Festool Clamps compatible with T Track brands

[guitarchitect]

Does anyone know if there's a router bit that will cut a compatible T-Slot in one pass? I did a tonne of searching yesterday and couldn't find the goldilocks bit based on my measurements. 5/16" throat, 1/4 deep by 1/2" wide T-slot. I'm going to try a Lee Valley keyhole bit - unless there's one hiding out there somewhere!

 

[RKA]

No idea, but I can check my festool clamps tonight to see if they fit in a 1/2" dovetail groove.  I normally use the microjig dovetail clamps in that, but it's possible the Festool clamps would fit?  I suspect the Festool clamps would bind as the walls of the dovetail angle in before clearing the profile of the clamp.

 

[rst]

Usually tee slots are cut in two passes, a straight walled dado to the make clearance neck and a second  for the slotting bit.  Depending on what your cutting, you're going to get a lot of burning.

 

[guitarchitect]

No idea, but I can check my festool clamps tonight to see if they fit in a 1/2" dovetail groove.  I normally use the microjig dovetail clamps in that, but it's possible the Festool clamps would fit?  I suspect the Festool clamps would bind as the walls of the dovetail angle in before clearing the profile of the clamp.

Brilliant! I hadn't thought of that. I'm cutting my grooves in plywood so I was focused on trying to keep the edges of the grooves as thick as possible... but I bet with a tiny easing of the dovetail shoulder it'd be just as good. I'm sure I have a 1/2" dovetail bit, I'll check that on my next shift in the shop!

EDIT: Sadly, it didn't work. The dovetail wasn't wide enough. I did a second pass to take another 2mm off the width and it was pretty sloppy.

 

[guitarchitect]

Usually tee slots are cut in two passes, a straight walled dado to the make clearance neck and a second  for the slotting bit.  Depending on what your cutting, you're going to get a lot of burning.

It wasn't bad actually. When I tried a dado stack/bit approach I wasn't able to properly center the bit in the slot and it ended up very sloppy... it doesn't help that I needed to do two passes in the router bit to get the proper width. I suspect that if I used a dado router bit at the right width and then just swapped the bits out it would be better, but I wasn't able to try that out. The system I ended up using made a very precise but loose enough slot that the clamps stay standing up but move freely in the 4' groove.

See the attached pics, don't mind the wavy plies of the HD plywood

 

[GoingMyWay]

That looks pretty good.  Is it strong enough to hold the clamp in while clamping something?

 

[ben_r_]

Looks pretty good! But MAN is that plywood some high quality stuff!

 

[RKA]

That is not going to hold.  That ply will separate right below that third layer.  (Or maybe you were just testing on the ply, in which case, never mind)

I did test the Festool clamp on a 1/2” dovetail slot and it did bind.  If you took two passes to widen the dovetail, the clamp would likely pull out of the slot with very little pressure.  It’s not worth bothering.  But I would recommend the microjig clamps intended for this purpose.    [wink]. They have a trapezoidal profile that matches the dovetail slot.

 

[guitarchitect]

That looks pretty good.  Is it strong enough to hold the clamp in while clamping something?

Absolutely. I clamped a piece of 5/4 hard maple, lined it up against the fence, and ripped a perfect 1.5mm strip off the right side of it (the jig is meant to act like a sliding table on the left side of the blade).

[member=21249]RKA[/member] to your point, consider that the clamp is using the whole length of itself, not just a point load. Even on this cheap crap it holds very, very strong. I clamped the maple down as hard as I could and didn't hear any telltale cracking - since stock is being clamped flat to the surface it prevents the clamp from having too much pull upwards. I think the bigger issue is how long the edge will last if it's being constantly abused by sliding clamps.

Since it has worked so well I will probably use it on my upcoming workbench and assembly tables (from Timothy wilmots system workshop) for which I will use hard maple... It should last a long time!

EDIT: Just took a look at the Microjig site - that's really funny as they're basically demoing all the stuff I'm trying to do! Unfortunately their clamps aren't the quick clamp type though, just the screw-downs... having had the quick clamps for a while now I just have no interest in anything else! Hopefully the keyhole bit I try out will make for a simple two-pass process

 

[RKA]

Well, heed rst’s advice about hogging out the channel with a straight bit first before switching to the keyhole.  These dovetails and keyhole bits have a weak spot at the neck and plowing them right into wood can cause them to break.  If you’re going to do it just make sure you’re clear of flying metal bits as it enters or exits.  Mid cut it should be captured under your work piece. 

 

[taylord22]

Does anyone know if the 15 or 40 series extrusion fit both Kreg and Rockler track clamps/holding solutions?

