coping sled opinions

[Mitchell Garnett]

Should I make a sled to run just against the router table fence? Or should I go with one that runs in the miter slot?

Seems like using just the fence is simplier and easier to adjust but if so, why do I see shop built and manufactured sleds with miter bars - doesn't the fence have to be parallel to the miter slot in this case?

Help me understand my choices please. :confused:

Thanks

Mitchell

[Norman Hitt]

Mitchell, to answer your question, since the router bit rotates perpendicular to the router fence it is different from a fence on a table saw where the sawblade must rotate in a parallel plane to the tablesaw fence. You can place the router fence crossways on the table or at an angle or parallel to the edge of the table and the bit won't know the difference, whereas a tablesaw fence Must Be parallel to the blade or binding, burning, and probably kickback will occur. When you introduce a miter slot to the situation on a router table, then the fence Must be Parallel to the Miter slot if you're using a sled of any type. With this in mind, the only reason I would even consider having a miter slot in a router table top would be to make it easier to clamp a feather board in it. I highly favor a flat top with no slot that something could catch on and sawdust can collect in. The Router Workshop Guys don't put miter slots in any of their table tops either. I prefer a sled that just rides against the fence myself, but others like the slots I guess. I guess it's just a personal choice. Without a miter slot in the top, the table is less likely to warp over time also.

This probably didn't help you much with your decision though.:rolleyes: :D

[Roger Everett]

Mitchell:

My router tables don't have miter slots. I take a few minutes and wip up a sled or a squared backer/ pusher. I can't see the PITA and time to set fence true with any miter slot.
Roger

[J.R. Rutter]

I use a shaper for cope and stick, so I'm only passinly familiar with router table options, but I'll throw in some general comments anyway :-) The only thing I use my shaper fence for (in these cuts) is to register the rail end before the cut so that the cutter trims off the tenon square. I use a feeder and "outboard fence" (where the wood runs between the fence board and the cutter) for sticking so that the cutter can trim the stile width as it makes the profile/groove.

Seems to me that with a router bit in a single router table, you want to dial in the fence and use it to register both cope and sticking cuts. I don't know what sort of tooling you have, but many guys use a sled that is precisely the height needed to go between the 2 types of cut when they are stacked on the same bit. This is ideal because you don't have to touch fence or bit height after initial setup, no matter how many times you go back and forth between operations.

Having said that, if you use a miter slot sled, the fence doesn't enter into the equation at all, unless you use it to register the end of the rail before pushing it through. If the outfeed side of the fence is slightly further from the slot than the infeed, then there is nothing to bind up against the sled as you push it through. A stop clamped to the table will do the same thing, and do away with the requirement that the fence be parallel to the slot.