Show Me Your Cross-Cut Sleds

[Blaine Harrison]

I'm going to build a cross-cut sled starting in a couple of days. The nicest sled I've seen so far is one made by Mark Marzluf. It's got t-track on the back fence and in the base of the sled that's used for hold-downs. It also has a replaceable insert for use with different sawblades (tilted, dado, cross-cut, etc.). That's my standard at this point, so I think I know what I want, but am willing to look at features from others.

Pics and suggestions welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Blaine

[Bruce Page]

You might get some ideas here, mine's the 9th one down.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=5915

[Aaron Beaver]

You might get some ideas here, mine's the 9th one down.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=5915

Bruce what size is yours?

[Bruce Page]

Bruce what size is yours?

I can't say of the top of my head, I made it to fit under the cross-cut table.
I'll check it when I get home tonight.

[Matt Guyrd]

My crosscut sled is about as rudimentary as they come, but it is simple, quick to make, and so far, cuts dead-on square. I hope to make a better (prettier?), more permanent sled in the future.

I had an immediate need and went the quickest route possible...not even sure I used the best materials. The runners are cherry, base if MDF, and the front and rear fences are made out of a couple of scrap 2x6s that I milled before shaping.

I don't have any clampless photos, but you get the idea fromthese pics.

50184

50185

50186

Matt

[Luciano Burtini]

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/9947/cutoffsled1fv2.jpg
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/2037/cutoffsled2ch0.jpg


OKAY, it actually doesn't exist yet. Two Birds, One Stone - I needed to learn Sketchup and I needed a new cutoff sled. The old one was simply a piece of plywood and a handy chunk of Maple. Worked fine, but now is time to build a more permanent sled. The T-track in the base will not be used - it was merely used to explore an idea in drawing.

I am also thinking of incorprating a moveable angle fence. Perhaps this should be a second sled and keep one dedicated to 90 degrees for panel cutting?

[Bruce Page]

Bruce what size is yours?
Aaron, it's 25" between the uprights X 40"
Overall it's 29" X 40"

[Guy Germaine]

Mine's pretty simple. (Like me :D) It's 24" X 48".

http://www.fototime.com/3196C3BB86044B5/standard.jpg

[Keith Outten]

OKAY, it actually doesn't exist yet. Two Birds, One Stone - I needed to learn Sketchup and I needed a new cutoff sled. The old one was simply a piece of plywood and a handy chunk of Maple. Worked fine, but now is time to build a more permanent sled. The T-track in the base will not be used - it was merely used to explore an idea in drawing.

I am also thinking of incorprating a moveable angle fence. Perhaps this should be a second sled and keep one dedicated to 90 degrees for panel cutting?

Luciano.

Your T-Track idea has merit. It could be used to set an angled fence or to clamp odd shaped pieces.

.

[Al Willits]

Just curious, any best way to square the back rail to the saw?
I'm about to try and build one of these soon, and am thinking one way would be to attach the runners square to the bed of the sled, then mount the sled on the saw and make a cut that doesn't quite go end to end, then attach the fence to the bed squaring it to the saw cut...??

Planning on using a piece of 2x4' 3/4" birch plywood I already have for the bed, seems a bit smaller than what some are, but I can always make a bigger one.:)

Al

[Tom Hamilton]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=22934&d=1124908843

Hopefully this is a pic of the sled I use. The only difference is a hole in the lexan guard to accept the shop vac hose. It is not "Pentz Quality" dust control but does gather up much of what would escape.

Since this pic was taken I added hinged wings to each side. These fold down and rest on the work during the cut further containing dust.

All the best, Tom

[Guy Germaine]

When I made mine, I used UMHW for the runners. I placed them into the slots and put some double stick tape on the top of them. I then slid my rip fence (which was dead-on square with the miter slots) over 24" since my sled is 48" wide. I then slid my plywood up against the rip fence where I wanted it and pressed it down on to the double stick tape. Then, I just turned it over and screwed the runners in to place. Once that was done, I turned it back over and placed the sled so the blade would come through about half way front to back. Then, I turned the saw on, and raised the blade until it cut through the plywood. Now that you can see the blade, you can use a framing square to install the rear fence. I installed mine with a 1/4" lag bolt in one end in an oversized hole in the fence. Then screwed the other end in place with a deck screw. That gives you a little "adjusting" room to get the fence perfectly square. After using the "five cut" method of getting the fence square, I added a couple more deck screws to keep it from moving.

