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crosscut sled

974 views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  Woodbum 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
My name is Daniel. I am completely new to woodworking and I have a question I was hoping someone could answer. I want to make my first crosscut sled and I was wondering, how do you make sure when you lay the bed of the sled on the wood runners that fit in the miter slots of the table saw that the bed is exactly square to the guide runners? I have been watching YouTube. Lots of videos but I don't see any that explain how to make absolutely sure you are at an exactly square. The sled needs to be accurate or it's no good right? I hope you all understand how I mean. Thanks for any ideas you could provide.

Daniel
 
#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
It doesn't matter if the sled bed is square to anything or not - just needs to be flat. You glue/screw the runners to the sled, and then run it through the blade. Once you do, Bingo, you are perfectly parallel to the blade. After that, you then put the fence on and align it perpendicular to the blade, using whatever method you choose (there are dozens of videos and how-to's out there).

If you are instead asking how to get the runners in the right place - easiest way is to put a penny or three in the miter slots (so the runners will sit proud of the table top), lay the runners down on top of them with a little bit of glue on top, and lay the sled down on them. Let the glue setup, then take it off and put in some screws if you want. Don't use too much glue, as you don't want squeeze out all over your table :)

Cheers,
Brad
 
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