No T slot? What options are there?

[Carl Beckett]

I am just beginning to research this and looking for ideas/options: My bandsaw does not have a T slot, but I want to use a miter and feather boards that do require a T slot.

The most likely scenario is to come up with something that will hold the accessories down without needing the T slot. Probably doable (some featherboards have the piece expand as a screw is tighted into it - might be 'ok'

And replacing the table seems like a project in itself to find one compatible perfectly

I might be able to make an 'insert' - then put the slot in the insert - which means different sizes and quite a bit smaller functional location

For the featherboard, I might mount them on a piece of plywood and just clamp that in place instead of using the T slot

Other ideas?

[Marc Fenneuff]

Magswitches were tailor-made for this application.

[Dave Sabo]

Magnets my boy.........magnets.

[Paul F Franklin]

Or make an aux table that sits on top of and attaches to the machine table and includes t-track where you want it.

[Edward Weber]

Not all expanding slot feather-boards are created equal.
I use BOW products
https://bow-products.com/
They lock tight and don't move in my experience.

[Jay Hart]

If your table is cast iron, I agree that a jig utilizing Magswitch magnets make sense. If not cast iron, then an aux table with a T slot seems next best.

[Michael Burnside]

I have a miter slot and I usually use Magswitch jigs 90% of the time. Highly recommended.

[Jim Becker]

Magnetics are the way to go, IMHO. And they are much more flexible for positioning than stuff tagged to a miter/tee-slot.

[Edward Weber]

Nothing against magnets, but for those who've never used them before, there are many different types with different levels of holding power.

[Marc Fenneuff]

In re-reading your post, it sounds like your saw has a miter slot, just not a T-slot. I use these Rockler featherboards (https://www.rockler.com/adjustable-table-featherboard) on my table saw, band saw, and router table.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Does your table have a miter slot, but no Tee slot? Using a piece of 3/4 ply, make an overlay top. Route a slot for a miter track, leaving the track slightly proud. Add two pieces of steel to the top, one on each side of the miter slot. Fasten steel in place using either CA glue, or contact cement. Now you have the best of both worlds. Top can be fastened using corner blocks, or holes drilled thru existing top and screws from below, which would be my preferred method of attachment.

[Matt Day]

Usually you can remove the little t-slot piece so it can be used in a straight walled miter slot.

T-slots we’re a safety marketing thing, no real reason for them. I’ve never had a miter gauge spontaneous jump up at me without a t-slot.

[Bert McMahan]

I think the use case is more for featherboards that need to stay in place, not miter gages that are supposed to slide. For that, you either need T-track or magnets.

To the OP: you can buy individual Magswitch modules to be used for making your own jigs: https://www.amazon.com/Magswitch-MAGJIG-95-MagJig-Yellow/dp/B003FWERRC

For a featherboard, you could just make a magnetic replacement base that has a T-track in it that just sits on the right side of the blade. Your featherboard would be a little higher up than normal, but that's probably OK for most uses if I had to guess. For the miter gage, you might need to make a false table that covers the whole bandsaw so you don't have any height offsets.

I'm actually in the same boat as you, with the unfortunate issue that my router table is aluminum and won't work with magnets :(

[Carl Beckett]

I played with a magnetic hold down once before - its a good idea! Like Bert, my router table top is not magnetic (but it does have the T slot)

Since the bandsaw slot is cast iron, I put a set of those expansion runners on order (<$6) - it would be just like me to overthink this. But that doesnt mean a magnetic switch isnt a better idea...

[roger wiegand]

Magswitch products are great. I've never needed one bigger than the little guys they put into their hold-downs and featherboards, but they come in all sizes and shapes. Not cheap, but an elegant product.

[Bert McMahan]

Let us know how the expansion runners work, as I'll probably try those before spending the extra money on the magswitches.

[Carl Beckett]

Let us know how the expansion runners work, as I'll probably try those before spending the extra money on the magswitches.

The first test with the expansion runners are 'ok'. Cast iron slot and the runners are aluminum. I had to enlarge the countersink and the finish on that is not super smooth - someone here mentioned lubricating where the bolt slides against the countersink as a way to help and I might try that.

From a functional perspective this approach has a weak link, in that it only expands around the bolt so is almost a point contact against the sides of the slot. There are two of these on my setup, and for featherboards that have little rotation (force applied close to the surface of the table), this is ok. If you were trying to mount a resaw feather board which had force 3-4" above the table surface I would deem these NOT adequate. But for that it might be best to make a mount that clamps onto the table and provides better support higher off the tabletop.

For sure these expansion runners are good enough on the router table.

So very subjectively, I would say these expansion runners are an 80% solution.

Still chewing on the mag base concept and will update what I try there (pass or fail...)

[Jim Becker]

Carl, I used some MagSwitches for some fixtures not long ago and I was very impressed with the holding power...it was a lot more than I expected. And since there's no dependence on a slot in a table, it makes setting something up for a task to be a lot more flexible. There are several versions that have increasing holding power, depending on the particular need. Not "inexpensive" like a split wood or aluminum bar in a slot, but definitely worth consideration when there are cast iron and steel surfaces involved.

[Keegan Shields]

Screw your featherboard to a piece of plywood and clamp the plywood to your BS table. Works great.