Table Saw Sled/Miter Sled

[Robert Stanton]

I am in the process of planning a sled build. I have seen some nice miter jigs incorporated into the sled. My question is...Does a miter sled perform better than a good chop saw?

[Lee Schierer]

It depends......how good is the chop saw and how well has it been aligned. It also depends on how accurately the miter sled is made. I made a miter sled similar to this one and with some slight tweaks after it was made, I can consistently make accurate 90 corners. With this type of jig, always cut mating pieces one from each side of the 90 on the sled.
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However, I find that my Kreg miter gauge gives repeatable 45 degree angle (and several others) cuts with less work getting it made and set up so it makes perfect cuts.
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[Von Bickley]

I get the best results with a Incra 1000 HD.

[Mike Manning]

I get the best results with a Incra 1000 HD.

I also get great results for what I do with my Incra 1000 SE and HE miter gauges.

[Robert Stanton]

Seems like everyone uses something other than a chop saw for accurate miter cuts. Thanks for the info.

[Doug Hepler]

Robert,

If I still had my table saw I would use my simple miter sled for all angled cuts. This gave me excellent accuracy for years. You can have a look at my notes on this located here (http://plaza.ufl.edu/chepler/). This is also described in Chapter 16 of my book.

Since I downsized, I have tweaked my very inexpensive Craftsman SCMS to do that. It takes a bit more adjustment but I cut segments for turning blanks with it. I'm not alone doing this. I decided to try the SCMS on the recommendation of Malcom Tibbetts, a professional artist in the field of segmented turning. So, if you have a TS make a sled for it. But a SCMS is a very workable alternative.

For the very best accuracy for 45 deg joints, consider a shooting board.

Doug

[Bruce Wrenn]

Before building, check out the "Dubby" from In-Line-Industries. Jerry Cole, the inventor, peddles them at The Wood Working Shows. My only regret is that I didn't buy one sooner.

[Phillip Gregory]

Seems like everyone uses something other than a chop saw for accurate miter cuts. Thanks for the info.

Chop saws are generally pretty lightweight and don't keep their adjustments nearly as well as a larger, heavier, stationary tool. You can adjust a miter saw to give accurate cuts, and it will, for a while, and then often wiggle a little bit on you and no longer be accurate. I view them as being good at what they were designed for- a portable tool suited for construction sites where "close" is good enough.

I use an ex-industrial radial arm saw to do nearly all of my crosscutting and miters. I use a small miter sled on the cabinet saw to cut 45 degree miters on very small parts a few inches long that would have my hand too close to the RAS's blade, and a miter gauge set at 90 degrees on the cabinet saw to crosscut similarly short pieces. Both setups are set and forget, stay in adjustment, and are more accurate than a chop saw, not to mention far quieter and have much better dust collection.

[Cary Falk]

I only use a chop saw for rough work. For the important cuts I use an Incra 1000HD and a Miter Express. I made a sled once. I couldn't get it as accurate as I wanted. It was big and hard to store. Then you need a sled for every angle you want to cut. The Incra combo takes care of all these problems.

[John K Jordan]

I only use a chop saw for rough work. ...

Same here - for construction, rough work, and for things where high precision is not needed. Otherwise, I use the PM66 with sliding table.

I do plan to build a sled to cut pieces for segmented turning.

JKJ

[Eric Commarato]

What ever you build, watch William Ng's video on YouTube regarding the construction of this crosscut sled. Very good video.

[al brakeman]

Before building, check out the "Dubby" from In-Line-Industries. Jerry Cole, the inventor, peddles them at The Wood Working Shows. My only regret is that I didn't buy one sooner.

FYI. I was going to order Dubbys, left and right however the distance from blade to miter slot on the left side is out of the range required for the standard Dubbys. In this event, Jerry prompts on his web site to call him and they'll make a custom one. Actually he recommends both sides be custom then for a small upcharge. I called him numerous times over a one week period just recently and while his recorder worked fine and I was able leave him messages, he never returned my calls. Emails to him go unanswered as well. Don't know if he's real busy or perhaps extricating himself from the business. Peachtree markets them but only in the standard ones. Check InLine Industries website for particulars regarding your saw before purchasing.