from the end when needed.

thats good advice. Thx