Anyone use a coping sled?

[Bob Hallowell]

I am starting to make my kitchen cabinets, everytime I have made raised panel doors in the past I have just used a square peice of mdf with some sandpaper to push the end cuts through.
I got an email from infinity tools today with a nice looking coping sled and wondered if it would make life easier.

thanks
Bob

[Gary McKown]

Basically a flat panel that rides against the fence with a pusher handle, clamps and backer block setup (mine has more clamps than the usual offering, including one to hold only the sacrificial backer). I think the clamps are essential for precise coping of rails and stiles.

[John Carlo]

I use a Delta coping shed on one of my shapers and I like the clamping and release ease. I can clamp both the workpiece and the backer board and leave the backer in place for the next cut.

[Steve Clardy]

Self made sled with toggle clamp.

[Bill Huber]

Here is a post on them...

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=107378&highlight=coping

I use mine now that I rebuilt it and it works great.

[glenn bradley]

Shop made (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=43930&d=1154660657). Quick to make, simple and very reliable.

[Wayne Cannon]

I've used a square piece of 1" MDF with an attached handle and been very happy with it for short lengths. It's too unstable for longer lengths, however.

I love the flexibility of Woodhaven's coping sled, and use it for much more than just coping cuts. Glenn Bradley's example has similar capabilities.

Caution: Sled-style jigs do require some additional collet extension (depth of cut) by the thickness of the sled (1/4"-5/8"), which some routers can't do.

My sled: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41EW1AHKV4L._SL400_.jpg
Wodhaven's three sleds: http://woodhaven.com/search.htm?keyword=coping+sled

[Michael McCoy]

Infinity has one of their sleds on sale now for a bit less than $48. Just Google

infinity coping sled

and it should be the first hit. I have the big brother to the one on sale.

[John Lucas]

I have tried out three such commercial sleds and still go back to a square of mdf with a push handle screwed to it.

[Michael Heffernan]

I also have the big brother from Infinity to the one that is on sale. I have run a lot of panel door rails and stiles with it. This one (Infinity Pro sled) works great. Don't know about the one that is on sale.
IMO, I agree with others that whether it is bought or shop-made, a coping sled with hold-downs is quicker and more precise for repeatable copes, especially when building a lot of doors.

[Rod Sheridan]

I have a home made one that rides in the mitre slot, and one that rubs against the fence.

Both have DeStaco toggle clamps to hold the workpiece.

Regards, Rod.

[Brian D Anderson]

Yeah . . . shop made here too (about 3 weeks ago). I was going to buy one, but couldn't bring myself to do it based on how simple they are. I grabbed a toggle clamp from Harbor Freight, and some phenolic and a couple handles from Woodcraft. Grab some scraps and came up with this:

http://www.jfreitasphotography.com/Temp/IMG_8985.jpg

I think it ended up being about $30 in materials, most of which was for the phenolic.

-Brian

[Philip Rodriquez]

You are looking for a Darwin award without one. As you cope, the piece is not fully supported. This will allow the piece to shift or even get pulled in. I have a 3 hp shaper and I tried to cope without one. It pulled the entire piece in and spit out little chips. Thankfully, I only got a whack on my finger... but I'll never do it again.

[Randal Stevenson]

I have the Pinnacle one, storebought, secondhand. I was planning on building one, until I saw it on CL for less then the clamps to build one.
Recent purchase, haven't used it yet, but have tried dad's homebrew, after I sent him some links, pics, how to's.

[Noah Katz]

http://www.infinitytools.com/Safety-Coping-Sled/productinfo/COP-200/

[Bob Hallowell]

Thanks all,
I bought the infinity one. It was about as cheap as what I would of had in building one. Plus I needed a rosette cutter so I got free shipping. I don't think that what I was doing before was unsafe. I had good support behind the peice. but My results were not as as good as I wanted.

Bob

[jason lambert]

Good choice that infinity one looks nice. I have the rockler one similar to the home made. it works but have cut the bottom plate alot the above guide is much better. I just go the woodpecker one it looked nice but is also double the price, the one you got looks like the best bang for the buck.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I made one for about $10 a couple of years ago, for making tenons and half laps. I haven't made any doors yet, but it should work for it too.

Doc

[Stephen Edwards]

How do these coping sleds work? Do they ride in the miter track? I can't see from the pics. Or, do they ride against the fence? If they ride against the fence, how do you set that up?

I've never used one. Thanks for an explanation.

