glenn bradley
04-25-2009, 2:24 PM
I was actually planning ahead for Christmas gifts this year and so am putting together some small boxes out of old packing material. These are dummys so that LOML can pass judgment on which styles I will make a batch of for real.
This led me to search for my bevel sled. I haven't seen it for a year or so. It ended up being hidden behind some cutoff panels leaning on the freezer. A quick 5-cut test showed all was still square so away I go.
The reason for the post is that sometimes folks will mention things in passing or I will see something in the background of an unrelated post and think "Oh yeah, I meant to do something like that". So, since I dug this out, here you go.
This is built almost to my (now) standard sled build. 3/4" BB ply base, 1-1/2" thick rear fence and a 2" thick front fence. The fences on this guy are a bit thinner since that is what I had on hand when I slapped him together. I keep all my front fence heights close to the same (3-1/2") to allow better use of stops and such.
I didn't put ZCI's on this one as it is just for 45*. The way I build my sleds, ZCI's can be added later if I decide to expand the sled's use. Here's an overall view with a couple other sleds in the background to show the family resemblance. The middle sized one has a sacrificial fence clamped on with a key installed for some box joints I was doing last. As you can see, I am a big fan of a large dummy-block to bury the blade into. For reference, I call the fence that is closest to me when using the sled the "front" fence. Maybe that's backwards(?).
116598
Here's a shot of the bottom. The runners happen to be red oak but I have used UHMW and aluminum as well. You can see the four fence adjustment t-bolts. This is a key element in my choice of sled design as it assures adjustability and a long life.
116599
Close up of the t-bolt pocket. I drill the two extreme ends with a Forstner and use a chisel to make the two round holes into a connected oval. The t-bolts are 1/4" shaft and the through hole in the base is 3/8". The through holes in the fence are a real tight fit to the bolt shaft. All the adjustment is in the 3/8" hole in the base and the oval pocket.
116600
The bolts and their associated washers and locking nuts are recessed into the top of the front fence to allow holddowns and stops to be placed without restriction.
116601
The track is positioned right over the runners and screwed to them through the base. The Forstner hole at the rear fence end of the track dado allows access to get the t-bolt head into the track.
116602
This led me to search for my bevel sled. I haven't seen it for a year or so. It ended up being hidden behind some cutoff panels leaning on the freezer. A quick 5-cut test showed all was still square so away I go.
The reason for the post is that sometimes folks will mention things in passing or I will see something in the background of an unrelated post and think "Oh yeah, I meant to do something like that". So, since I dug this out, here you go.
This is built almost to my (now) standard sled build. 3/4" BB ply base, 1-1/2" thick rear fence and a 2" thick front fence. The fences on this guy are a bit thinner since that is what I had on hand when I slapped him together. I keep all my front fence heights close to the same (3-1/2") to allow better use of stops and such.
I didn't put ZCI's on this one as it is just for 45*. The way I build my sleds, ZCI's can be added later if I decide to expand the sled's use. Here's an overall view with a couple other sleds in the background to show the family resemblance. The middle sized one has a sacrificial fence clamped on with a key installed for some box joints I was doing last. As you can see, I am a big fan of a large dummy-block to bury the blade into. For reference, I call the fence that is closest to me when using the sled the "front" fence. Maybe that's backwards(?).
116598
Here's a shot of the bottom. The runners happen to be red oak but I have used UHMW and aluminum as well. You can see the four fence adjustment t-bolts. This is a key element in my choice of sled design as it assures adjustability and a long life.
116599
Close up of the t-bolt pocket. I drill the two extreme ends with a Forstner and use a chisel to make the two round holes into a connected oval. The t-bolts are 1/4" shaft and the through hole in the base is 3/8". The through holes in the fence are a real tight fit to the bolt shaft. All the adjustment is in the 3/8" hole in the base and the oval pocket.
116600
The bolts and their associated washers and locking nuts are recessed into the top of the front fence to allow holddowns and stops to be placed without restriction.
116601
The track is positioned right over the runners and screwed to them through the base. The Forstner hole at the rear fence end of the track dado allows access to get the t-bolt head into the track.
116602