[Al Willits]

Thanks Guy, I like the idea of a bit of adjustability.
Luciano's picture shows a piece of plexiglass(?) down the middle, like that idea too.

Al

[Bob Swenson]

Tom, That sure is a handy beer closet you have!:rolleyes:

[Nissim Avrahami]

Mine is not fancy at all but once I finish the adjustment (shimming) that takes 5 minutes, I can open “production line” and make 5~6 of them in an hour (provided the sled board, runners and fences are already cut to dimensions).
Please have a look here
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=38482

niki

[Dan Cameron]

Once upon a time someone built a crosscut sled with two runners, and others have followed blindly behind. IMHO using two runners instead of one precisely fit runner doesn't make sense.

[Matt Guyrd]

Okay Dan...since your post begs for a response, I'll bite. Please enlighten us blind folk with why your humble opinion favors one runner versus two.

I am genuinely curious and wonder what other creeker opinions are on this topic.

I promise to listen with one eye open.:D

Matt

[Ron Blaise]

I haven't built this one yet, but have one like it. Tell me what you think. I have a PDF File if anyone wants a drawing.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/WoodySouth/sled.jpg

[Dan Cameron]

As a sled moves left (say), the left side of one runner will touch the miter slot before the side of the other runner, at which time the left movement stops. So the left side of one runner has no bearing on thel sled's movement. Similarly, the right side of one runner has no effect in limiting the sled's movement to the right. So there are TWO edges guiding the sled motion, not FOUR. There is at least one good reason to have those two edges be the sides of a single runner. The wood of the sled and the steel of the saw do not behave the same with temperature or humidity, so a close fitting one-runner sled is much less likely to bind up than it's two runner counterpart. And to me a single runner sled is easier to construct.

[Al Willits]

Just wondering, is there a size of sled that most might consider too big?
I'm figuring my 2x4' one is gonna be to small, but nice for smaller boards and my first sled, but would say, 4x4' be to big for most?


Personal choice I know, but an average size would be nice.

Al

[Nissim Avrahami]

You can use two runners but cut them 1/64”~1/32” narrower then the slot width.

The runners will touch only the “blade side” of the miter slots.
You get only 2 sides touching the miter slots but with much wider base.
50213

[Chip Olson]

I initially made the runners for my sled out of cherry, because I had a lot of long 3/4" cherry scrap and it fit perfectly in the slots. Of course, this was during a New England winter. Come warmer weather, that sled wouldn't slide for love or money. Replaced them with UHMW and I'm much happier.

[Luciano Burtini]

My old sled (piece of MDF and a maple runner) with a single runner was a PITA. It worked fine if you were careful, but you could torque the sled around the single runner enough to cause a deflection a non square cut. The idea behind two runners is to eliminate that torque effect. Use UHMW or aluminum and there will be no problem with seasonal movement. I don't think that it should be too much of an issue with stable hardwood mounted with the rings vertical either, especially if they are well waxed and tight only to the inside (towards the blade) side of the slot. They do not need a gap to the other side, but you don't want them too tight. I have a finger joint jig built like this and have never had a problem with binding. Of course, the runners are only about 10" long.

[glenn bradley]

I use my sled for weights that apply enough torque to override the reason I use a sled. This is the exception but, as long as I occasionally feel more confident with two runners, I just use them.

[glenn bradley]

I've seen articles by folks who due to the type of woodworking they do, use sleds a lot. They seem to range from very small to 30" x 40" so I don't think there is a "right" size, just a right size for you.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Mine are all firewood. I trashed 'em, all of 'em.

[Blaine Harrison]

Thanks everyone for the responses and ideas. It will take me a few weeks, but I'll post pics of my sled once I get it done.

Blaine

[Bart Leetch]

Mine are all firewood. I trashed 'em, all of 'em.

Is there a hidden gloat here?:eek: :)

[Ben Grunow]

Wait- no one has mentioned the idea of a removable strip (like a ZCI) that would allow the use of different width dado setups and different kerfs and replacabilty over time. This would also allow you to make angled cuts if needed-all you would have to do is screw on another insert (which you would make several of at a time so extras would be around).

I don't have a sled (yet) but I plan on making one with this arrangement so I can change blades without fear. Someone has one of these and I have seen pics here but of course cant remember who.

