- Joined
- Feb 22, 2016
- Messages
- 3,014
Most times I have the track laying down, and it's usually set for cutting 3/4" material. I keep a scrap of 1x3 mid-position as I worry about setting something on the rail like the saw or a heavy box or some other tool and bending the track. So I keep that scrap in the middle and then if I should forget and place something on it then it won't bend.
But there are times when I want the whole MFT top to be available to lay something out or some other operation that the track is not needed for and really just gets in the way but I don't want to remove it from the MFT as easy as that is. When I do need the whole top I just flip the track up and it balances there pretty good. But I had it once come down on me when I bumped the MFT and hit me in the shoulder. No injury but caught me by surprise and potentially could have been worse or done damage to a project.
So I use that same scrap of 1x3 but I cut a slot in it that lets me slip it over the hinge and keeps the rail from falling down. I think the photos make it obvious how this works and is simple to do.
Maybe no one else has this concern but now I don't worry about the rail falling over and hitting me or striking a workpiece.
But there are times when I want the whole MFT top to be available to lay something out or some other operation that the track is not needed for and really just gets in the way but I don't want to remove it from the MFT as easy as that is. When I do need the whole top I just flip the track up and it balances there pretty good. But I had it once come down on me when I bumped the MFT and hit me in the shoulder. No injury but caught me by surprise and potentially could have been worse or done damage to a project.
So I use that same scrap of 1x3 but I cut a slot in it that lets me slip it over the hinge and keeps the rail from falling down. I think the photos make it obvious how this works and is simple to do.
Maybe no one else has this concern but now I don't worry about the rail falling over and hitting me or striking a workpiece.