Crosscut sled on a slider

[Jeff Monson]

So I needed to cut some 2" x 2" squares I had veneered up for a chessboard. The one thing that I really miss about my old cabinet saw was the crosscut sled that I had made.....so Saturday I spend and hour or so and made one for my slider. The sled worked great, easy on and off, very accurate cuts. Just curious if anyone else has done this?

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Jeff, I made a jig that is clamped to my slider for ripping small plastic pieces.

It works great, only use it once a year kind of thing..........Rod.

[Larry Fox]

Jeff - I don't understand. I kinda view my slider AS a very big and highly accurate crosscut-sled.

[Rod Sheridan]

Larry, I view it the same way, in my case however I had to make a jig to hold a 1/2" X 1/2" X 4" strip that had to be ripped in half..........Rod.

[Jeff Monson]

Jeff - I don't understand. I kinda view my slider AS a very big and highly accurate crosscut-sled.

Yeah me too Larry, but I don't like cutting small things on the slider. I'll also add my outrigger is not on my saw much as space is an issue, I don't get accurate, repeatable cuts with the short crosscut fence that I use most of the time, so I figured a crosscut sled may be a better option. For cutting 2" squares it worked amazingly well. I use the stop block for the crosscut fence as a stop for the sled, that way it goes onto the same portion of the slider each time.

[Rich Enders]

Another option would be the Charlie Plesums version of the "Fritz and Franz" jig. www.solowoodworker.com/mm/rip.html will get you to his site, and the Fritz and Franz original is also available there. It is a clever way of safely holding work on a slider.

[Mike Konobeck]

There was a lengthy thread a while ago titled "Observations on Euro style sliding saw". Check it out as there were a few ideas. I built a jig that worked great for small pieces based on a few of the ideas thrown around.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?198099-Observations-on-Euro-style-sliding-saws/page9

[Larry Fox]

Yeah me too Larry, but I don't like cutting small things on the slider. I'll also add my outrigger is not on my saw much as space is an issue, I don't get accurate, repeatable cuts with the short crosscut fence that I use most of the time, so I figured a crosscut sled may be a better option. For cutting 2" squares it worked amazingly well. I use the stop block for the crosscut fence as a stop for the sled, that way it goes onto the same portion of the slider each time.

Cool - thanks for the explanation Jeff. I thought I was doing something wrong. :) I keep the outrigger off my saw most of the time as well. For a short crosscut fence I use the one from my Jessem Masr-R-Slide. I have the slide mounted on my shaper but I had a machinist make me some solid brackets that mount in the top and side T-tracks on the slider that mount the fence to. They are solidly attached so I can remove and replace the fence to install other jigs. Works out well.

[johnny means]

Hey, Jeff. What, no pics? Are you using the carriage or locking it in place and using the tables slot?

[Peter Quinn]

I've made a few for moving small parts past the big blade. Usually involves some Baltic birch scraps, a maple fence. I have some aluminum t's I made up on the Bridgeport to clamp things in the slider slot. I'm still using the carraige for movement, just need a backer and effective clamping strategy for small parts. I've made a few for miters, much easier to adjust and manipulate than the outrigger on a 10' slider, and on a long job at work where other guys are making cuts in between, it makes more friends not to tie up the primary panel saw on a weird angle for days. Come to think of it that's would be handy in the home shop. I know they sell premade angle jigs, but for the early $800 they cost I can buy a nearly lifetime supply of birch ply and cutoffs.

[Brent Ring]

Another option would be the Charlie Plesums version of the "Fritz and Franz" jig. www.solowoodworker.com/mm/rip.html (http://www.solowoodworker.com/mm/rip.html) will get you to his site, and the Fritz and Franz original is also available there. It is a clever way of safely holding work on a slider.

Has anyone built and used this jig besides Charlie? Not that I doubt the usefulness of it, but it seems super easy and very useful. I will probably make one this week.

[Jeff Monson]

Hey, Jeff. What, no pics? Are you using the carriage or locking it in place and using the tables slot?

LOL, sorry Johnny, not near professional enough of a sled to take pics of. I use the carriage to move the sled. The rear of the sled indexes on the block in the slider t-track that is used for the short crosscut fence. Super easy on and off. I may have to add a t-track with a stop block in a future build. I have seen the "hans and frans" design, but for small cuts I like to have a sled that supports both sides of the cut. I thought at 1st I might be loosing my mind by building this, but I have used it a couple times since and I will have to admit, it works extremely well.

[David L Morse]

Has anyone built and used this jig besides Charlie? Not that I doubt the usefulness of it, but it seems super easy and very useful. I will probably make one this week.

Yes. It works well and I use it often. Definitely worth the effort of building.
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[Tony Haukap]

So I needed to cut some 2" x 2" squares I had veneered up for a chessboard.I have made a couple of chessboards over the years and never once did I have to cut individual squares, if you know the 'trick' all you have to do is cut strips.

[Mike Ruggeri]

I use jigs on my slider all the time. I also use a variation of the cross-cut fence but it is build with angled blocks to do 45 degree cuts. The 45 degree jig has a strip that fits into the "mitre guage slot" in the slider so it is always indexed correctly. For the plain cross cut sled, I just do as you do and clamp it to the rail of the sliding table.

Mike

[johnny means]

I was thinking the same thing.

For those interested. What the OP could have done is glue up his 2" strips into a striped lamination of 8 strips. Then cross cut that into eight 2" strips which could then be arranged into a chess board pattern.

[Jim Becker]

I have made a few different types of "sleds" for my slider to make certain operations easier, especially when they are repetitive. It's part of the process of moving from a north American cabinet saw to a slider and making the environment work best for the type of things you personally do.