I could see a sled for dadoing bookshelf sides getting a lot of use. Less dust than the router and no setup other than the dado blade. Am I nuts?
(of course but think about it anyway)

[Al Willits]

Thanks Glenn, that does give a range to play with.

Al

[Brad Noble]

Wait- no one has mentioned the idea of a removable strip (like a ZCI) that would allow the use of different width dado setups and different kerfs and replacabilty over time. This would also allow you to make angled cuts if needed-all you would have to do is screw on another insert (which you would make several of at a time so extras would be around).

I don't have a sled (yet) but I plan on making one with this arrangement so I can change blades without fear. Someone has one of these and I have seen pics here but of course cant remember who.

I could see a sled for dadoing bookshelf sides getting a lot of use. Less dust than the router and no setup other than the dado blade. Am I nuts?
(of course but think about it anyway)

That, I believe, would be Mark Marzluf. It is truly a wonderful sled. Maybe I can find some pics I have of it.

Brad

[Dick Brown]

If you do an image search on google for table saw sleds, you will get something like 175 to choose from. Some have printable plans.
Dick

[Bruce Page]

Wait- no one has mentioned the idea of a removable strip (like a ZCI) that would allow the use of different width dado setups and different kerfs and replacabilty over time. This would also allow you to make angled cuts if needed-all you would have to do is screw on another insert (which you would make several of at a time so extras would be around).

I don't have a sled (yet) but I plan on making one with this arrangement so I can change blades without fear. Someone has one of these and I have seen pics here but of course cant remember who.

I could see a sled for dadoing bookshelf sides getting a lot of use. Less dust than the router and no setup other than the dado blade. Am I nuts?
(of course but think about it anyway)
Ben, if you look closely at my sled you’ll see that it has a replaceable throat plate. I’ve yet to use that feature yet but it’s there if I need it! ;)

[Blaine Harrison]

Ben, if you look closely at my sled you’ll see that it has a replaceable throat plate. I’ve yet to use that feature yet but it’s there if I need it! ;)

It is Mark Marzluf's sled that has the "ZCI" type feature that I've seen. His sled is really fantastic. The one thing I have not figured out is how to make the dado for the ZCI. There are some challenges as I see it:

How do you assure the edge of the dado where the ZCI sits is at the edge of your blade?
How do you make the dado if you've already got either or both of your fences installed? If you do it before the fences are installed, see question 1.
Do you need to account for wood movement if using a wooden ZCI?Mark's sled uses long dowels to hold the ZCI in place. There are holes drilled in both the front and back (leading and trailing edges) of the ZCI and the dowels go through the fence and into the holes. That's not hard to do, I don't think, but I'd think you need to square the fence before putting in the ZCI dado. Maybe I'm wrong on this.

Thoughts on this would be appreciated. I haven't contacted Mark, but may do so. I've got a bookmark for his sled on another forum and will attach a picture once I find it.

Blaine

Edit: I found a picture of Mark's sled, but it says it's too large to attach. Here's a link, though:
http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1553822/128035884.jpg

[Ralph Barhorst]

I just found this short video on FWW website. This is a real simple sled.

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/Workshop/WorkshopArticle.aspx?id=5283

[Jerry Olexa]

Mine is an "oldee" not worthy of a pic. I built in from an old issue of FWW as a guide. I love its accuracy. Great when cutting panels prior to routing...Great tool.

[Bruce Page]

How do you assure the edge of the dado where the ZCI sits is at the edge of your blade?
How do you make the dado if you've already got either or both of your fences installed? If you do it before the fences are installed, see question 1.
Do you need to account for wood movement if using a wooden ZCI?Mark's sled uses long dowels to hold the ZCI in place. There are holes drilled in both the front and back (leading and trailing edges) of the ZCI and the dowels go through the fence and into the holes. That's not hard to do, I don't think, but I'd think you need to square the fence before putting in the ZCI dado. Maybe I'm wrong on this.
Blaine

Blaine, on my sled, you replace the 4” X 28” center strip and attach it with four screws (pic 1) and raise the dado or crosscut blade up through it. In doing so, you end up with a perfect zero clearance plate. The sled also has replaceable inserts for the front fence to prevent blowout (Pics 2-5)
There is no wood movement.

Edit: I didn't "raise" the blade up through the center insert, I cut the slot by pushing the sled through the blade....CRS..

[Todd Hyman]

I haven't built this one yet, but have one like it. Tell me what you think. I have a PDF File if anyone wants a drawing.



Can you send me the pdf?