Question about sled for tablesaw

[lwhughes149]

I see many sleds on tablesaws where a piece of wood can be cut leaving a true straight cut. These saws are quite large with a fence on the back and front. They appear to be as big as my table itself. I don't understand how one that large can be used unless some tablesaws are larger than mine. Mine is a Ridgid purchased at Home Depot. Am I missing something? Lorraine

 

[woodArtz]

Hey Lorraine... The miter sled can be as large or as small as you want, if you make it yourself. It just depends on the size of materials you regularly cut. I've seen a bunch of plans for making these sleds all over the web and in some of the mags. I opted to buy instead of build and ended up with the Incra sled. It works fine, but if I had to do it again I'd make one like David Marks uses.

 

[Travis Porter]

I see many sleds on tablesaws where a piece of wood can be cut leaving a true straight cut. These saws are quite large with a fence on the back and front. They appear to be as big as my table itself. I don't understand how one that large can be used unless some tablesaws are larger than mine. Mine is a Ridgid purchased at Home Depot. Am I missing something? Lorraine

You can make one any size you like. Size does matter though as the larger the sled the larger the piece you can cross cut, ie the space between the front and rear fence. You put long miter gauge runners on it and you should be set. It does not matter if you have a Rigid tablesaw or a Powermatic Model 66 the principal is the same and will work. You just have to get your runners in the right place.

 

[JimD]

I have two. One will cut 13 inches and the other cuts 26 inches. The small one is smaller than my BT3100 saw top and the big one is bigger. The big one is a little tougher to handle but your wood goes on the sled and then the sled goes on the saw. You have to hold it at least roughly flat but the front is well onto the saw before you cut. When you finish the cut, even my big sled is solid on the saw.

Jim

 

[lwhughes149]

Thanks guys, I now understand. I guess I will see if a woman can handle the big sled. Thanks again. Lorraine

 

[Bas]

In addition to long runners, you will also need an outfeed table if you make a really large sled. And yes, the sled should be large. Any time you cut plywood, or a large glued-up board, you'll need it. I find that even 24" is too narrow now and then.

Having two sleds is smart. A small, manageable one for 80% of the cuts, and a great big heavy beast for the large work. If it's really big, attach it to the ceiling and use a winch! I made my sled out of 3/4 oak ply. That was a mistake. 1/2 is plenty, it doesn't need to be that heavy.

 

[gdoebs]

I think my latest issue of Fine Woodworking (#199) has a great article on building a very cool sled. I thought it was a pain to make one, so I just bought the Jessem Master Slide.

Good luck and post picts when you're done :gar-La;

 

[junquecol]

I have both a home made panel cutter (Norm's version) and a Dubby from In-Line Industries. I highly recommend the Dubby. You can do both ninety degree and angled cuts with the Dubby. I have the video showing how Norm built his (hint, hint). It is probably the simplest there is, and works well.

 

[mike_wood]

Rockler is having a sale on a sled now in case you are interested.

http://www.rockler.com/index.cfm?keyword=rockler&gclid=CP6Gz6f5npQCFQS7sgodviVqtg

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Rockler is having a sale on a sled now in case you are interested.

http://www.rockler.com/index.cfm?keyword=rockler&gclid=CP6Gz6f5npQCFQS7sgodviVqtg

That is a good deal on that unit! It has a lot of good features- accurate metal scale (printed or engraved?) like the Dubby, adjustable 90deg stop, nice fence with a sacrificial face and flip stop, adjustable miter slot bar. The only negative I see is it that it only comes in a left-of-blade sled.

You can't hardly make one for that price!!

 

[adowden]

I want to build one like Norm's sled. It seems very straight forward. Also Tage Frid explains step by step how to make one with pictures in Book 1: Joinery page 43-44. I made a sled like this for my old tablesaw. This sled is very similar to David Marks sled. It worked well, but I made it kinda large.

Amy

 

[lwhughes149]

I just spent birthday money so I guess I will make a sled. I think 1/2" would be best for me. I have an outfeed table behind my tablesaw so that will help. Thanks to all for the help. Happy 4th of July Lorraine

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Don't forget, with a wide sled you may need to extend your miter slots in your outfeed table.

 

[lwhughes149]

Allen, might have a problem there. My outfeed table consist of a work table that sits behind my tablesaw. In fact at the moment the outfeed table sits slightly lower than the tablesaw top. I understand what you are saying though. Thanks for the heads up. Lorraine

 

[ScottM]

In fact at the moment the outfeed table sits slightly lower than the tablesaw top.

Lorraine if your outfeed table is the same height as the bottom of the miter slots on the saw that also would work. I have been to your shop and I would suggest it might be easier to adjust the saw height to make that happen then your work table. I would also just tack in a couple short strips to work table to keep the sled from twisting when you reach the outfeed. If you countersink screws you can remove the strips when not needed.

 

[lwhughes149]

Good idea Scott

 

[Gary G]

Lorraine,
When you make the sled, pay particular attention to the runners you make.
Ideally, they should be just a hair thicker (taller) than the depth of your miter slot
and they should fit very snug so that there's no side to side movement. That's one
of the things which makes the sled truly useful. If there's slop side to side, you'll never get an accurate cut.
When I make mine, I make 'em a hair wide and sneak up on a perfect fit with a block plane. I like 'em so they grab a little when dry and slide easily when waxed.
YMMV,
G

 

[Woodman2k]

You can also make them narrower that your miter slots but mount them one at a time.Do the right side one first, mounting it perfectly straight using your fence as a guide then put your other strip in the left slot pushing it too the left with two sided tape on the top and lay your sled down with the other strip pushed against the right side of its slot.Set it down on the tape lift up and tack it in place and you are good to go.

You know,after proof reading this it would seem to be alot easier to show how to do this than explaining it here.I hope I made sense of it,it works really well and is very accurate.When you lay the sled down on the strips let alittle hang over into the blade path and cut it off as the first cut and the edge will be your guide.

 

[DaveO]

Lorraine,
When you make the sled, pay particular attention to the runners you make.
Ideally, they should be just a hair thicker (taller) than the depth of your miter slot
and they should fit very snug so that there's no side to side movement. G

Are you sure you meant what you said???? If the runners were taller than the miter slot depth, there is a very good chance that you cuts won't be plumb, and you would have increased friction while sliding the sled.
I have always made mine shallower than the slot and used a couple of dimes or pennies to raise them up flush for attachment.

Dave

 

[Sully]

I agree with DaveO. The runners should fit down in the miter slots completely lower than the table top surface. That way they do not bottom out on the miter slots when mounted on the sled. To mount them place them on pennies (I'm a cheapskate compared to DaveO).

The other trick/tip I would suggest would be to cut the sliders slightly less wide than the slots. Place both of them in the miter slots and push them toward the center of the saw (both inward towards one another) using playing cards (or index cards).Cut the cards off flush with the table top surface and then mount your sled on the sliders.

And finally, do not attempt to align your back fence at 90 degrees to the saw kerf until you have cut the kerf in the sled with the miter sliders in place (DAMHIKT). Furthermore, I prefer to use a MDF sacrificial face on the sled fence as it makes it easier to replace and/or fine tune the fence.

J

PS: Wax paper is an excellent way of you keeping your miter sliders nice and slippery. Just rub some wax paper over the sliders before every use and they will slip much easier.