Whoops...wrong length Incra T-tracks plus. Maybe an opportunity???

[jnug]

Well I have bone headed my way into another dilemma (I am turning into a Festool soap opera). I had ordered the Incra T-track plus pair to use with the Precision Parallel Guide kit and my Festool TS among other things. Well I thought I had ordered the 36" T-tracks but what showed was the 48" T-tracks and that is what is on the invoice. So, of course I did it again!

But as I was about to call Incra and see about returning for replacement, it struck me that it can't be that hard to cut these things down. Would it make any sense to turn my 48" pair into an 18" pair and a 30" pair? I really was not all that concerned with the length anyway. That much should be obvious as I mucked it up. But I have seen posts from folks that have a couple pair of these things for convenience using them with the parallel guide kits from one company or another. No need to really have longer than you need but likely sing the blues when what you have is not long enough. I can't say that I really envision needing more than 30".

However one additional question worth asking such a well rounded woodworking group as this one.....if I do decide to cut them down and create two pair (the extra tapes are easy to come by) would my initial thought (a pair at 18" and 30" or something close metric make the most sense) or would something closer to 12" for one pair and 36" for the other pair or the metric equivalent make more sense. A pair at 12" seems awful short but maybe you guys would think otherwise. Obviously two pair at 24" each would seem senseless. So did not even offer that for your consideration.

Also am I right in thinking these should be pretty easy to cut down. I don't have a specific metal cutting blade on either my bandsaw or my TS75. Maybe a good excuse to get one or the other. Maybe one of my bandsaw blades is versatile enough to handle aluminum.

What do you guys think?

 

[leer]

I use one of my older carbide blades to cut aluminum.  I bought one of Rockler's T-Track kits that had a 48 inch rail, but wanted a 24" section to embed in my workbench from front to back.  Cuts just fine -- just take it slow.

I have the Seneca Parallel Guides, and I do not use the scales on the T-Track, since they can shift.  I use a Woodpeckers rule with sliding stop.  Just set to desired width of cut, and place the rule stop on the edge of rail, and the end of rule against the edge of guide that butts against the wood. (Hope that makes sense.)

 

[Slartibartfass]

I use my Dewalt CSMS with the regular wood blade to cut stuff like this. Blade has seen better days but good enough for this. Wont do this on my KAPEX.....

 

[eddomak]

But I have seen posts from folks that have a couple pair of these things for convenience using them with the parallel guide kits from one company or another. No need to really have longer than you need but likely sing the blues when what you have is not long enough. I can't say that I really envision needing more than 30".

If you use them with some aftermarket parallel guides, then once you add the width of the rail (185mm from memory) then you're pretty close to being able to cut a full sheet sideways.

A pair at 12" seems awful short but maybe you guys would think otherwise.

If you are using the aftermarket parallel guides with narrow stock adapters, then this would be a very nice length, even if you use the RipDogs version of the narrow stock adapter (which uses part of the T track itself under the rail).

Also am I right in thinking these should be pretty easy to cut down. I don't have a specific metal cutting blade on either my bandsaw or my TS75. Maybe a good excuse to get one or the other. Maybe one of my bandsaw blades is versatile enough to handle aluminum.

I would have thought even a hacksaw, dremel, multitool could get through, and you could use the factory cut edge if you need it to be exactly square, but never tried cutting it myself.

 

[bkharman]

You don't have to be super clean on your cut as that end can be hidden inside of the portion that attaches to the rail. That is the beauty of the Precision Dog Parallel kit...  You slide the scale to where you want it.

I say cut it as best you can, clean up the cut with a rasp or sandpaper and use it. I have a 24" set as well as a set of 48" for big cuts. I really like them when I need them. I have even adapted mine to work with my KM-1 from Bridge City.

Cheers. Bryan.

 

[Emer Construction]

I have a pair I cut down to 6"

 

[jnug]

Wow, 6". Can I ask why you decided 6" was better than 12"? I am encouraged that you did it. Don't get me wrong. In a perfect situation in my case, trying to get two out of it, 12" and 36" or 300mm and 900mm might be optimal....a nice pair short and nice pair long.

or maybe I am not understanding you correctly. Did you cut them down to 6" for use with a Parrallel Guide Kit from one of the suppliers, Precision or Seneca maybe or did you cut them down to 6" for some other purpose?

 

[Emer Construction]

Wow, 6". Can I ask why you decided 6" was better than 12"? I am encouraged that you did it. Don't get me wrong. In a perfect situation in my case, trying to get two out of it, 12" and 36" or 300mm and 900mm might be optimal....a nice pair short and nice pair long.

or maybe I am not understanding you correctly. Did you cut them down to 6" for use with a Parrallel Guide Kit from one of the suppliers, Precision or Seneca maybe or did you cut them down to 6" for some other purpose?

I now have 3 sets.  I typically repeat cut upper cabinet parts (around 12")...and lower cabinet parts  (around 24").  When the guides were set to cut uppers, there is a lot of excess hanging out there that you have to walk around.  Finally got tired of that and cut them....my original festool parallel guides I keep for lr32  duties

18" is enough for the lower 24" cabinet parts

 

[jnug]

I came up with a 3rd option and I think its the one I will choose. 16" length for one set and 32" for the other set. The longer pair will be twice the shorter pair.

I really have to check to see if one of my band saw blades will do the job without being ruined. I really should have gotten at least one purpose made metal cutting blade for that band saw as I would really like to cut it on the band saw as it would be fast and clean.I will have to check the propaganda for the blades I do have and see if aluminum is a possibility.