Making my own crosscut sled...

[Jason White]

I'm using 1/2" MDF for the base and some old, dry douglas fir 2x4's milled flat and square for the front and back fences.

I'm wondering about the best method for attaching the fences to the base so I can adjust for square in the future as need be.

Was thinking maybe "connector bolts" or "cross dowels" like they sell at Rockler and Woodcraft (see pictures), but would appreciate hearing what others here have used.

Thanks!

Jason

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Jason, when I made mine I used a connector bolt at the pivot, and a propel nut and knob at the outboard end to allow for a slight tweak.

Regards, Rod.

[Jerome Hanby]

I used 3/4" MDF for the base and poplar doubled up for the fence. I cut a shallow rabbet in the MDF and glued and screwed the fence through countersunk holes. I fussed with attaching my runners to make sure the fence was square to the blade.

[Bill Huber]

When I made mine I put a big wood screw in the one end to hold it down and then did all the squaring. Once I had it square I clamped some scrap to the base against the fence to keep it square and then just screwed and glued the fence to the base.

[Jaze Derr]

lol, how did you get into my shop and finish my crosscut sled? those are my exact materials, too.

Mine is going to be a double runner sled, though, so I am going to square the fence to the saw blade kerf using drafting triangles. There's a couple good descriptions of the technique floating around.

[glenn bradley]

I used toilet bolts (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=56136&d=1169860870). A 1/4" hole in the fence for the 1/4" shaft. A 3/8" through hole with an oval counterbore to allow forward and back movement. Two bolts on either side of the kerf.

[Michael Peet]

Hi Jason,

I made mine like Glen in this thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=127651).

Here's the idea:

148188

The lag bolts go down through oversized holes in the fence cross-piece into the fixed base piece. You adjust with a set screw at each end and then tighten the bolts down. I used 4.

Mike

[Alan Schwabacher]

If the sled is for square cuts, I think it is simpler to set the fence as close to square as possible using a framing square, and glue and screw it down. Then make a face for the fence and screw it on to the primary fence. Masking tape between the two works well to adjust it very accurately. Adjustment entails removing the face, modifying the tape, and replacing the face. The face is set above the base to provide space for dust.

[Tony Shea]

I ended up using some aluminum angle stock to mount my fece to the a 3/4" MDF sled base. I drilled holes in the andle for 1/4-20 bolts recessed in the bottom of the mdf and reemed the angle out a bit bigger than the 1/4" bolt to give room for adjustment. Then I mounted my fence to the angle and made sure it was square to the base and the blade (as close as I could get it). Then I used the 5 cut method to get my fence absolutely square, and I really mean absolutely square. What a beautiful method to square a crosscut fence, no way compares to just using a square layed down of the sled. It took a lot of test cuts to get it dialed in but when I finished I ended up with an off-cut that was exacty the same size from top to bottom down to .001" across a 20" span. I was actually not expecting to get it that close but was incredibly happy when I did. I can't even get my Incra 1000SE miter gauge close to that accurate.

Needless to say I highly recomend being able to adjust your fence even after it is bolted down as using a square is a shotty method to get an exact 90* crosscut. USE the 5 cut method and shim it out with paper or somthething similar. The longer and wider the peices you have to crosscut are the more error is going to show up if not dialed in exact.

[Bob Elliott]

Mike,

Do you have a Sketchup file for this sled? It looks like you included a Sketchup screen shot in your post.

Bob


Hi Jason,

I made mine like Glen in this thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=127651).

Here's the idea:

148188

The lag bolts go down through oversized holes in the fence cross-piece into the fixed base piece. You adjust with a set screw at each end and then tighten the bolts down. I used 4.

Mike

[Eric DeSilva]

The face is set above the base to provide space for dust.

If I was redoing mine, I'd probably cut a slight bevel in the back fence where the base meets the fence for precisely this reason. I find myself blowing dust out of the corner a lot, and a slight bevel would probably go a long way.

I didn't make mine adjustable. Just was real careful squaring it to begin with. Since I used scrap stuff, if it ever goes outta square, I'd probably just make a new one...

[Michael Peet]

Mike,

Do you have a Sketchup file for this sled? It looks like you included a Sketchup screen shot in your post.

Bob

Hi Bob,

Sort of. I have a model of the main stuff, but it looks like I didn't save the version with the bolts and micro-adjusters for some reason.

157486

Holler if you have any questions -

Mike