# Crosscut sled sticks



## rnels21 (Dec 31, 2018)

I have made a new crosscut sled that doesn't seem to glide easily. It doesn't seem to be to be the glide bars, but maybe is. I get it to flow smoothly, remove it, put it back and it sticks. (?). I treat the saw surface with BoeshieldT90. Could it be that?


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## OldBull (Apr 30, 2020)

On mine the moisture in the air changes it quite often. If you sand the glide bars (if they are wood) do it slowly and sneak up on it.

It is paste wax that always seems to be recommended for easy movement and table top maintenance.

Make sure the bottom and glide bars are waxed
make sure the slot is clean
Some use pencil marks to help see where the heavy rubbing is but I used painters tape and it showed where to sand. Sand very little at a time.


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## LesB (Dec 21, 2008)

I use SlipIt as a lubricant instead of wax.

What type of wood did you use for the bars. Some will expand and contract more then others.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

Make some new runners using the most stable wood you have available to you. Orientate the grain of the runners so when they expand and contract with the environmental changes wood moves up and down in the miter slot.

I assume your runners are not ridding on the bottom of the miter slot.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

> I have made a new crosscut sled that doesn't seem to glide easily.
> - rnels21


Usually the #1 thing will be a slight misalignment of the guide bars.

What are the ones you used made of, and do they have an adjustment?


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

> Make some new runners using the most stable wood you have available to you. Orientate the grain of the runners so when they expand and contract with the environmental changes wood moves up and down in the miter slot.
> 
> I assume your runners are not ridding on the bottom of the miter slot.
> 
> - AlaskaGuy


2 very good points.

The wood you want is quarter sawn, something hard like hard maple is better than a softie like pine. The best is the adjustable plastic, or aluminum, like the ones sold by Incra, and Micro Jig, they allow you to put them in sloppy, and tighten them once in place, or close to it.

The one on the right is the look you want of the end grain. Left is flat sawn, middle is rift sawn, and right is quarter sawn.










Micro Jig bars

Looks like Incra priced themselves out of the market…..

Plus 10000000 to NOT have them resting on the bottom of the miter slot, always have them below the depth of the slot, and put some pennies down to raise them before attaching.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

You can put chalk or maybe crayon on the sides of the runners. Where it rubs off is your high spot. It can be scraped with a chisel, plane iron, razor blade, etc. held at 90 degrees to the work. Sanding works too.


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

Initially, I tried wooden slides and had seasonal issues with the fit. I now use the Incra Miter Slider bar which is about $22. When I need to make a new sled , I take it off the old sled and put it on the new one. This is so much better than solid wood.


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## moke (Oct 19, 2010)

I do a similar thing to Loren. I used some kids sidewalk chalk (available everywhere) or I have a drafting pencil pointer that is full of graphite. Coat the side of the runner, and run it back and forth a few times. Then I take a fine or course file (depending on how bad it is) put it on its side against the runner and file where there is no graphite or chalk. You will more than likely not get it in the first try. and dependent on what the runner material is, it may expand and contract depending on the humidity.

I either buy the bonafide runner, usually aluminum or if I'm feeling cheap I buy a extra large cutting board at Sams ( $17 for a 16×20"-you'll have plenty for more projects) and drum sand it to height ( which I usually sand it thinner- this is not critical ) then cut it to width. I have lately been cutting it about 1/128 to a 1/64 too thin. Drill and counter sink and mount on bottom. The tighter you put it, the more it will expand, then I use my file to size it precisely. This will not expand or contract with weather. DON"T get carried away getting it too tight to expand it. Forget gluing it on, glue does not stick to UHMW material.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

When I tried Boeshield I made the mistake of putting it on too thick so I could see how that could cause a problem if you let that happen. I prefer paste wax on the saw top and it won't hurt to wax the bottom of the sled as well.

Are you saying that it works, you remove it and immediately put it back on and it doesn't slide well? Make sure that the slides are well attached and aren't flexing.


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## WoodenDreams (Aug 23, 2018)

What I did to eliminate the binding that wood runners sometimes have, is use the Rockler T-tracks as the miter bar (fits perfectly into the tabletop slots 3/8"x3/4" with no slop). https://www.rockler.com/17-piece-universal-t-track-kit Just cut the aluminum T-track to the length you need, and sand the end corners so they're not sharp. They already have the screws holes in them, so installing onto the sleds and jigs is quick. I bought two of these T-track kits for $19.95 each kit on sale. Gave me more then enough T-tracks for the underside miter bar slots and T-tracks for the top of the sleds for clamping wood onto the jigs and sleds.


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## gerrym526 (Dec 22, 2007)

All of my crosscut sleds (have 4 of different sizes) were made with hard maple runners. If they were sticky at first, I used beeswax on them.
I also paste wax my tablesaw top 4-5 times per year. Found I didn't need to wax the crosscut sleds if they were made of baltic birch, as long as the saw top was waxed.
Hope this helps.
Gerry


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## JoeFuture (Aug 31, 2020)

What drives me nuts about the Incra V27 miter bar is the play you get in the slot until you've gone in far enough that 2-3 of the expanders are in the slot. Is that problem reduced at all with their miter slider bars? I see that those seem to have expanders on the very ends, which I could imagine helping a bit.


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## CaptainKlutz (Apr 23, 2014)

> What drives me nuts about the Incra V27 miter bar is the play you get in the slot until you ve gone in far enough that 2-3 of the expanders are in the slot. Is that problem reduced at all with their miter slider bars? I see that those seem to have expanders on the very ends, which I could imagine helping a bit.
> 
> - JoeFuture


Have same complaint with most retail miter bars. The MicroJig Zero play miter bar in only one I have seen that solves that issue. Just wished they were longer as I find myself needed 2 on larger sled.


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## JoeFuture (Aug 31, 2020)

> Have same complaint with most retail miter bars. The MicroJig Zero play miter bar in only one I have seen that solves that issue. Just wished they were longer as I find myself needed 2 on larger sled.


Length is exactly my problem (no jokes please). When I tried to square up a 21" wide panel using my V27 on a 27" contractor saw table, by the time I got enough of the miter bar into the slot I was already closer than 21" between the fence and the blade. I'm planning on making the runners for my crosscut sled much longer to compensate, though I realize that makes storage a bit trickier and I'll have to be careful not to break them off if I use wood.


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## metolius (May 26, 2016)

I have some extra Trex composite boards left over from a deck rebuild. While it doesn't change with the weather and the surface has a good slickness, the material isn't super stiff. I think a next-sled will try the material as runners.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

I cut 3/8" flat aluminum stock into 3/4" bars, do don't understand the problem (snort).

Seriously, a friend just gave me an old cutting board, which was laying in his [several acre] yard. I cut it into 3/4" bars, about 24" long, too. Gave most of those to sawdust making friends. Still have about 6, but also have four or so of the long, aluminum ones I cut.

They take up no real room and it's nice always having guides for bandsaw or table saw sleds.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

Good ploy



> What I did to eliminate the binding that wood runners sometimes have, is use the Rockler T-tracks as the miter bar (fits perfectly into the tabletop slots 3/8"x3/4" with no slop). https://www.rockler.com/17-piece-universal-t-track-kit Just cut the aluminum T-track to the length you need, and sand the end corners so they re not sharp. They already have the screws holes in them, so installing onto the sleds and jigs is quick. I bought two of these T-track kits for $19.95 each kit on sale. Gave me more then enough T-tracks for the underside miter bar slots and T-tracks for the top of the sleds for clamping wood onto the jigs and sleds.
> 
> - WoodenDreams


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