# Making a flat fence for sled



## boroughdan (Jan 30, 2013)

I need to make a new sled. Mine was slapped together with scrap but has done pretty well. I have been cutting wider pieces and noticing it isnt square enough.

The question I have is how to make the fence. Solid wood seems no good so i am thinking plywood is the way to go. But in most videos I have seen it seems like people just assumbe their plywood is flat. I saw one where william ng glued up two or three pieces on a flat surface to ensure flatness. This is what I will be doing I suppose, though my jointer bed is only about two feet long. Im wondering if there are any other solutions. i want to make the sled as dead on as I can.

Also, plywood or mdf for the base?


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## cabmaker (Sep 16, 2010)

3/4 ply for base on mine.

Hardwood for rails

Hardwood for guide rails


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## boroughdan (Jan 30, 2013)

you dont worry about movement in your fence?


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## cabmaker (Sep 16, 2010)

No, but if it does occur its easy enough to correct it.


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## sixstring (Apr 4, 2012)

I used 5/8" Melamine for both of my sled bases. It's lighter and smoother to push than ply but just as flat if not flatter. My larger one happens to have a solid 2×5 piece of doug fir but it's what I had on hand at the time and I used my jointer to make it flat. Either material is fine, My smaller one uses (2) pieces of 3/4" plywood and (1) piece of melamine (face) laminated together. My rails are solid maple and solid oak.

Lots of videos on this but it's simple… Use a good square to make sure the fence is square to the blade. Clamp it down then screw into the runners from the top. That's what I did and it's pretty darn straight for everything I do. A tip though… first make sure the blade is square to your mitre slots first!


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