Rockler 24" Aluminum Miter Bar, Fits 3/4" x 3/8" Precision Miter Slot Fit

Perfect for jig making

After having tried my own hardwood miter bars (which worked fine until the seasons changed), and UHMW miter bars (which flex so much as to be useless), I bought the 24" and 18" Rockler aluminum miter bars, and rebuilt my crosscut sleds using them. They work great. The adjustment screws let you find the sweet spot where there is no side-to-side slop and the bars still move freely in the miter slots. It would have been nice if Rockler had included some installation hints with the bars. For my sleds using a 1/2" plywood base: 1. Adjust the screws so the miter bars have no side-to-side play, and yet move freely in the miter slots. 2. Put some washers in the miter slot(s), and set the bar(s) in the slot so that it is very slightly above the table surface. 3. Put small pieces of painters tape on the ends of the bars to keep them from sliding when setting the sled on top of them. 4. Put a bead of CA glue on the top of the miter bar. 5. Set the sled base on top of the table. Have a plan for locating its position quickly; the CA glue won't give you much time for you to adjust it. 6. When the glue is set, pull the sled off, flip it over, and drill small holes in the exact center of each bolt hole. 7. Flip the sled over, and drill 1/4" holes in the plywood base, using the small holes as your center guide. Drill only so far as to reach the miter bar; you don't want to destroy the bolt hole threads. 8. Drill countersinks in the holes. 9. Screw 1/4-20 x 3/4" flat-head bolts (for a 1/2" thick sled base) from the top of the sled into the miter bar holes.

screws too tight

This was my first purchase of a Rockler product, and I am pretty impressed so far. The bar is very smooth with nicely chamfered corners and no machining marks. The blue anodized finish is pretty nice too. I bought this to make a crosscut sled for my Craftsman model 113 table saw, and it fits the miter slot great. The plastic setscrews let you dial in the fit perfectly to eliminate any play. Like the description says, this item includes 1 miter bar. Mine also came with one of those small jeweler's screwdrivers for adjusting the setscrews.

After using this I seriously hate incras design of having the adjustment on the top rather than the sides. The good thing about this is you don't need drill holes for the adjustments.

Works great. High quality. Maybe a little pricey for the amount of material used but better than risking cheap ones and having to return or worse,

I cant believe these dont include screws, any kind of print template for the screws, and they didnt countersink the screw holes. For $25, this is a huge rip off. OSkool sells 2x miter bars with top adjustments, template, countersunk holes, oh and 2 different kinds of screws depending on if you want to mount from bottom or top. Rockler is the Walmart of woodworking products

I definitely do not recommend these. This is a pretty big whiff on Rockler. The good: they are good/high quality aluminum bars. They come in some high-end packaging to ensure they are straight when you receive them. That's where the good stops and some real head-scratching starts. There are 5 horizontal holes for adjusting the fit to your miter slots with provided nylon grub screws. They even include a needle screwdriver for them. However, the nylon grub screws are not well made and have ridges on the end instead of a nice round bottom. That means they will sometimes grab in one direction but not the other. Also, this varies depending on the rotation of the grub screw (i.e., as you adjust them). You will have have to dress the bottom of the grub screws to fix this... or just live with it being looser than ideal. Further, the grub screws fit quite loosely. Initially I thought the idea of nylon grub screws was a great idea and expected a nice friction fit so they wouldn't move through vibration, etc. Nope, they fit _very_ loosely -- friction is almost zero. I definitely fear they will not stay put over time and I'll have to add something to keep them from backing up over time. Either the grub screws are overly small or the threaded holes are overly loose. Speaking of threaded holes..... there are three vertical holes for securing the runners to your jig. At least, I assume that's why you wanted to buy these? The holes are threaded 1/4-20 and not countersunk. If you thought you'd just put down a couple strips of double-sided tape, position your jig, flip it over and drive in few wood screws to finish up your jig -- you thought wrong. Instead you you'll have two unappealing options. 1) Transfer the holes to bottom of your jig after positioning it. Removing the runner and drilling holes for bolts/machine screws in your jig. From the top of your jig drilling out a depression for the bolt head and finally attaching your runner. Good luck getting it in the same place. Tighten it down and hope it doesn't loosen up over time. Or 2) Create your own countersinks in the bottom of your aluminum runners so that you can drive wood screws. You know, what Rockler should have done in the first place. Seriously guys? Did anyone try making a woodworking jig with these before putting them on the market? In short, if you're stuck with these they are fine aluminum bars and a nice pretty blue. If not, buy something else.