# 8020 aluminum



## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

So I'm thinking about replacing my plywood fence on my radial arm saw....and was considering aluminum as the replacement. Where have you all bought 8020 from?


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## Burb (Nov 30, 2012)

I'm curious about this. I'm currently building a bench setup that has a lowered portion for my Craftsman Compact 10" Sliding Miter Saw. I will need to build a fence about 14" from the wall. I was debating about using 4 strips of MDF 3.25"x3/4"x8' that were glued together 3" tall. I would then run it either through the planer or TS to get it about 3" square to mount it to the top of the bench. Just in the "ideas" stage, but I need to have it figured out in the next week or so as I'll be ready to build it.

EDIT: I will likely go with the Broset Precision Stop Block (http://www.grizzly.com/products/Precision-Stop-Block/W1109), which is available at Grizzly locally for me. It call for a 1.5" wide fence that is at least 2.25" tall. I will likely go for 2.5"x1.5"x8'. Aluminum would be great, but I'm not sure where to get it locally reasonable priced nor how to secure it.


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## MLP (Nov 25, 2010)

You can get it at McMaster Carr, or check eBay. Some deals there on odds & ends.


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## velocipede (Jan 15, 2015)

Check out vsctools. Even if you don't buy their product the references on their site will be helpful.
http://vsctools.com/aluminum-extrusions/


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## peridigm (Dec 29, 2014)

eBay 80/20 Inc

Altogether I've got about $125 into the t track and 8020 bars.


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## peridigm (Dec 29, 2014)

I'll add a few things I learned about fasteners and the 8020.

1) 1/4-20 carriage bolts work perfectly as long as your not using them to fasten metal. The shoulder on a carriage bolt is a little higher than the surface of the 8020 so it would keep anything solid from mounting flush. You may not see it in my pics, but I used carriage bolts to fasten the plywood backer on my fence. I attached that because I screwed a piece of melamine that will stick a measuring tape to.

2) Standard pan head phillips 1/4-20 bolts slide in the tracks perfectly. No need to purchase the plated nuts unless you are putting a male thumbscrew on. I used one to attach the nib shown. I did swap it out for a shorter 1-1/2 bolt. Only reason is I already had a bunch of female thumbscrews.

3) This stuff is awesome.


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## peridigm (Dec 29, 2014)

sorry, deleted double post.


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## nbo10 (Jan 26, 2011)

Like other have said, check out ebay. 80/20 sells odds and ends at decent prices. You can also look for local distributors. Mine carries smaller amounts on hand, but for larger orders everything is drop shipped from IN.


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## velocipede (Jan 15, 2015)

Aluminum is fun to work with...it's like having your old erector set back. You can make tons of stuff from it and take it apart and make something else. I got all worn out from hand planing some badly twisted air dried cherry slabs that have been taking up too much room in the shop. I figured a router planer sled would get the job done better, so I put together some 8020 type extrusions from Faztek, some Rockler Multi Track, some angle and floor brackets, various t-nuts and some turned inline skate wheels to create my version. Some pics of the inaugural test run. Useable area is 25" x 86" with about a three inch height adjustment range before I have to block up the frame. I just need to come up with a way to clamp the piece being planed. Others have used various bench stop systems for that, so that's where I'm headed. The skate wheels worked out great and both X and Y movement is very smooth. Some minor ridges left after planing, but a cabinet scraper took care of them easily.


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

That is a nice router sled. How much does the aluminum cost to build it?


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## velocipede (Jan 15, 2015)

hwebb99 said:


> That is a nice router sled. How much does the aluminum cost to build it?


It's pricey stuff. Sometimes you can find it on Craigslist or Ebay. You can get an idea here:
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_33rv535xqa_b


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## bauerbach (Mar 25, 2012)

that router sled could probably be tweaked to make easy dados too... few stops here and there...


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

peridigm said:


> eBay 80/20 Inc
> 
> Altogether I've got about $125 into the t track and 8020 bars.
> 
> ...


Well I thought my setup was a one of a kind. 

















The much talked about flip stop. 

Love the 8020 for T track. Stronger straighter and on eBay is cheaper then the blue stuff.

Al


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## Tree Hugger (Sep 1, 2011)

I've been meaning to ask my son where he has sourced 80/20 as he has mentioned using it in building a couple of high speed camera inspection machines for his work.
Turns out they are using FAZTEK and sourcing it from Grainger as well as Amazon Industrial and Scientific ( with the latter being cheaper).
It's less expensive than 80/20 ( 80/20 is a trade mark ...like Scotch tape ) I'm told.


