Robert McGowen
01-25-2010, 10:11 AM
I made this sled specifically for cutting 15 degree segments. You can make it for any angle that you want, or even make it adjustable for different angles. I decided that a different sled for each angle would work best for me.
I am sure that there are many different ways to do this, but this is the way that I came up with that works best for me. (I re-used an old sled for the top, which is why there are so many holes in it already.)
The over-all view of the sled shows the basic parts.
I used an INCRA 1000 miter bar and handle for the runner in the miter slot. I found that this bar is superior to a handmade wooden runner. The bar is available separately from INCRA, so you do not need the entire miter gauge. I tried a sled with a runner in each miter slot, but I found that they "competed" against each other. It was simpler and worked better to have one well fitting bar in just one miter slot. The base is 2 pieces of 1/2" baltic birch plywood glued together. The basic parts are what I call the angle guide, the segment length guide, a hold-down for the segment being cut and also a hold-down for the piece of wood that the segment is being cut from. The back piece of wood is just a brace. There is a little piece of wood on the bottom right corner. I found that I kept reaching for something to push or pull back the sled with on the right side, even though it isn't really needed, so I added this to wrap my fingers around and pull back on the sled with.
I did not put a support on the right side of the blade that the board is on. I did this because any little variance in the straightness of the board is going to throw your angle off. It might not matter much in the inch or so that the segment makes up, but if the board is two feet long, it is certainly going to effect the way the board lines up on the segment end if the board is not perfectly straight. This way, as long as the one or two inches that is going to be the segment is fairly straight, you should get an accurate angle. I did end up compromising some, as I positioned the hold-down so that the corner of the base is up against the wood, which ended up supporting the wood quite well in two spots, the other spot being the hold-down itself.
I also cut a 15 degree angle on the end of the segment length guide. (Yes, I just drilled out the center of the stop on the drill press, but I am sure a router would do a much better job.) That way I can use it to cut pieces for feature rings, or triangles, etc.
The little piece of wood attached in front of the bridge at the front of the sled is for cutting small pieces of wood. The angled end lets the cut piece fall away from the blade and I know exactly where the blade is at all times. (I have 9.75 fingers thanks to a table saw and inattention and I don't plan on reducing that number any more!)
Please let me know if you have any upgrades that I might not have included or even an easier way to do things. Thanks!
I am sure that there are many different ways to do this, but this is the way that I came up with that works best for me. (I re-used an old sled for the top, which is why there are so many holes in it already.)
The over-all view of the sled shows the basic parts.
I used an INCRA 1000 miter bar and handle for the runner in the miter slot. I found that this bar is superior to a handmade wooden runner. The bar is available separately from INCRA, so you do not need the entire miter gauge. I tried a sled with a runner in each miter slot, but I found that they "competed" against each other. It was simpler and worked better to have one well fitting bar in just one miter slot. The base is 2 pieces of 1/2" baltic birch plywood glued together. The basic parts are what I call the angle guide, the segment length guide, a hold-down for the segment being cut and also a hold-down for the piece of wood that the segment is being cut from. The back piece of wood is just a brace. There is a little piece of wood on the bottom right corner. I found that I kept reaching for something to push or pull back the sled with on the right side, even though it isn't really needed, so I added this to wrap my fingers around and pull back on the sled with.
I did not put a support on the right side of the blade that the board is on. I did this because any little variance in the straightness of the board is going to throw your angle off. It might not matter much in the inch or so that the segment makes up, but if the board is two feet long, it is certainly going to effect the way the board lines up on the segment end if the board is not perfectly straight. This way, as long as the one or two inches that is going to be the segment is fairly straight, you should get an accurate angle. I did end up compromising some, as I positioned the hold-down so that the corner of the base is up against the wood, which ended up supporting the wood quite well in two spots, the other spot being the hold-down itself.
I also cut a 15 degree angle on the end of the segment length guide. (Yes, I just drilled out the center of the stop on the drill press, but I am sure a router would do a much better job.) That way I can use it to cut pieces for feature rings, or triangles, etc.
The little piece of wood attached in front of the bridge at the front of the sled is for cutting small pieces of wood. The angled end lets the cut piece fall away from the blade and I know exactly where the blade is at all times. (I have 9.75 fingers thanks to a table saw and inattention and I don't plan on reducing that number any more!)
Please let me know if you have any upgrades that I might not have included or even an easier way to do things. Thanks!