Video – Making T-Slot Bolts

We were looking for some longer T-Slot bolts for the Stepcraft T-Slot table and after a quick trip to the local hardware store, we found some 1/4-20 bolts that are used for furniture. They have a large flat round head which the thickness is perfect for the Stepcraft T-slot. However to make them work, the head will have to be milled into a rectangle to fit in the slot.

We drew a rectangle and assigned a tool path with Vectric Cut 2D and setup A Stepcraft 420 with a HF-500 spindle and used a 3/16″ 3-Flute end mill.

We held the bolt in the PM60 vice, but since the bolt was so long we had to mill a 10mm hole in the T slot table so we could stand the bolt up vertically.  With the Bolt secured tightly in the vice, we ran the mill and in less than a minute and a half, we had a perfect T-Slot bolt. At a price of only $.74 at the hardware store, this is a very good value when you consider how much T-Slot anchor sets can cost online.

It is important to note that these bolts are steel and in order to mill steel successfully on the Stepcraft, we needed to take .4mm passes running the spindle at full speed and the feed rate of about 20 mm/sec.