Has anyone attempted a slatwall?

I am looking to make a 4X4 slatwall section. Has anyone made one or seen a design file that they like?
After pricing, It seems like I would get much more bang for my buck using Maslow for this. Several months back my local Radioshack closed its doors and I was able to get 100 various sized hangers/hooks for $10. This is what Im referring to…
image

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I worked for company at one point that had these. They were painted gray. I never investigated, but always wondered, was there a metal insert in the grooves? Is the wood alone strong enough?

Thank you

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They are wood alone.

a t-slot router bit will cut them.

you need a two-tool cut plan

first cut slots with a straight bit, then cut with the t-slot bit.

you will have to experiment with feed rates, as you can’t do shallow passes with
the t-slot bit.

I also expect that you will need to write the g-code yourself, I don’t know of a
CAM program that can handle cutters like that.

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Seems like this should work:

Do straight cuts for the slots, then repeat at the same depth with the t-slot bit. As long as you make full length passes starting and ending outside the sheet you can fake it with CAM SW, although hand gcode would be pretty simple and likely better optimised

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Cut the straights with the maslow and then manually cut the T would be my sugestion…

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You could fake the t-slots. Just cut dados as wide as the inside of the t in one panel, and then cut a thinner panel to strips as wide as the distance between the dados + a bit to make t-slots out of the dados.
Edit: A picture says more then a thousand words

Also look up French cleat, it’s a system that basically does the same, but very diy. I have it in my garage

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Same here. Strong, flexible and easy to make
Use a table saw at 30 - 45 degrees or a 45degree router bit to take the edges off.

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Me to, as a 20’ long lumber rack upstairs in the barn. Needs some more work…

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Haha, those fake t-slots are brilliant. Good reminder that just because you can CNC things doesn’t mean that’s always the best approach.

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That’s what i always say, i wouldn’t be building my maslow if i didn’t think it was usefull, but you can’t expect to use it for everything.

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Another possibility is to use the Maslow to make a template or jig to make the slat wall more easily and accurately with other tools. I expect much of my Maslow projects to be templates and jigs for sawing, drilling and hand routing accurate and repeatable stuff.

That being said, the stacked slatwall idea is pretty cool. :smiley:

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Jigs are under rated. That is, it’s all about quantity. If your making 1 or 2 then 1 off it. If your making 10 or 20 or 100. Get jiggy. Think in terms of jigging to speed the process. This really should be a tutorial of it’s own. Jig examples I know of, Steam bending wood doing 5 or more at a time. Motorcycle, bicycle, car frames. Cabinet doors, house doors. Cement tilt-up walls. If you need quantity think in jigs.

Thank you

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This really should be a tutorial of it’s own.

It’s a science and a skilled trade. I have a Facebook friend who makes bicycle frame fixtures as well as all types of add on jigs for different sized drop-outs, head and bottom bracket tubes, brake caliper mounts, spacing/sizing for off the shelf components - all that jazz.

His company relies on CNC machinery to make almost everything. It’s the best way to ensure accuracy and repeatability so the custom bike builders can concentrate on making beautiful stuff that works.

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I often make jigs for when i need too rout a slot at a wierd angle or something. It can be very simple, the jig i use most often is my circle routing jig, bacically just a meter long baseplate for my router.
I also really like the word ‘jig’ :sunglasses:

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@Dag83

That’s so jiggy of you - lol. Yes - a jig is a helper, it doesn’t have to be complete or complex. The use of multiple jigs to accomplish a tasks can be very effective and flexible.

Thank you

So Jigs should be a section in the wiki.

All kinds of jigs, Maslow starring as “The jig maker”

Viking choir: “Jig, jig, jig, jig, jig, jig, jig, jig, jig, jig, jig, jig, jig
Jig di jig lovely jig, jig di jig wonderfull jig”

Win points for the ones that get the refference :slight_smile:

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Is it Spamalot? space so I can send this post …

Monty Python (extra appropriate)

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We have a bingo. That sketch is also the reason we use the word spam today.