Miter Bars

[Mike OMelia]

I am building a small crosscut sled to use for slotting guitar fingerboards. I need 12-18" bars. Preferably 12". Not that much motion involved. I looked at Zero Play (plastic, adjustable) and Rockler aluminum. I'm open to thoughts.

Thanks!

Mike

[Larry Frank]

I use the Incra Miter Slider and very happy with it.

[glenn bradley]

I have sleds with Incra aluminum runners, UHMW runners, Steel runners and wood runners. In my environment on the left coast they all perform equally. Having learned this, straight grained ash or white oak is my choice today.

[Steve Demuth]

I cut mine from stock UHMW poly and attach with a conical shouldered screw in a hole made with with a center drill. Voila - fully adjustable for zero play, self lubricating, and no humidity induced fit problems.

[Bruce Wrenn]

MSC Direct item # 32000754, 3/8" X 3/4" X 24" 6063 aluminum bars. $10.20 each. Using dado set in TS, I route a 3/4" dado, about 1/16" deep to locate miter bar on bottom of sled

[Doug Garson]

I cut mine from leftover engineered hardwood which is basically plywood.

[Tom Bender]

My sled is 3/16" plywood with an Oak runner and a
Basswood cross fence. One side of the blade only. Make the plywood a little wide then run it thru the saw to trim to width. Then install the cross fence perpendicular. No need for adjustment if built in this order. And don't worry about a little slop in the runner, it will always be the same as when you trimmed. The result is very light and accurate.

[Mike OMelia]

Hmm. No thoughts on Zero Play runners? Which is fine... just curious

[Nick Decker]

I have a set of the Zero Play runners somewhere. I remember buying them for some jig and their being kinda flimsy and hard to adjust. I've used the heavier Incras on a couple of things and love them.

This part of the country has pretty wild temp/humidity swings so haven't even tried using hard wood.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Hmm. No thoughts on Zero Play runners? Which is fine... just curiousI've got a couple different brands, but the are only adjustable where screws are. The rest of the bar stays the same, so support is every few inches. On the aluminum ones, if they are sloppy, center punch a dimple every couple inches along length, along one side only. Go lightly with dimples, as it doesn't take much.. They will wear in for a perfect fit. The ones I referenced originally are a perfect fit in my Delta saws, exactly 3/4". I wish they stocked them in 36" lengths,but they don't. Boo-hiss!

[Dan Cameron]

Mike, for a sled with limited travel, the ends of the runner need not run past the miter slot ends. Extend the ends of the runner past the sled and make a small sawkerf in the end. A small screw threaded into the kerf gives a simple zero-play adjustment. This technique is common in the construction of "wedgie sleds" which require exacting precision.

[Joe Chritz]

I was far too cheap to buy anything so I used some old cutting board material which seems just like UHMW. Worked excellent.

Joe

[Mike OMelia]

So, i ordered 2 of those blue aluminum bars, 18" from Rockler. How does one locate the holes on the sled?

[John Sincerbeaux]

I bought a slider😜.
Before that, i had a machinist make me steel runners. Aluminum doesn’t play well with steal.
To locate holes, use double sided tape.

[Patrick Varley]

I've done it by letting the bars hang out of the miter slot by ~6" and then placing the sled base on top. Clamp the bars to the sled, flip it and use a center punch to mark the holes. Alternatively I've placed the base on the top and marked the positions of the miter slots then cut shallow dados with a router and edge guide or dado blade so that the basement are inset into the base. The holes can then be easily marked when seated in the dado.

[Julie Moriarty]

I am building a small crosscut sled to use for slotting guitar fingerboards.
I did the same thing. I looked at the miter bars but there's no name on them. But they are adjustable for removing slop.
http://julimorcreations.com/Images/Tools/FretSlotCutter/FretboardJig_03.jpg


How does one locate the holes on the sled?
I put the miter bars in place, set the sled on top, squared it with the miter slots and marked the ends of the sled. Then I flipped it, laid the miter bars in place, made sure they were square and marked two holes for each. I installed the miter bars, tested the sled for square and then finished drilling the rest of the holes and installing the remaining screws. Works pretty well.
http://julimorcreations.com/Images/Tools/FretSlotCutter/FretboardJig_06.jpg

[Alan Schaffter]

I don't like the way aluminum slides against cast iron, same goes for UHMW-PE. Wood changes dimension across the grain seasonally so need to ensure you use quartersawn install it in the correct orientation. I use 3/8 X 3/4 cold rolled steel on all my sleds and jigs. The price for 20' (yes feet) is less than the cost of a miter bar from the usual suspects. I cut a shallow dado in the bottom of the sled for the bar and attach it with with screws from the top into tapped holes. That way if I ever need to change a miter bar, the new one can be installed in the exact same position with no fiddling.