My Cross Cut Sled

[Corey Hallagan]

Well here it is! It turned out pretty well. Finally got my new blade as well. It wasn't without a few problems that were all worked out in the end. Cuts very sell and after making some cuts tonight it seems to be on, a project will really tell that story though but the cuts seem to be square. My big screw up is that i made the dado to low on the fence for the Ttrack and it only leaves me a 1 5/8 inch cut which I will rarely cut material thicker than 5/4 but it does eliminate me being able to gang cut stuff. I made this primarily for smaller panels and for box part cutting. The hold downs are in tnuts spaced every 2 inches and the hold downs are from Rockler but I need to get some of those quick toggle down clamps. These take a little to much time to set up for my taste. I will use them on the drill press table when I make it. Overall I am pleased with it for my first sled. I am sure I will make a list of what I don't like about it and build another one after that but should work very well for that. Here is a couple photos:

[Richard Wolf]

Nice looking sled Corey. Build some nice things with it.

Richard

[Dan Forman]

She's a beauty Corey, hope it serves you well.

Dan

[Roy Wall]

Corey,

Very nice! Good idea on the t-track -- I may steal that one from you:cool:

This will serve you well- thanks for sharing!

[Steve Clardy]

Nice Corey. Now all you need is a tape measure on that track.

[Peter Pedisich]

Corey,

Nice sled! Thanks for sharing the pics, gives me some ideas for a winter project.:rolleyes:

Pete

[Mark Singer]

Very nice ! I think it will really work well!

[Vaughn McMillan]

Corey, I started sending you this as a PM, since some of the others might disagree...or realize that I'm a fool, but then I figured that's common knowledge around here anyway, so I may as well share my foibles* with the gang. :p

I like your new crosscut sled. You mentioned that you accidentally installed the t-track too low. I don't know how many people do this, but you can cut the aluminum with the TS. I learned this quite accidentally when I installed a new fence on my sled a while back. Here's what happened:

Knowing that I wanted to have the blade go higher than the t-track, I intentionally used two pieces...one for the left side of the blade, and one for the right, leaving a 1" gap for the blade to pass through. I got everything installed, squared up, then raised the blade to the max to cut through the new fence. Fired up the saw, zinged my way through the fence, looked down, and then realized that I had put the two pieces of t-track on the opposite sides from where they were supposed to be, and had just cut through the t-track as if it was butter. This was with the carbide tipped combo blade that came with my TS. First thing I did was remove the blade and inspect it closely for damage to the teeth. None. Next, I tried cutting wood with the blade. Smooth as silk.

I ended up re-installing the t-track so I did have the 1" gap in the blade area, but I thought you might be interested to know you can cut through it with your saw. (I wouldn't use that nice new Freud blade, though.) :) Since then, I cut t-track one other time (using my sled, actually), but I used a real junker blade I have on hand (from my circular saw) and made sure I stayed out of the line of fire as I fed it slowly through the blade. It was a much cleaner cut than a hacksaw.

If I were in your shoes, I'd remove the track, cut an inch or so out of it where the blade zone is (with a hacksaw or carefully with the TS), then reinstall it.

Hope this helps -

- Vaughn

* Disclaimer: Kids, don't try this at home. I'm a professionally trained idiot.

[Corey Hallagan]

Thanks Guys! I want to thank everyone that helped me out with photos and information on building sleds. It helped a bunch! I think it will work well. Roy, a bunch of plans that I looked at had Ttrack used on them. Originally I was going to make my own Ttrack with a dado and then hardboard over the dado and then run a saw blade down it and make a 5/16 slot or slightly wider but I got impatient and went ahead and ordered the aluminum Rockler track. It's prettier anyway and is color cordinated with the hold downs :)

Vaughn, I saved you for last. Yes my freind I do know that a saw blade will cut aluminum and quite easily. You see there is a reason why I had to get the new Freud. If you were to look closely at my Incra miter jig, you would notice a perfect 45degree miter on the inside edge of the fence. Yes, I was paying more attention acutally to where my hands were in relation to the blade and didn't notice that I was cutting into the fence on the miter jig. It is a heavy aluminum fence with lots of I-beam like construction. It just sliced right thru it no swet. No damage to the fence other than the end nearest the blade has that perfect mitered corner!! Problem is, it did hurt my Dewalt combo blade. It did not break teeth. But it severely dulled the blade. Cross cuts fine like you said with very smooth cut, however it does not want to rip much and it vibrates when rippping. They do make blades for cutting aluminum and this one and my new freud do not reccomend cutting metal with it. I think I will do as you say and remove the Ttrack and cut it again. I will use the old dewalt blade for cutting thin MDF and other crap, it still powers thru that stuff. So you are not the only Pro Trained Idiot around!! :)
Thanks all,
Corey

[john whittaker]

Corey, you did a nice job. I've been following you posts on this project with interest as I will be building one of these some day.....if I ever get a TS. Right now all my cuts are done RAS style.

