Crosscut sled - different way to make it

Hi Niki-................like the idea of the triangles and also your wood screws…..neat!!!!

Thank you soo much for this post I do not have a crosscut sled yet but will now.

thank you again

-- Hope Never fails

Well done Niki. I made a cross cut sled for my table saw, but not so elaborate. Also, it is only on one side of the blade. So that I could get it accurate, I made it attachable to the miter gauge by screws. Then I just have to make sure the miter gauge is set at 90 degrees, and can get straight cuts.

I use it for rough cutting long lengths of board. It works pretty well. There can be problems when cutting a long board on the right side. The gravity of the board coming down can cause pressure on the blade. If it is a long piece, I will put a small piece of plywood underneath to make it more level.

Overall, my sled has been a great assist in making it easier to cut down long lumber. Someday, I want to make a real sled like yours. Good work.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Thank you so much

Bill
I have also “one side sled” (actually two) and when I work with it, I put another, same thickness board on the other side of the blade. This board is held in place by a runner that is attached under the board and slids into a slot in the rip fence rail.
You can make something similar with two “fences” attached under the board, one at the front and one at the back of the board and “click” it over the table.

niki

Thanks, Niki. I was just about to build a new sled so I thought I do a search on LJ to see what we had. What a surprise to see that you’ve provided a comprehensive HOWTO on aligning the back fence. Thanks!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Very good Niki. It a very full set of pictures.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Nice job Niki and carefully thought out.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Thank you so much for your kind replies

You can increase the “slipperiness” of the sled (actually, any sled) by “iron on” this plastic edge banding…two strips, one on each side, near the blade and two, one on each side close to the edges of the sled…parallel to the miter slots.

The plastic tape, besides being very slippery, will reduce the contact area and by that, the drag.

Tom (mot)
I would like to hear (and see) how it worked for you.
I’m so confident with this method that, when I made the “All seasons rolling sled”, I did not bother with screws, I just “super glued” the fence to the sled.

Regards
niki

Niki,

If I only had half of your brain, I think I could be good at woodworking… ;^D

Thanks for amazing me, yet once again, with this great post.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Thank you TomFran

Well, it’s not so much of a brain if it took me 13 years to get to this solution…

Regards
niki

this is great. I am sure that this will help many people.

-- making sawdust....

Very well illustrated. I can see that a lot of thought and planning went into this project. Thanks.

-- Ron in Osseo, Minnesota

Very great design and well laid out instructions! Now if only I can figured out that darn metric system… ;p

I’m wondering if you could attach the front edge immediately after gluing the bed to the rails, then add the trail edge, and just make a through cut? (basically eliminate any chance of misalignment from having made the cut prior to attaching the edging, and i believe i would use it to make full through cuts)

-- Scott

Thank you so much

Scott
As you noticed, I’m using runners (rails) that are narrower than the miter slot.

I was afraid that if I’ll push the 3mm (1/8”) plywood in the kerf without the front fence, it would “open” the kerf and I would have some “play” of the runners…but, if you are using “tight fit” runners, no problem…

Regards
niki

Good one! I dig the homemade triangles. I used nearly the same process when I built one of mine. I used double stick tape instead of super glue, I like your idea better. Also, your methods are sound and embody what I’ve always strove for in my own work; work precisely and slim your tolerances to nill whenever possible. Working this way takes the worry out of being close. Great tutorial, it’s a keeper and I’ve added it to my favs.

always,
J.C.

-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein

great job Niki

Any thoughts as to the best size for a sled? just larger than the saw top, smaller? This is a must do project. as soon as I make some triangles. So many projects, so little time!

I took a quick look through some of your other projects, bummer on the loss of the pictures. It would be nice to restore them if you can, there seems to be a LOT of knowledge that would help a lot of folks in your posts, as I said, So many projects, so little time!

thank you for posting the GREAT ideas that you have

-- Fred, Springfield, Ma

Hi Fred
Thank you so much for your kind words

About the sled size…well it depends what you are planning to with it…if you are going to cut many plywood boards for say, kitchen cabinets or alike, it’s better if it will be wider (actually longer) than the table top and capable to accommodate at list 24” wide boards.

I have a sliding table so I don’t use a sled to cut plywood, MDF or Chipboard.

Regards
niki

Thanks, I wanted to build a sled but wasnt sure how to make the fence 90 degrees to the blade. I like the triangle idea

-- Ron, Northern Illinois

Niki

GREAT job,

Your ability to make this subject very easy to understand is excellent –
The time you have put into posting this type of education in the forums is much appreciated!

THANKS

-- Bill - - Ad-Marketing Guy, Ramsey NJ

If you are looking for wood items global suppliers…...........then check http://www.craftcentral.com