Odd table saw miter slots VS cross cut sled design

[Kris Laib]

I've got a 10" Craftsman bench table saw (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921805000P) that has between 1/16" and 1/8" of slop in the miter gauge (go figure..). After doing some researching to figure out what my options are to get a more accurate cross cut, I decided to make a cross cut sled using the 2 miter slots.

After I picked up some oak to use as the miter bar material on the sled, I went to measure the miter slots I noticed that this saw doesn't have typical t-track miter slots. Instead, it has what amounts to a dadoed slot with a couple of "wings" to keep the supplied miter gauge in the slot.

http://67.222.37.191/HostedPics/Woodworking/3-31-10/P1000450.jpg

http://67.222.37.191/HostedPics/Woodworking/3-31-10/P1000452.jpg

I'm a little at a loss for the best way to create the sled miter bars. I can't make the bar the full width of the slot, because it won't be able to get past the wings. If I make the bar the width of the wings, then it only has support on 2 points of the slot.

Should I shave off the "wings" on the table so I can make the miter bar the full width of the table's miter slot? Does it make more sense to rabbet notches in the top of my new miter bars to clear the wings at the top of the bar? Or am I missing a better approach?

Thanks for any advice!

[John A. Callaway]

I purchased this same saw last year and returned it two days later. Never even made a cut with it. Everything was out of square. The fence was over 1/4 inch out from front to back of blade... and blade run out was way over several thousandths of an inch... dont remember the exact measure. the needle on the gauge went almost half way around the dial....could not get the bevel setting to line up either....maybe it was a lemon...even for a craftsman.

The reason they put those weird miter slots on there is so the big sleds and miter gauges wont fit on it. the general consensus is that the motors in those saws are not strong enough to handle thick hardwoods and the extra strain those large jigs put on them.... same thing with a dado set... that saw will only accept a 6 inch dado set... and I think the manual says no larger than a 1/2 inch dado set to keep from straining the motor...

you can try to maybe grind those wings off with a dremel or a grinding wheel... but I am making no guarantees there either.

what ever you do... dont strain that motor too hard. dont want to burn it up.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Gor to the search bar and then select Advanced search.

Use the word sled as the keyword to search for and use Nissim Avrahami as the user.


The late Nissim Avrahami was a true master of coming to terms with workarounds. He whipped up several variations of sleds that worked without using the miter slots.

Some are farily elaborate - such as his "sliding table" made of inexpensive laminate flooring - and others are simple arrangements that ride on the outside perimiter of the saw's table.

In his usual style, he also included several captioned pictures show "how to" in step by step.

[johnny means]

rabbet your runners on the top.

[Ben Hatcher]

I try using that slight bump on the bottom center of each slot. That plus the tabs just might be tall enough to provide the alignment you need.

[Tony Shea]

Save up for a new saw. If that's not an option I would try and make rabbets on the miter bars. That or use the edges of the table as a guide for the sled. Make it so it hugs your table saws top on both sides of the extension wings.

[Lee Schierer]

Make the bars in your slots in the shape of an upside down T and go under the tabs.

[Michael Liechty]

or get some extruded aluminum and use that as a bar.

ML

[Kevin Lucas]

I just tackled that on my craftsman saw for a panel guide. The guides width is an odd ball size for sure. I used a combination of a router table and a straight bit to make the upside down T and ran the bottom over the table saw with just a smidge of blade raised and ran it just off center and flipped it so I could fit over that ridge in the bottom.

The other project for it was making a zero clearance insert for it. I hated that one that came with it. It ended up pretty thin where it sat over the screw wings and that 45 edge was a pain but I got it. I found some plastic sheeting scrap about an 1/8 thick and shaved the insert until it sat that deep then glued the plastic on so it was flush with the top.

Both took some finessing but worked fine. I made sure to make the runner long enough to sit under that back wing so I knew it was riidng well and no tipping of the heavy plywood I used for the rest of the accessory.

[Phil Thien]

Add some masking tape to the area of the slot before and after the wings.

Get a file (remove the handle) and remove the wings.

[Kris Laib]

Thanks for all the input everybody! I hope to spend some time on it this weekend, I'll report back with how it works out.


I used a combination of a router table and a straight bit to make the upside down T and ran the bottom over the table saw with just a smidge of blade raised and ran it just off center and flipped it so I could fit over that ridge in the bottom.

I think this is going to be the first thing I attempt, makes good sense to me, and gives me a reason to practice with some more toys (I'm somewhat new to woodworking, and always looking for an excuse to play).



Save up for a new saw. If that's not an option I would try and make rabbets on the miter bars. That or use the edges of the table as a guide for the sled. Make it so it hugs your table saws top on both sides of the extension wings.

Sadly, though cost is an issue, space is even more of one. If a brand new shiny contractor saw magically showed up in my driveway for free, I'd probably just have to sell it due to space issues. :( If I can't get the miter slots to work out, I probably will move on to a sled that hugs the outside of the tables. Thanks for the idea!