MY-2-CENTS #2: Single rail table saw sled

I noticed a few blogs talking about table saw sleds but not about the single rail type.

Now this isn’t new I used this type for just about 20 years now and I’m sure a lot of you guys use it also so I guess this is for the lumberjocks that haven’t seen this type before. It is based on the sliding tablesaw style like the big saws that can cut 4×8 sheets so the rail/fence is forward. It may look dangerous at first but it takes little effort to hold the work piece in place.

The advantages are that sheet stock is easier to cut and the small stuff cuts as easy as the larger 2 rail sleds. This is a 24 inch piece.

This is also a LOT lighter and the view of cut is in front of you a little more so your not bending over the sled to line up the cut. I use the older ones to cut angles on by screwing a board on to it. This set up was used to cut some shelves and is a lot easier than the miter gauge.

I tryed those adjustable metal guides, I don’t like them much.

If you need to cut just a hair of a piece you can feel it hanging over the sled. My sled is 24 ½ inches wide, 23 ½ inches deep and the fence is 33 inches long and that’s only because that particular chunk of ply was that size to start but those dimensions work well. And that’s my-2-cents.

-- Mike, Westport MA.