Project Information
I have a small sled for small parts so I felt it was time to make a full size one. I wanted to incorporate allot into this sled so I started with having a good way to measure repeatable cuts without making the sled itself too big. I just slightly off-centered where the blade goes on the sled in order to put a stop block to the left of the blade that would go to 18". To get the most out of this aspect of the sled I made a 1" thick block for the table saw fence and can cut anything up to 35" by just adding an inch to my table saw fence measurement on the right side of the blade.
I rounded over for the places where your hands go on the back fence, staining it with a gun stock stain and finished the handles with 2 coats of wipe on gloss poly. I used the "bolt down" method for the back fence of the sled as I find this the most accurate way of finding 90 degrees to the blade. I put a 3" wide zero clearance insert made from hardboard that can be unscrewed and slipped out of it's space to accommodate straight cuts, 45 degree cuts, and various size dado cuts (1/4, 3/8, 1/2, & 3/4 inch) all with their own insert. I finished the sled off with miter fences that include stop blocks.
All hardware was purchased last year during a really good super sale Rockler was having while I got the nuts and bolts for the fence at the big box store and the rest was made from scrap material in the shop. A few other pictures:
I rounded over for the places where your hands go on the back fence, staining it with a gun stock stain and finished the handles with 2 coats of wipe on gloss poly. I used the "bolt down" method for the back fence of the sled as I find this the most accurate way of finding 90 degrees to the blade. I put a 3" wide zero clearance insert made from hardboard that can be unscrewed and slipped out of it's space to accommodate straight cuts, 45 degree cuts, and various size dado cuts (1/4, 3/8, 1/2, & 3/4 inch) all with their own insert. I finished the sled off with miter fences that include stop blocks.
All hardware was purchased last year during a really good super sale Rockler was having while I got the nuts and bolts for the fence at the big box store and the rest was made from scrap material in the shop. A few other pictures: