Skip's Adventures in woodworking at LumberJocks.com

Shop projects #5: Super sled redux

Skip Brewer — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 05:47:56 GMT

So I decided to build a super sled for my dad as well. His birthday is this week, and it just seemed like a good choice for a present. I changed this one just a bit from my first attempt. Instead of laminating the hardboard and plywood, I just used 3/4 in. plywood. I didn’t have anymore 8/4 oak, so I laminated 2 pieces of 4/4 oak for the fence. Everything else was the same. I think he liked it – when my brother in law showed up, he took him right out into the shop to show him!

Shop projects #4: Super sled - project completed

Skip Brewer — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 05:44:05 GMT

Well, it has taken me a while to finish this project. My shop is in the garage, which sits right underneath my son’s bedroom. Since he goes to bed at about 7:45, I usually get about an hour a day in the shop at most. But I finally got it all done. After mounting the handle, I painted a nice red stripe down the middle, about 2” on either side of the blade – just a little reminder of the danger zone. I made a blade guard to mount on the t-track, to prevent anything from geting kicked into my face by the blade. I am thinking about mounting adjustable sides to the guard as well – I’ll take a look at that tomorrow, I guess. After that I made the miter fences and the stop block and voila! A completed super sled! I can easily push it with one hand. Using the hold downs for small parts means my fingers never have to be anywhere below the top of the fence while cutting. I think I may build another one for my dad!

Shop projects #3: Clamp Storage

Skip Brewer — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:39:55 GMT

This really isn’t a project. I mentioned in a post how I store my clamps, and someone requested a picture. Someone gave me a wire rack on wheels a couple of years ago, and I have used it to store parts for the projects I am working on, as well as a few small power tools. My clamps were always in piles or leaning against the wall. One day, I realized I could hang the clamps on the sides and back of the rack. That keeps them organized, and I can move them to my workbench or into a corner with ease. I use bungee cords to keep them from falling off when the cart is moved from place to place.

Front:

Right side (Bessey clamps):

Rear (Bar clamps):

Left side (pipe clamps):

Spring clamps:

Shop projects #2: Super sled progress

Skip Brewer — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:24:01 GMT

Well, I finally got back into the shop today. Yesterday was spent visiting Alcatraz, Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf with my 8-year old, my wife and a bunch of kids and parents from my son’s scouting group. It was fun, but too much walking! I was glad to get back into the shop and just relax.

So I got back to my super sled project. Just to give you an idea of why I needed this, here is my current crosscut sled:

I had already laminated the plywood and hardboard and had routed out the grooves and dados for the attachments on the sled base earlier in the week. So today I focused on the miter guides and fence. I happened to have two 24” Incra miter guides that I bought a few years ago and forgot about. I like these slides because the are easy to adjust to remove any play in the slot. There are three allen screws attached to small mitered nuts. When the screw is tightened, the nut expands the side of the bar, creating a snug fit.

The video on the Eagle Lake Woodworking site is really easy to follow and has a lot of good tips. Using a shallow dado to line up the first runner and then using carpet tap to hold the second runner in place made the process go quickly and flawlessly.

After the runners were attached and adjusted, it was time for the fence. I am using a 1-1/2×3 x 48” piece of red oak left over from a previous project. Once again, the videos made the process simple. Using the drafting squares against the rulers in the saw kerf made it easy to get the fence square to the blade.

I used clamps and carpet tape to hold the fence in place while I drilled and screwed it into place. After that, it was a simple matter of mounting the t-track. At this point, I think I already have a pretty good sled but there is still more to do. I need to add the handle, a blade guard, the front brace and then start on the accessories. Here it is so far:

Shop projects #1: Super sled

Skip Brewer — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:29:27 GMT

So, after a little kickback scare cross-cutting some 1/2” plywood, I decided to upgrade my cross-cutting sled. The one I have been using sits on only one side of the blade and has just a small fence and no hold downs. This can allow the work to rotate away from the fence and toward the blade (causing the aforementioned scare). After doing some research here and other places on the Net, I found the Super Sled design from the Eagle Lake Woodworking site. I am going to attempt to build it, along with a few refinements I saw from other users here.

I started with pieces of 2’x4’ 1/2” plywood and 1/4” hardboard from my local big box store. That plus some hardware set me back all of $18.00. I am going to laminate the the hardboard to the bottom of the plywood to make the base. I think the smooth side of the hardboard will give me a smoother sliding surface for the bottom of the sled than the plywood alone. I can also rout the 3/4” grooves into the hardboard and the 3/8” grooves into the plywood separately. I went to my local Woodcraft and picked up the T-track for the fence and the jig hardware for the miter attachments. I will be using a 3” x 1-1/4” x 48” piece of red oak for the rear fence and using some red oak cutoffs for the rest of the lumber in the project. I also have some Lexan for the blade guard I am going to add, similar to what others here have done. I will post pictures as the project progresses.