# will i need 2 croscut sleds?



## truegemz (Feb 10, 2014)

Hi all,
This is my first post on Lumberjocks. 
the articles and threads have been very helpful in starting this hobby and i am thankful and grateful to all.

I will be making a crossctcut sled for regular crosscuts with the angle of the blade at 90 degrees.
i will also need to be cutting stock at 45 degrees to make some miters for wooden boxes (i bought the box making book by Doug Stowe and am looking forward to making some!).

so here is the question, will i need need a separate crooscut sled for angling the blade at 45 degrees? i ask that question because when cutting at 90 degrees the blade will make a 90 degree kerf in the the sled. if i now angle and cut with the blade at 90 degrees it may alter the structure of the sled perhaps making it unstable.
i could of course make an experiment out of it but then i may end up ruining the sled.
has anyone come across this issue?

thanks in advance,
Al


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## BigYin (Oct 14, 2011)

No, you will need 3 sleds
1

```
90 degrees<br />1
```
 45 degrees
and a 90 degree miter sled ( see youtube)
if you have a bandsaw then a bandsaw sled or 2 is nice to have ( see youtube)


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## danofpaco (Feb 24, 2013)

I wouldn't think stability would be a problem. That said, I would probably make 2 sleds if you wanted one at 45 - primarily because one of the great things about a sled is that you can use the kerf to do setup - with a 90 and a 45 i would imagine that your kerf would now be inaccurate for both, depending on what side of the blade and which angle the cut was being made. You'd also lose some of the zero-clearance benefits on the base and fence.

One solution if you'd rather not make 2 sleds would be to make one sled, but then "line" the bottom and fence with fresh mdf or plywood any time you change angles. You could simple use carpet tape to attach the liner. This way you retain the zero clearance and setup-off-the-kerf properties of a sled.

I would still recommend making multiple sleds each with a specific purpose. You can make a fixture for your 90 sled to handle miters, or make a third sled like BigYin mentions.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

There was a clever sled design from a magazine with
an adjustable kerf width to allow angled cuts and
dado cuts without chewing up the sled.


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## truegemz (Feb 10, 2014)

thanks all for the advice. it confirmed what i thought i would need.
simply wonderful to have other woodworkers out there to share ideas.

thanks so much

Al


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

I use my miter gauge for cutting 45s for boxes and my "Super Sled" for crosscuts and cutting small pieces safely.


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