Bargain Alert - Ikea £1 Aluminium Extrusions - DIY MFT Style Clamping

[Rob_Mc]

Hi All,

Just a heads up ... I was in Ikea Gateshead earlier today and noticed they are selling off their VIGDA triple track curtain rail aluminium extrusion as shown below;

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/vidga-triple-track-rail-white-20299155/
It comes in 1.4m lengths and is reduced from £13 to £1 currently. I asked why the are selling it off and it is just being repackaged with a couple of ceiling mounting brackets thrown in for the higher price of £19 so they are keen to get rid of the old stock.

The extrusion itself is extremely strong and rigid due to it's cross sectional design and shows no sign of flex or give at all. The cross section measures rougly 42mm x 22mm and is 1.4m long.

The real bonus however is that it fits the Bessey / MFT rail style clamps perfectly so in theory could be used around the perimeter of an MFT top to replicate the face clamping ability of the real MFT/3 table. I test clamped a piece of wood using 2 Bessey clamps to the extrusion and it took the full force of the clamp without distortion of any kind and I could not move the wood at all ... it had a vice like grip. I'm sure with the right design and fixings it could be firmly screwed to something and take a bit of abuse while being used for clamping.

I am sure there are a number of potential uses it could be put to and for £1 it's got to be worth a punt. They are currently showing as available in stock at all stores (except Wembley) or are available for delivery online while stocks last. Get them while you can if you foresee a use.

Perhaps @petermillard can do a 10 minute workshop on the feasibility of incorporating these into a DIY MFT table ;-)

Rob.

 

[mikej460]

I was tempted to buy 3 lengths for £3 but not at £40 delivery

 

[Rob_Mc]

I was tempted to buy 3 lengths for £3 but not at £40 delivery

Ah, didn't notice the £40 delivery cost ... guess that effectively makes it a collect from store deal only.

 

[mikej460]

sadly the nearest is a 50 mile round trip for me. Thanks for the tip though

 

[petermillard]

Thanks @Rob_Mc - my nearest store? Wembley! Ah what the heck, I’ll spend some of my YouTube millions and pay for delivery.
Appreciate the heads-up, will keep you posted.

 

[Rob_Mc]

As the extrusion is dead straight and has no visible flex to it, it also makes a great straight edge in conjunction with the clamps to run a router or circular saw against. Could also use 2 parallel to each other to setup for routing rebates of any required width.

 

[flh801978]

I went down to my local store and they had lots in stock so didn’t feel too bad at taking 10 of them

 

[JamieHnd]

Thanks OP, I have just managed to get a few from IKEA Warrington.
Right next to it, there was a single track version for the same price.
It can be used to make a guide rail for jigsaw and circular saw.

 

[JamieHnd]

Here is my first and humble jigsaw guide rail.

 

[Terrytpot]

Only living 5 miles from my nearest branch, it struck me that it would be rude not to help them thin out their old stock lines so scooped up a few as a sign of good will. Thanks for the tip

 

[Bodone]

Wonder if these could be turned into an extrusion style workbench. Any thoughts?

 

[Rorschach]

Going next week, knowing my luck they will all be gone, not that I will have space in the car anyway.

 

[Rob_Mc]

You can even use them to hang curtains

 

[JamieHnd]

Here is my new mitre saw fence and stop block.

This post has been very useful for me, thanks again OP.

 

[Rob_Mc]

Here is my new mitre saw fence and stop block.

This post has been very useful for me, thanks again OP.

Looks good. How did you attach the rails to your mitre saw?

 

[Rob_Mc]

Here is my new mitre saw fence and stop block.

This post has been very useful for me, thanks again OP.

You could maybe stick a couple of these or something similar on the top of the rails either side to give you a measuring scale for your stop block?

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/tape...ytAyzjNCnfldLQoZU5gaAs_tEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[JamieHnd]

Looks good. How did you attach the rails to your mitre saw?

Unfortunately, the fences of this saw don't have screw holes where I can mount the curtain rail. (This is a cheap(est) saw...)

So, I attached it to the top sliding fences of the saw with metal epoxy adhesive. This way, I will be able to pull the rail to the sides if needed (bevel cuts).

In addition, the top sliding fences were sloped slightly back and were not square to the base. By filling the gaps with metal epoxy, I could adjust the curtain rail exactly square to the base.

 

[JamieHnd]

You could maybe stick a couple of these or something similar on the top of the rails either side to give you a measuring scale for your stop block?

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/tape...ytAyzjNCnfldLQoZU5gaAs_tEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

My plan was exactly that.

But I had planned to stick the free paper rulers of Ikea. (It would be a little too generous to use a 3-5 Pound scale for a 1 Pound curtain rail. )

I put them in my pocket and guess what? They have gone to washing machine...

Next time to Ikea.

 

[petermillard]

Thanks again @Rob_Mc for the heads-up; mine arrived this week. We're currently self-isolating (family member tested positive) so I haven't had much opportunity to play properly, but certainly with the Festool rail clamps I have here (lever and screw) the thin-wall extrusion is a slight issue with the shape of the clamp faces. These are stepped slightly to locate in the groove, and the step is deep enough to make the face of the clamp stand proud of the extrusion surface, so the clamp will tighten against itself, but not the extrusion ie it will clamp firmly, but slide along the profile.

I have other clamps to try, but not here at the moment. Keep you posted. P

 

[Rob_Mc]

Thanks again @Rob_Mc for the heads-up; mine arrived this week. We're currently self-isolating (family member tested positive) so I haven't had much opportunity to play properly, but certainly with the Festool rail clamps I have here (lever and screw) the thin-wall extrusion is a slight issue with the shape of the clamp faces. These are stepped slightly to locate in the groove, and the step is deep enough to make the face of the clamp stand proud of the extrusion surface, so the clamp will tighten against itself, but not the extrusion ie it will clamp firmly, but slide along the profile.

I have other clamps to try, but not here at the moment. Keep you posted. P