Incra Miter Express questions

[Kelly Colin Mark]

Incra recommends you mount the sled on the right side of the blade for left-tilting saws (I have a Sawstop contractors saw).

I understand this is so that you don't trap the workpiece when cutting at an angle.

But in my case (sled on right side of blade), isn't the zero-clearance benefit on the right side compromised if you ever use blades with different kerf sizes? i.e. you wouldn't have zero-clearance on the right side when switching back to a smaller kerf blade ?

And doesn't this require recalibrating your measuring system on the right side whenever you switch kerf sizes, whereas if the sled was on the left side of a left-tilt blade, the measuring scales would remain accurate even if thicker blades were used ?

Or does the possibility of different tooth projections from the main saw blade body render the above pointless anyways ?

Something I've been obsessing about before cutting into the panels.

[glenn bradley]

The variation in saw tooth width will foil your zero clearance approach on this type of sled on either side of the arbor. I have a selection of blades that I have made at .125" kerf for certain purposes and this could solve your dilemma. The perpetual solution for a general purpose sled is a swappable / replaceable ZCI. I do not know that the Incra would allow this modification but, it would certainly influence my decision on a commercial product. Otherwise, as you state, the first anomalous cut or blade kerf blows the "zero" setting. I make my sleds with replaceable inserts for the bed and fence for just this reason. One of the great benefits of a zero clearance insert is the visible indication of exactly where the blade is going to cut. If this "zero" is off by 1/128" it is useless to me for any form of precision work. YMMV.