Do I need more than one sled?

[Glen Blanchard]

I will be making a crosscut sled eventually and have not been able to decide if I should make one or two of them. My indecision comes regarding the tilt of the blade. Should I just build one sled for all uses regardless of the blade angle or should I make one dedicated to 90 degree cuts and another for 45 degree miters? I like being able to see exactly where the kerf will be and this gets a bit mucked up if the same sled is used for various blade angle cuts. On the other hand, my shop is already crowded with stuff. I keep going back and forth on this. Any words of wisdom to help me make a definitive decision?

[Jamie Buxton]

I keep three around. Two are the ones you're contemplating, although I'd call the 45 degree one a bevel, not a miter. That's because my third sled has two 45 miters on it -- left and right.

[JayStPeter]

I keep two complete sleds handy at all times. First and foremost is my Jointech. The second is my wide panel sled. It is a large sled for crosscuts up to 36".

Most of the time, I use my Incra miter gauge for bevel work. But, I also keep the makings of quick/dirty sleds around for when I need one for a specific task. I've made a bunch of miter sliders out of UHMW that I can grab and a piece of Al angle with some holes and slots for the fence. It only takes 10 minutes or so to make a custom sled. Depending on its purpose, it can take longer to tweak it.

Jay

[Dan Cameron]

Glen, although you see many sleds made with two runners, a sled with a single, precise fitting runner is a better design. And with a single runner sled one can use one miter slot for 90 degree cuts with zero clearance and the other slot can be used for bevel cuts or dados.

Dan

[frank shic]

glen, my recommendation: NONE OF THE ABOVE! :p if you have some space to spare around your table saw, i would HIGHLY recommend a sliding table. i built a couple of crosscutting sleds over the last year but i hated having to remove the blade guard, haul the beast onto the table saw and then push it back and forth. finally, i bought the delta sliding table and after spending some time installing it and calibrating it, i can now cut PERFECTLY 90 degrees without having to remove the blade guard or exert much effort in pushing it back and forth, plus it's ALWAYS set up and it allows you to make repeated cuts EASILY thanks to the flip-stop. i don't cut a lot of miters on my table saw, but the sliding table allows you to adjust the fence angle fairly easily.

anyways, if you can't do the above, you're probably better off with either two sleds set to 90 degrees and 45 degrees or one sled with an adjustable fence. take a look at the dubby sled from in-line products.

good luck!

[Brad Tallis]

Hello Glen-

If you are making your own sleds, I recommend making at least two sleds. Make a large one for cutting panels, and make a smaller one for cutting smaller pieces.

The reason I say this is that I made a large sled, but the thing weighs so much and is so bulky, I hate to have to heft it onto my tablesaw just to cut off a piece of wood that is only 2 inches wide (see attached pictures). So I end up not using it that much.

If I made a smaller one (like only for wood less than 12 inches wide), it would be smaller and easier to move around. I plan on making this smaller sled soon...

Hope this helps.

Brad

http://home.comcast.net/%7Estarjumper/images/IMG_0531.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/%7Estarjumper/images/IMG_0532.JPG

[Vaughn McMillan]

I don't have the book handy, but as I recall Jim Tolpin's Tablesaw Magic shows a crosscut sled with a removable insert (sort of like a ZCI for the sled). That way, you can have a single sled, with dedicated inserts for each different bevel you need to cut.

- Vaughn

[Alan Turner]

Anopther way to do it is to put a piece of 1/4" plywood onto the sled, screwed down tight, and then you can remove it for the bevel cuts, and install if for the 90* cuts, and it will still be a zero clearance insert. This is not my idea, but is from a FWW tip, I think.

[Mike Cutler]

The book, "the Jigs& Fixtures Bible by R.J. DeCristoforo has a " Master Table SawJig project. If I didn't already have a sled, I'd be building this one. I believe it incorporates a removable/replacable ZCI.
On word of advice. Build the best crosscut sled you can, don't skimp on materials, or construction because it will last a long time and get a lot of use. The most accurate, repeatable, 90 deg. device I have in my shop is a homemade sled that cost nothing. If I ever get inspired I'll be making another one, and my Incra 2000 will collect dust.

[Mark Singer]

I have 2 one zero clearance for 90 degree and one with a 3/4 slot for angles and dados and rabbets.