The Universal Tool Trolley Duplex Rail The Universal Tool Trolley has the most innovative rail on the market today. Its double tubular shape retains its rigidity even with 10 lbs of perpendicular force applied, as in the Wood Magazine test, flexing less than .030-inches at the center of a 100-inch span. With 10 pounds of cross force applied and using one stabilizer, the flex was a remarkable .008-inches. How can we get this type of performance out of a lightweight rail that doesn't carry the mass and weight of say the EZ Smart System? The answer comes in the shape of the rail and the method of joining rail segments. The duplex tubular shaped rail uses two steel dowel pins inserted one into each tube and drawn tight with our draw-tight bolt and nut. The resultant joint is more rigid than the original rail without a joint. This means if you need to make a 12 or 20-foot or any length cut, you will get a straight edge commensurate with the length of cut. The Duplex Rail is three inches wide and 5/8" high and comes in 50-inch and 30-inch lengths. The rails are extendable for any length cut and are easily joined using a draw-tight closure kit. The duplex rails function either as a guide rail on which the UTT carriage tracks or in pairs and function as a track on which a sliding carriage or sled is placed when used either in a panel saw or a bench saw sliding table configuration. 30" rail extensions when added to the 100" standard length rail gives you more than 10-feet of cutting length with adequate overhang for positive engagement of the trolley bearings. Whether you need a little more than 8-feet of cut length or a lot more; join together as many 30" extensions as you need. Use a single 30" rail when cutting shorter work pieces, crosscutting lumber or working with jigs and fixtures such as a mortising shuttle. The Universal Trolley 30-inch Extender Rail is fitted with two alignment dowels and draw-tight closure on each end. Fit any number of 30-inch sections together for any desired length of cut. The alignment dowels and draw-tight connector stiffen the rail flex response for a straight cut every time.   The photograph above shows the straightness of 160" (two 50" and two 30" rails joined together) of rail using a laser beam. Our testing demonstrated that placing rail stabilizers every 3 to 4 feet ensures straightness to within 0.010inches with 10 lbs. of cross force applied

 

SLIDING RAIL CLAMPS

The integral Rail Clamp and Rail Stop make using the Universal Tool Trolley a breeze to use. Simply place a rail clamp on the rail opposite the side where the Trolley is placed. Slide the Rail Clamp up to your work piece and position the L- bolt under your work piece and with a simple turn of a wing nut the Rail Clamp is attached.

A perpendicular L-bolt and wing nut tightens the rail to the clamp. This dual clamping process ensures that the rail will stay firmly in place. Using the perpendicular L-bolt enables using the Rail Clamp as a Rail Stop. A Rail Stop limits the starting and ending point of your saw or router cut such as when using a shuttle to route mortises

SLIDING Rail Clamp	Rail Stop

The SLIDING Rail Clamp attaches to work pieces up to 2½" thick as well as to walls, floors, fences and decks or wherever an accurate cut is needed. The SLIDING rail clamp uses a set of perpendicular L-bolts that enable the release of the rail while the clamp remains attached to the work piece allowing the rail to slide through the clamp for an extended cut. If your work piece is longer than the length of your rail just make the cut approaching the center (Lever & Fulcrum) Rail Clamp; stop the saw leaving the saw in place, loosen the perpendicular L-bolt and slide the rail through the Center Rail Clamp and through the bearings on the Trolley carriage, the amount needed to complete the cut. Either add another Rail Clamp at the end of the work piece or relocate the Rail Clamp that became disengaged from the starting end of the rail.

Rail Stabilizer	Rail Gage
Clamp Attached to 13-Foot Rail Screwed to Floor in Preparation for Cutting an Opening in the Floor.  Rail Stabilizer attached at 1/3 the length of the Rail.	Lever & Fulcrum

The Rail Gage uses a Universal Bearing and a clear piece of Lexan that is attached to the bottom of the bearing to create a cutting template that clearly defines the cut-line of a circular saw attached to the Universal Trolley. The Rail Stabilizer uses the same approach but uses a 1/8" piece of hardboard (Masonite) or other similar material.

Make two Rail Gages and place one at each end of the guide rail when setting up the cut. Tighten the Rail Gage onto the rail using the 2" L-bolt. Position the rail on the work piece using the Rail Gage to set the distance to the cut-line. Attach a Rail Clamp and a Rail Stop as appropriate. Proceed with the cut.

The Rail Stabilizer and Lever & Fulcrum are two techniques for attaching a Rail Clamp mid-way on a rail as in the picture above. A Rail Stabilizer is made exactly like the Rail Gage but the length of the attached stretcher is long enough to reach across the work piece to the rail. The stabilizer acts to restrict any sideways movement of an extended length rail and is used when close tolerance (i.e., 0.010") is desired. The Rail Stabilizer does not apply any clamping force.

The Lever & Fulcrum extends the clamping force to the Rail Clamp. It is the preferred method of applying a clamp on a rail that does not reach across the width of the work piece to enable adding a rear clamp. In such a case a Rail Clamp is applied to the rail at the front edge of the work piece and a lever & fulcrum clamp is applied at an intermediate point on the rail that is at least beyond the halfway point in the length of the cut. The lever & fulcrum is also used in situations that require downward pressure to keep a work piece from moving (e.g. when cutting multiple pieces at one time).

The Universal Bearing can also be used to clamp a rail to a work surface where no means exist for accessing the backside of the work surface to attach a rail clamp. Such is the case when cutting an opening in a wall or a floor. In this case the method used is to remove the 4" L-bolt and screw the bearing directly to the work surface. This can be done if the surface that the Rail Clamp is being attached to is not part of a finished surface (i.e. underlayment); simply screw the rail clamp to the surface and secure the rail in place using the 2" L-bolt.

The double tubular shape has another unique advantage :

DOUBLE TUBULAR EDGE DOES NOT DISTORT WHEN CLAMPED ON A BENT OR WARPED WORK PIECE

Lets examine this fact a little closer. Any rail shape other than round will distort if an opposing twisting force is applied to each end of the rail. The result is an effective widening of an outer dimension and the narrowing of an inner dimension. If a tool guide is tracking within a grooved or atop of a raised square or other non-round profile and the rail is clamped to a bent or warped work piece, the tool guide is likely to bind as the effective width of the rail has changed. Our tubular shaped rail will twist along the shape of the bent or warped work piece but the profile of the round edge stays round and the Universal Tool Trolley stays on line for a straight, non-binding cut every time.