INCRABuild-It T-Slot Panel Connector 18-inch

Like another reviewer, I used these to make a sliding crosscut sled for my table saw. There are plenty of extruded T-Slot Rails out there from Rockler, Peachtree, and others, and they're widely used in jigs to provide a mounting point for hold-down clamps. What makes this one special? Well, most T-Slot Rails are rectangular in cross-section, about 3/4" wide x 1/2" thick. You typically mount them by routing a slot that size in your jig, and then screwing them to the jig through holes in the rail base. But, when you insert a clamp in the rail and tighten it to push down on your workpiece, the clamp is actually trying to pull the rail up and out of your jig. If the base of your jig is 3/4" thick, the 1/2" thick rail is only screwed into a mere 1/4" of material - not much to withstand the pull of the clamp. This Incra T-Slot Rail, however mounts differently. It has a cross-section like an inverted "T". The base of your jig can be cut into separate pieces, with a rabbet routed on the side of each for the "wings" on the bottom of the rail. So, when you tighten your clamp, you're actually pulling the rail up INTO the jig, rather than out of it. In fact, with these rails, you can make a sliding crosscut sled that's only 1/2" thick and it will be stronger than most 3/4" thick sleds. That means your jig is lighter (a major consideration with large sleds) and a fully raised blade can cut through material that's 1/4" thicker. The rail works so well that I enlarged and altered the design of my sled to utilize four of the rails. I plan to buy a few more to incorporate in my new, improved drill press table. I made my own panels rather than purchase Incra's, but their's are convenient. Like other Incra products, this T-Slot Rail is high quality. The design is innovative and the construction is precise. Nice to see such high quality products are still produced in the USA.

It looks like they want me to review several INCRA jig products that I recently purchased. They are all great! You can shop-make all of the things that you can build with the INCRA system for less $$. However, they are very convenient, accurate and well-designed. The "5-cut Cross Cut Sled", for example, is a great way to go, but INCRA makes it so simple. I have made a cross cut sled, squaring sled, box joint sled and a couple other things with INCRA stuff. This purchase was to add to the Basic Kit that you have to start with. My only "complaint" is that when you make a jig with this, it is pretty much permanent. In other words, you don't make one just for one job and then take it apart and use it for something different the next time. Guess that's just like any other jig you make for shop use.

I love it so much.

Worked great, I use it in a router table to slot wood

The incra t-track when used with the build-it panels is a very poor design that torques the build-it panels upward (eg not flat) when holding t-track clamps are tightened down to hold wood. Lots can be spent on this very marginal product ... fortunately I didn’t spend more than $100 purchased directly from incra ... unusable and a waste of money.

Good quality.

Great item

I used this when building a crosscut sled for my table saw. The build it system makes rock solid jigs that are far cheaper and more flexible than those that you can buy online.