new table saw sled

[Kent Parker]

This sled is a bit smaller than most however it is more than adequate for my needs. Width capacity is about 12".

All multi-lam Baltic birch. As you can see its built for stability. 1" thick bottom.

I purchased a Kreg runner and cut it in half. The sides of the aluminum runners are tapped to accept plastic set screws that bear on the sides of the table saw miter grooves. Lets you take up any slack and can aid in alingment. Don't know yet how long the plastic will last but the runner does come with lots of extras. Bottom of the base was dadoed for the runners.

The fence, yeah its thick but very straight, is through bolted to the base. Base holes are fairly snug on the bolts but do allow for minute adjustment of the fence if needed. So far its right on ! I used teflon tape on the bottom at four areas. This is a heavy beast (19 lbs.) but slides so easily its a joy to use. I pray I never get a kick back.

The blue track for the clamp is Rockler. The clamp is ancient and I used a rubber drain plug on a piece of all thread for the adjustable bolt. The metal plate under the clamp is also Rockler. I'll probably make a clamp for the cut off side as well.

The walnut triangle at the rear covers the exposed saw blade

Cheers,

Kent

[Chuck Isaacson]

Looks great!!!!. When is mine going to be done?

[Roy Hess]

You did a very nice job on the sled. I also made mine rather heavy, "seems" to give a solid feel when in use and I like that. I appreciate that you take extra time to make your jigs not only functional, but look good as well !!

[Charlie Kocourek]

Looks Great! A nice sled is on my to do list.

[Kevin Fitzsimons]

Very nicely done! I use the Biesmeyer (sp?) sled which isn't made any more. It's very accurate and the aluminum fence is about 40" to the right of the blade which is great for fairly long cut-offs.
Like stated before, it's nice to see function and beautiful form in shop made accessories. It makes it a pleasure to use.

[Ben Bonif]

Real nice job Kent. The more I see these the more I realize it should maybe be #1 on my to do list.

One quick question if I may - do you think just using 3/4" BB ply would be structurely too weak for base only? I'm thinking a bit wider at 18" so weight might be issue for me taking off all the time for other thing.
Appreciate the feedback.

[Matt Meiser]

This IS #1 on my todo list. Planning to build a sled this weekend--thanks for the pictures!

[Kent Parker]

Ben,

I had originally planned to purchase 3/4" Baltic Birch for the sled but my supplier was out so I had to buy 1/2". It was one of those situations where I had a day off and didn't want to wait. I had to build something that day!

3/4" should be adequate for stability. I coated all of the sled with two coats of polyacyrlic, I think by Minwax. Makes a nice hard coating. I chose the semi gloss to minimize the glare of my shop lights.

One thing I didn't note in my first post is the addition of the removable zero clearance insert. I figured this area would get worn over time and wanted to have the option of easy replacement. My is just 1/4" thick solid poplar thought any light color wood/material would be good. The joint of the insert stops about 3/8" short of the fence so I can get it out.

Thanks for the comments!!

Cheers,

Kent

[Jerome Hanby]

Nice job. Looks like the design would scale up nicely if someone needed a bigger model...

[Terry Hatfield]

Super nice. Great design and execution.

t

[Bill Blackburn]

Excellent looking and functioning sled!