# Got lucky on new crosscut sled



## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

I put this sled together over the past two days. I wanted one that could handle larger boards, so this is 36" wide and can accommodate up to 27-1/2" crosscuts. It's totally old school, which is how I like it. No bells, no whistles, just a workhorse.

So why was I lucky, and why am I bothering to post about a sled with no new cool features to show? The first try at setting the fence and doing a 5-cut test resulted in a 0.000052" per inch error. Actually, the first test was about three times that value, probably because having the fence anchored at only two points that were 32" apart was letting it flex a bit. After running screws down the length every 4 inches or so, it locked down for that 52 millionths of an inch.

Sounds crazy I know, but I was using a 24" square board to test on, and the final gross error was only about 5 thousandths, so finishing the math gave me a pretty surprising (and satisfying) result.


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## Hockey (Apr 9, 2017)

I am looking to make a much smaller sled. Would you mind identifying the wood materials you used. Looks like plywood for the fence and particle board for the base. I would imagine that the straightness and flatness of the materials is an important factor.


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

You're right about straight and flat. That's one reason I like MDF. The base is 1/2" MDF and the fences are 1/2" baltic birch plywood, stacked 3 high. I made the runners out of pecan, although any very hard wood will work. The little block on the back obviously isn't a safety guard since the blade comes through it, but just a block to keep my thumbs from accidentally getting too close.

I have a little one with a 12" capacity that I use for very small parts. It's identical, but scaled down, with 1/4" MDF and fences stacked 2 high.

One tip I use is to dedicate a nice, straight board for jig runners and joint and plane it to just fit in the miter slots. Then, you can just rip thin pieces for your runners, and the width is perfect.


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## Hockey (Apr 9, 2017)

Thanks, Rich.


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

You're welcome, Hockey. Feel free to PM me with any questions. Also, look around LJ. You'll find tons of very cool designs.


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## TungOil (Jan 16, 2017)

"first try" .....nice!


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

Thanks Tung. Nice - and lucky. Most of my other sleds have at least a half-dozen holes underneath from chasing square. It's great to have a sled that I know I can count on, especially given the long cuts it can make.


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## Lefley (Jan 1, 2017)

Id like to make a sled like that. The holes youve drilled. Im new at this. Can you explain distance and size of holes and how you attach something to give you required angles.


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## papadan (Mar 6, 2009)

Lefley, those are not holes. Those are the screw heads holding the runners on the bottom.


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

Lefley, for starters, here is a great video by William Ng who is credited with the 5-cut test for squareness. Regardless of what design you choose for your sled, his method is the best way to get it square. All of the details of building a sled are too involved for a simple post here. Videos are very valuable to seeing what goes on, and there are hundreds out there.

I can't stress enough that this sort of jig is unique to the individual's needs. LJ is a great resource for different, very creative designs, and I do encourage you to look at all of the possibilities you'll find here. Mine is very basic, but it fits how I work.

Back to your question, the holes you see are spaced out of convenience. The length from the front screw to the back was 27", so I took my dividers, set it to 3" and walked the spacing out. Not very scientific at all.

Take time to scope out the tons of information out there and choose what you think will work for you. There's no one right way to do it.


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