# My crosscut sled...with miter jig



## D_Allen (Oct 11, 2010)

I built this a few weeks ago and have been trying to figure out a way to attach a miter section instead of building a separate sled. This seems to have worked out good. I used a piece of 24" wide white melamine board. It is about 30" long. I put a stop on the underside so that the sled would not go in either direction far enough to cut through the base. That way I did not need a front fence and I do not worry about the blade being exposed in the back.. The back fence is a piece of maple that I had previously planed down and it had been standing on end in the corner for nearly a year. It was not warped so I figured it wasn't going to. I used the other half for a fence on a box joint jig.
The triangle piece is the same material as the base and is positioned onto the base with 2 roll pins.
I made 2 test cuts and put them in my vintage miter clamps, which I trust to be square more then about any other tool I own. Seems to be dead on to me.


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## D_Allen (Oct 11, 2010)

I have a question concerning this material used. What would be the best thing I could seal the edges with? I hesitate to use a water based product of any kind as it may make the particle board swell.


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

I like it!!

How about some heat activated banding strips?


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I recommend solid wood strips because they are tough.
The moisture in white or yellow glue won't be a problem - 
just let the glue dry thoroughly before trimming the edges.


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## D_Allen (Oct 11, 2010)

Thanks Lew. I do have some maple iron-on edge banding. That's a good idea. I could then put some poly on top of that and not worry that it would soak through.


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## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

Very nice, my only suggestion would be to make the triangle large enough to extend past the rear fence to allow longer pieces to be cut. I know you can just flip them around and cut them backwards, but that is confusing to do making miters.


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## D_Allen (Oct 11, 2010)

Well Bob, I see your point and thank you for your suggestion. To do that, I may have to shorten the fence. The limit I put on the sled travel may not allow it to slide back far enough and I don't want to put a front fence on this.
This was basically made for trying my hand at the Celtic knot pen blank.
Seems I am having trouble getting pen making out of my interest zone.
It is working especially well for that purpose so far and I'll know for sure when I turn the fist one.
I am considering a long and somewhat adjustable fence addition that would extend from the cut line on the rear fence and flare to the left. That way the angle cut will be made primarily at the rear fence. It would be similar to what lumberjoe has posted in the projects section. I would prefer to keep such cuts at that point as it is the most stable for the sled. Besides that, I have a good CMS to do larger and longer miter cuts.


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## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

D_Allen, When making the celtic knot the angle isn't important, the location of subsequent cuts is. A miter gauge with a sacrificial fence and a stop block are all you need. You can either tip the blade and run the stock through at 90 deg or angle the miter gauge and keep the blade at 90 deg. The most important part with the knot especially in a pen is to make sure the hole for the brass tube is exactly centered and straight through the piece. If it is off even a little bit, when you turn it the knot will be lop sided. I have made many. There is a good example of one I made in my projects page. It is a lamp made of walnut and has a maple celtic knot. Hope this helps.


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## D_Allen (Oct 11, 2010)

Well, for a first try it isn't shameful. Bob, I see what you mean. My 7mm bit tends to wander a little. It isn't an issue with regular blanks but it is with these. I'll be getting a new one.
My next question is, what happens to the pattern as the diameter gets smaller? I'm thinking the pattern will get shorter, correct? Right now this is about .63" in diameter. A typical slimline pen would be smaller than that.
I'm also thinking that an angle of about 60 degrees would help keep the pattern tall for smaller diameters.
I must say that I was amazed at how it looks considering what I started out with.


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## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

Yes, the knot gets smaller. I made several slimlines with a thin kerf blade on my table saw. I tried doing them on the band saw but the inlay pieces were so thin to match the bandsaw blade kerf that it didn't look all that impressive. My first several attempts looked just like yours. The knot was uneven. I thought there was a problem with how I was making the blank. Then one day it dawned on me that the set up was ok it was the center hole that was off. I started drilling all my pen blanks on the lathe and got them perfectly centered every time. The more extreme the angle the wider the pattern will be. You can even rip the blanks corner to corner in the same fashion as the knot and produce another look. You can even adjust your stop block over a little and do a double knot after the first one is complete.


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