Rick Hubbard
10-24-2009, 10:15 AM
Not long ago I was at a Rockler store and spotted their router table sled. It seemed like a pretty good set up, but I decided to try building my own version (thinking of course that I could save some money AND maybe incorporate some new features). Here are some pictures of what I came up with.
I used ¾ inch plywood for the table base. From Rockler I bought an 18 inch miter bar that fits in the slot on my router table. I also buried two pieces of Rockler T Track in the sled base the purpose of which is to hold the two adjustable clamps, which in turn “lock down” the stock being routed. All this is pretty much standard stuff for any router table sled.
Two things make this sled a little unique. First, I routed an inset that permits the use of replaceable zero-clearance inserts (that I made from 3/8 inch AC plywood). Second, I designed the back of the fence so that I could use adjustable index pins of various sizes for routing precisely spaced dados.
The first picture (11) shows the completed sled with three of the ZC inserts;
The second picture (12) shows the table with the hold-down clamps in place;
The third picture (13) shows an assortment of indexing blocks that mount behind the fence with the index pin protruding under the fence (4 sizes);
The fourth picture (14) is a close up showing the ¼ index pin mounted so that dados can be cut exactly 2 inches apart from one another;
The fifth picture (15) shows the indexing block mounted on the sled.
I didn’t keep track of the total cost since most of the materials was stuff I had laying around the shop but I’d estimate it could be built for around half of what the Rockler version cost. Also, not that the Rockler version has an adjustable rear fence (for cutting angled dados) while mine does not.
I used ¾ inch plywood for the table base. From Rockler I bought an 18 inch miter bar that fits in the slot on my router table. I also buried two pieces of Rockler T Track in the sled base the purpose of which is to hold the two adjustable clamps, which in turn “lock down” the stock being routed. All this is pretty much standard stuff for any router table sled.
Two things make this sled a little unique. First, I routed an inset that permits the use of replaceable zero-clearance inserts (that I made from 3/8 inch AC plywood). Second, I designed the back of the fence so that I could use adjustable index pins of various sizes for routing precisely spaced dados.
The first picture (11) shows the completed sled with three of the ZC inserts;
The second picture (12) shows the table with the hold-down clamps in place;
The third picture (13) shows an assortment of indexing blocks that mount behind the fence with the index pin protruding under the fence (4 sizes);
The fourth picture (14) is a close up showing the ¼ index pin mounted so that dados can be cut exactly 2 inches apart from one another;
The fifth picture (15) shows the indexing block mounted on the sled.
I didn’t keep track of the total cost since most of the materials was stuff I had laying around the shop but I’d estimate it could be built for around half of what the Rockler version cost. Also, not that the Rockler version has an adjustable rear fence (for cutting angled dados) while mine does not.