I'm considering running some 80/20  around the perimeter of my custom MFT top (in hopes that TSO's potential track holder becomes an option  ), and then also running two sections of t-track across the horizontal 12-18" in from both edges (in between pattern, 1/8 below surface). The reason I'm interested is that I find a few of Rockler's t-track clamps appealing.

I planned to use Incra track for those horizontal runs. But wanted to double check that the 8020 (1530S or 4080, unless there's a better option) that I will be running can handle all 3 without a grosse amount of slop.

 

[rst]

15 series works fine, bolt heads slide easier if you ease the horizontal edges.  I used 15 series 3034 as the tracks in my drill press table.

 

[Cheese]

Does anyone know if the 15 or 40 series extrusion fit both Kreg and Rockler track clamps/holding solutions?

I'm considering running some 80/20  around the perimeter of my custom MFT top, in hopes that TSO's potential track holder becomes an option.

If you're talking about the Rockler clamps with the 5/16" T-bolts, they fit both the 15 & 40 series extrusions.

Here's a shot of some I ran around a work bench.

 

[Bernmc]

Does anyone know if there's a router bit that will cut a compatible T-Slot in one pass? I did a tonne of searching yesterday and couldn't find the goldilocks bit based on my measurements. 5/16" throat, 1/4 deep by 1/2" wide T-slot. I'm going to try a Lee Valley keyhole bit - unless there's one hiding out there somewhere!

I have one of these waiting to try at home:https://www.axminster.co.uk/axcaliber-tee-slot-cutter-for-track-clamps-101972?sel=101972

Will let you know what happens...

 

[Bernmc]

Here are a few pics of a slot I milled into a piece of scrap today with the cutter I mentioned above.
Perfect fit. Has a depth of up to 22.5mm, so that should give enough wood for the clamp to bite on. This slot is 15mm deep.
Clamp is an Axminster equivalent to the Festool quick clamps

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[kitui]

FYI, I have the Veritas Quad by LeeValley and it fits the Festool Screw clamp only on the narrower t-track.

 

[tomp]

Has anybody looked to see whether the long arm of the Festool and Microjig clamps to see how closely they match? Visually, they look very similar, wondering if the hole in the sliding jaw can be modified to allow using the Festool Quick jaw on the Microjig dovetail shaft. Not a cheap solution, but may be worth it if it works and that's what you must have.

 

[Grev]

Has anybody looked to see whether the long arm of the Festool and Microjig clamps to see how closely they match? Visually, they look very similar, wondering if the hole in the sliding jaw can be modified to allow using the Festool Quick jaw on the Microjig dovetail shaft. Not a cheap solution, but may be worth it if it works and that's what you must have.

They do work ... here are a couple photos of the Festool ratchet assembly on the micro-jig arm.  I've used the Infinity t-slot bit to cut slots that will fit Festool and other clamps, but the 14 degree dovetail bit for the micro-jig is much easier and better for slots in wood, with a stronger hold.  For the dovetail slots, I usually cut a slot first with a straight bit, then clean out with a final pass with the dovetail bit.  FYI ... if you need t-track to fit all the clamps, go with the Orange Aluminum. All the clamps work and I believe it is the most inexpensive around.

 

[tomp]

That's great, thanks for checking. I was going to check compared to the regular Festool screw clamp, saved from having to do that. Downside is that now I have to buy one (or more, more is better, right?) of those expensive clamps.

I've become a big fan of the dovetail clamps, and have been incorporating them into my work-holding fixtures - just finished cutting a new miter fence extension with dovetail slots, but will be using the new Dovetail Hardware that Microjig just released.

Microjig Dovetail hardware

I just bought the dovetail router bit that Microjig sells; it cuts a radius on the outside corners and should make the slots less likely to get damaged.

 

[guitarchitect]

Does anyone know if there's a router bit that will cut a compatible T-Slot in one pass? I did a tonne of searching yesterday and couldn't find the goldilocks bit based on my measurements. 5/16" throat, 1/4 deep by 1/2" wide T-slot. I'm going to try a Lee Valley keyhole bit - unless there's one hiding out there somewhere!

I have one of these waiting to try at home:https://www.axminster.co.uk/axcaliber-tee-slot-cutter-for-track-clamps-101972?sel=101972

Will let you know what happens...

aw man, when did they come out with this? would have loved to have it when I was doing my stuff! problem of course is that axminster shipping to canada is mega $$$, it's basically an $80 router bit for me!

strongly considering the matchfit kit at this point - when I want to bang out a jig it takes ages to properly set everything up just for some small passes - and forget about ever doing it hand-held!