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

Tree Hugger said:


> I've been meaning to ask my son where he has sourced 80/20 as he has mentioned using it in building a couple of high speed camera inspection machines for his work.
> Turns out they are using FAZTEK and sourcing it from Grainger as well as Amazon Industrial and Scientific ( with the latter being cheaper).
> It's less expensive than 80/20 ( 80/20 is a trade mark ...like Scotch tape ) I'm told.


8020 Aluminum is a company in Columbia City Indiana. They manufacture this material and market it for anything from trade booths used at trade shows to machinery. The best place to buy it is eBay. It's half the retail price.

Get on line at 8020 and order a free catalog and then you can search on eBay correctly by the name and number. Today you can buy T slot for less than the thin stuff at Rockler. 4' of 8020 is $23.31 including shipping. Rockler has the blue stuff for $25.99 not including shipping. The 8020 is thicker stiffer and has more uses.

I've been using 8020 for 8 years on 6 machines and fixtures.

Al


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Al, what size did you use for the back fence on your miter saw table?


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## Tree Hugger (Sep 1, 2011)

Al B Thayer said:


> 8020 Aluminum is a company in Columbia City Indiana. They manufacture this material and market it for anything from trade booths used at trade shows to machinery. The best place to buy it is eBay. It's half the retail price.
> 
> Get on line at 8020 and order a free catalog and then you can search on eBay correctly by the name and number. Today you can buy T slot for less than the thin stuff at Rockler. 4' of 8020 is $23.31 including shipping. Rockler has the blue stuff for $25.99 not including shipping. The 8020 is thicker stiffer and has more uses.
> 
> ...


 Right and they trademarked the name but how does it compare to Faztek ( sons company claims more bang for the buck with FAZTEK).
High speed inspection sorting machines using high speed cameras.
I doubt it's light duty stuff like rockler.
Personally haven't used either but I can see uses for it ..will have to find out a little more , thanks for the info.


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## velocipede (Jan 15, 2015)

I chose Faztek over 8020 because I could get the Faztek stuff in 2 days using Amazon prime, so I saved on shipping and got near instant gratification. The specs are comparable. I did not find the Rockler multi track profile at either supplier http://www.rockler.com/multi-track-...5J6AfrZ5gB5o4rOAFEqq2_CyLuqobnSS2ExoC0fDw_wcB


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

Tree Hugger said:


> Right and they trademarked the name but how does it compare to Faztek ( sons company claims more bang for the buck with FAZTEK).
> High speed inspection sorting machines using high speed cameras.
> I doubt it's light duty stuff like rockler.
> Personally haven't used either but I can see uses for it ..will have to find out a little more , thanks for the info.


Tree
If I wasn't a woodhead. I'd be building crap out of 8020. I like the way they bundle items and hack off some of the shipping cost.

I've tried a lot of places and can never find a better price than on eBay. You might find a few items on "Amagone" but for me, I have never found a single item for less there. Faxtek has a few items on eBay but...

Al


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## WarnerConstInc. (Nov 25, 2008)

Straight from 8020, 30 minutes from home.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

velocipede said:


> Aluminum is fun to work with...it's like having your old erector set back. You can make tons of stuff from it and take it apart and make something else. I got all worn out from hand planing some badly twisted air dried cherry slabs that have been taking up too much room in the shop. I figured a router planer sled would get the job done better, so I put together some 8020 type extrusions from Faztek, some Rockler Multi Track, some angle and floor brackets, various t-nuts and some turned inline skate wheels to create my version. Some pics of the inaugural test run. Useable area is 25" x 86" with about a three inch height adjustment range before I have to block up the frame. I just need to come up with a way to clamp the piece being planed. Others have used various bench stop systems for that, so that's where I'm headed. The skate wheels worked out great and both X and Y movement is very smooth. Some minor ridges left after planing, but a cabinet scraper took care of them easily.
> View attachment 129729
> View attachment 129737
> View attachment 129745
> View attachment 129753


That's a pretty slick setup mate. Ever thought about putting some stepper motors on there and making a CNC machine?


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## velocipede (Jan 15, 2015)

epicfail48 said:


> That's a pretty slick setup mate. Ever thought about putting some stepper motors on there and making a CNC machine?


I can always repurpose these extrusions for a CNC, but the skate wheels are not precise enough to just convert this rig.


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