[David DeCristoforo]

Here are some pictures of my most recent "coping sled". Now before anyone gets too excited, let me say that I realize not everyone is going to want to or be able to make the enormous investment in time and materials needed to construct such a spectacular piece of work. And I really am not showing you these pictures to "gloat" or make anyone who has constructed their own sled feel inadequate in any way. I realize that this level of workmanship is quite beyond the "average" woodworker. But I did want to show what a little determination along with unlimited financial resources and time could produce. Eat your hearts out!

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[glenn bradley]

How do these coping sleds work? Do they ride in the miter track? I can't see from the pics. Or, do they ride against the fence? If they ride against the fence, how do you set that up?

I've never used one. Thanks for an explanation.

Some ride the fence, some like the Infinity have an outrigger/shield that rides the fence (I think) to keep the base away from the cutter. My shop made rides in the miter track so it always travels the same path. That path, of course, should miss your largest set of bits ;-)

[Nathan Callender]

Here are some pictures of my most recent "coping sled". Now before anyone gets too excited, let me say that I realize not everyone is going to want to or be able to make the enormous investment in time and materials needed to construct such a spectacular piece of work. And I really am not showing you these pictures to "gloat" or make anyone who has constructed their own sled feel inadequate in any way. I realize that this level of workmanship is quite beyond the "average" woodworker. But I did want to show what a little determination along with unlimited financial resources and time could produce. Eat your hearts out!

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My gosh David, the research to determine the optimal hole pattern in the base must have taken ages!

[Chris Tsutsui]

David, most of us don't have a shop big enough to accomodate a sled of that size, nor the transportation to purchase 4x10' sheets. ;)

If I save up my lunch money I can just get this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Rockler-TACJP-7-Rail-Coping-Jig/dp/B001DT33ZG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1253226295&sr=8-2

I suppose I could spend $30 in materials and make my own, but since I will probably mess up twice making one, I am actually saving $30 by getting one pre-made.

It will also save me a few work days and my long list of jigs to be built doesn't have to get any longer.

[David DeCristoforo]

"I suppose I could spend $30 in materials..."

I think my actual investment was closer to fifty cents. Well... OK, I already had the DeStaCo clamp and the sandpaper. If you count those, the price goes up...

[Chris Tsutsui]

Oops, the $30 part was referring to the post above that had the phenolic table jig that looks similar to the rockler one.

Now that I think more about it, I would make one similar to yours but my plywood is from the borg and most of them arn't flat.

[Steve Walls]

Woodpecker came out with a new sled, that looks real nice.

http://www.woodpeck.com/copingsled.html#1417

[Peter Quinn]

Here are some pictures of my most recent "coping sled". Now before anyone gets too excited, let me say that I realize not everyone is going to want to or be able to make the enormous investment in time and materials needed to construct such a spectacular piece of work. And I really am not showing you these pictures to "gloat" or make anyone who has constructed their own sled feel inadequate in any way. I realize that this level of workmanship is quite beyond the "average" woodworker. But I did want to show what a little determination along with unlimited financial resources and time could produce. Eat your hearts out!

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Add a little duck tape and mine looks a lot like David's. I also have a "fancy" one that does miter'd copes, has a backer held on with toilet bolts in a t slot through the fence so it can be refreshed in seconds and reused many times, and set screws in the miter bar to take up ANY slop should such a thing develop. It cost all of $25 and a few hours to build. At work i use a miter gauge with a backer and a rub collar on the shaper. Not my favorite method, but its the house speciality, I can count to ten, and it works.

On the router table its pretty much a square block of MDF with a handle for me. A coping sled helps with wrist fatigue on larger jobs, but if either your shaper or router table is sucking in parts, you have set it up wrong and should rethink your fence arrangement. I like sleds for speed, comfort, and the safety they provide, but it pretty much works without them in a pinch.

[Stephen Edwards]

Some ride the fence, some like the Infinity have an outrigger/shield that rides the fence (I think) to keep the base away from the cutter. My shop made rides in the miter track so it always travels the same path. That path, of course, should miss your largest set of bits ;-)

Thanks for the explanation. I can see that I'm gonna have to build one of these for myself. I get a charge outta building jigs and fixtures for myself. It's fun, usually much less expensive than a commercial version and I feel like I'm learning and honing my skills when I make my own jigs, even if I do have to make them twice, sometimes! You know, the first one being an intentional prototype for scientific advancement. Yeah, dat's it. ;)