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Tablesaw Storage
Pegboard isn’t just for walls—it’s perfect for organizing
stuff wherever you need to store it. I’ve bolted a piece
of perfboard to the end of my tablesaw’s extension table
to hold all the accessories I turn to each day in the shop.
Choosing from a wide variety of hooks makes it possible
to hang just about anything.—John Cusimano
Hardware Store “T-Bolts”
Specialty hardware can be really annoying. Take the
T-bolt—it’s essential for attaching anything to a T-track,
but where can you buy one at a moment’s notice? Hard-
ware stores don’t carry T-bolts, but I’ve found that they
always have a good substitute in stock: closet bolts.
Closet bolts are used to fasten a toilet to the fl oor.
(The prissy name must come from describing a batroom
as a “water closet.” I call them toilet bolts.) Closet bolts
are slightly cheaper than T-bolts, but don’t expect to
save a bundle. You may have to fi le their heads a bit nar-
rower to fi t in the track, but this is no big deal.
Why not just use hex-head bolts, you may ask? Fine
and good—if your T-track accepts them. Many types
don’t. But even if yours does, I recommend using
closet bolts. Their heads are rounded and thinner in
cross-section, so it’s easy to insert them into the end of
the T-track. They’ll slide better, too. Closet bolts come
in either^1 / 4 " or^5 / 16 " diameters, and lengths from 2^1 / 4 "
to 3".—Jon Nowlin
Closet BoltStop Block that Stays Put
When making repetitive cuts, I found that my stop
block would shift. With a hardwood cutoff , a leftover
piece of T-track, a^1 / 4 –20 hex head bolt and a jig knob, I
constructed a stop block that doesn’t move and is super
easy to adjust. First, drill a hole in the saw’s fence, then
groove the block for the T-track. —Ira Penn