I've actually toyed with a design idea for a silding table used to rip on an RAS....extended fence and a slider that allows you to clamp down a board and rip while staying out of the line of fire....:rolleyes:

I've cracked my thumb and punched a few holes in the wall with flying walnut trying to rip on the darn thing.

So when I complete my sliding rip table for an RAS....Can I join you & Vaughn in the ranks of trained idiots?:p

[Bernie Weishapl]

Corey that is a nice sled you made. Beautiful job. I like the hold downs. On my hold downs I used T-Track where you have the holes so I could slide them for different widths of wood. That way if I had something that almost takes up the width of the sled I can just slide it clear to the front of the sled or away from me.

Corey I did the same thing Vaughn did except I removed my T-Track and cut it with a hacksaw. I was to chicken to cut it with a old table saw blade. I cut it in such a way I had a 1/4" clearance on each side where the blade went thru. As soon as I finish mine I will post pictures. Right now my number one priority is to get my flip top bench done before the new bandsaw gets here.

Bernie

[Corey Hallagan]

Thanks John & Bernie. John, are you looking for old iron in a table saw or going with a modern saw? Just curious. I ripped on an old craftsman radial saw once and it scared the H out of me! I should finish my miter sled in a couple days.

Bernie, I had already ordred a bunch of jig hardware and gotten couple packs of Tnuts. Then I decided to put a track in the fence so I just ordred the 20.00 4 foot track and hold down set. I didn't want to spend any more money at the time so I just stayed with the Tnuts. I would have preferred the track to. Actually, the hold downs are slotted and have an adjustable reach and spaced every 2 inches I can just about put one anywhere and reach any size board except extremely small stock at the fence location. I will be able to use the hold downs on my miter sled as well if I layed it out right.

Corey

[Bernie Weishapl]

Corey I was lucky one night and found T-Track, T-bolts and plastic nuts on ebay. The T-Track he was selling was 48" so I got two of them for about $36 with shipping. It had 8 t-bolts from 1" to 3" with the plastic nuts in each package. Now I just have to get mine together and I will send some pictures. Like I said I am in the middle of the flip top bench which I need to get done real soon before my saw gets here. I will post pic's of it to.

Look beautiful Corey now we just have to get them done and start making saw dust. :)


Bernie

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Corey, it sure does look great! I have saved this post for future reference. It is something I am hoping to get done this winter!

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Nicely done Corey! I am sure that one will give you years of service! I like the dogholes and hold downs...next one I build will have those as well!

[Michael Gabbay]

Corey - Nice sled. I need to remake mine one of these days. I like how long yours is. You can cut on both sides of the blade.

Mike

[Rich Torino]

Greata job Corey,

I really like the idea of the T slot. OK now how much for the plans...???

[Mac McAtee]

Beautiful work Corey. I think in use you will find the T-nuts and clamps not very useful.

I faced the surface of the back fence with some medium grade sanding belt. When you put a piece of wood in the sled and hold it against the fence it will not slip as the cut is made. Quick and simple.

If you make another one you might want to consider undercutting the back fence about 1/8" wide and 1/8" deep. Right where the fence meets the table. That gives you a place for sawdust that accumulates on the table a place to hide. Without that you will one day put a board on the sled. Pull it back against the fence, make a cut and find that the cut is not straight. It only takes a pinch of sawdust to hold the board off the fence and create a miss-cut.

[Mac McAtee]

And one other thought. The stop that slides in the T-slot will have to be completely removed from the sled in order to cut a piece that is longer than your sled.

Put a slot in that piece so you can lift it up above a board, if you wish, and clamp it out of the way instead of having to slide it all the way off the sled and then put it back on later.

[Christopher Stahl]

Good job Corey! I'm glad this topic has come up again, I need to build a new crosscut sled and I always want to hear how others are making them.

thanks,
chris

[Corey Hallagan]

Thanks again guys. Michael, this one is a version of about half a dozen sleds I have seen on the net and in other plans. All are basically the same except for how you trick it out. I think it is roughly 36 inches wide but I doubt I will cut much other than on the left side of the blade. Follow Mark Singers method of squaring up the front fence and basic construction and you can't go wrong.

Mac, you are probably right, the hold downs are not for a fast set up at all. I like the idea of being able to clamp down if I want to on a particular piece if I feel I need to. As I said, the toggle clamps would be faster when I want to do this... but they are a little pricey. I intended to put a kerf at the base of the fence and plain forgot to do it. This is a good idea that was used on several of the sleds I saw. I just got a head of myself.