Replies

1. 
   Daviddevine | Mar 22, 2008 02:36am | #1

   Woodcraft has them.

1. 
   buddy01 | Mar 22, 2008 03:49pm | #2

   The runners must beable to fit the 5/8" slot on my craftsman table saw. The Woodcraft is 3/4"

2. 
   JohnWW | Mar 26, 2008 06:28pm | #3

   Craftsman until recently insisted on using a 5/8 inch wide miter slot on their saws, just to make life difficult.

   I went to the huge MSC catalog, mscdirect.com, and found a few things that will probably work:

   1018 Steel cold finished rectangles are available in 36" and 72" lengths 5/8" wide and 1/4", 5/16", and 3/8" thick. A 36" length costs around $7 to $8 plus shipping. This will be slightly rough surfaced and not machined. With luck it will be a close fit and a bit wide so you can file it down for a good fit. The part number on the 1/4" thick size is 03894102.

   For a precision material you should look at what is called ground flat stock. This is the kind of steel used to make chisels and plane blades and it comes accurately machined to size. Of course it is more expensive, $13 for a 1/4" thick piece 18" long part #06116032. Even in the unhardened form these steels will be tougher to drill and cut. The type of hardening and alloy won't make any difference for your application, buy whatever is cheapest in the size you need. You may also be able to buy it oversized which means it will be about 1/100" wider than 5/8" so you can file it to a good fit.

   I usually use 1/2" thick Baltic birch plywood, or solid hardwood strips, for my runners, cheap and easily made up as needed. I cut a shallow groove in the underside of the sled or fixture to lock the wood runner into. The groove strengthens the runner, absolutely prevents it from shifting, and leaves just enough of the 1/2" thick material exposed to sit in the typically 3/8" deep miter slot.

   Hope this helps, John White

1. 
   buddy01 | Mar 26, 2008 07:05pm | #4

   Thanks John.

   Your information is greatly appreciated.

   Thanks