MATCHFit Access Slots

Your MATCHFit Hardware pieces usually just slide into their Dovetail Grooves at the edges of the board, but you may find yourself wanting to insert them somewhere in the middle. For example, you may not want to slide the hardware all the way to the middle of a long table, or you may find that the ends of the grooves are blocked like they are here on the base of our slab flattening jig.

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The base for the jig is made large enough so the side rails are attached to it using MATCHFit Track Nuts, but that also means the rail covers the ends of all the side-to-side Dovetail Grooves. The base could be made within the rails with room to fit the hardware, but that would reduce the work area by at least 3”. The better solution is to cut a small opening somewhere along the Dovetail Groove that will allow the Track Screws or Nuts to drop down into the groove.

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This groove is 1/2" (12.7mm) wide and 1-1/2” (38mm)long, just enough to drop in the hardware. It can be cut in with a router or even a sanding drum on a rotary tool, you just need to remove the angled wall sof the Dovetail Groove. On a slab flattening jig, the part being flattened will always be in the center with the clamps around it, so the logical place to put the slots is near the center. The Dovetail Hardware cannot be set where the slots are, so under the part being flattened in the best location.

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The slots were staggered side to side again to maximize the flexibility of the system. If an odd shaped part means one slot is where you need the hardware to go, you can switch to another on either side. These access slots work well in this situation but are not limited to slab flattening jigs. Many CNC machines also have their axis rails mounted to the spoilboard, crosscut sleds with fences on both ends, and large Grid Tables can all benefit from a few small slots in strategic locations.