Table Saw Sled - Simple but effective

[Kevin Smith]

I thought I would share a couple of images of my TS sled. This in no way compares in functionality or workmanship to that of Mark Marzluf's sled - but incorporates some other ideas and/or approaches to sled making.

This sled seems to work quite well (in my shop) and has improved the accuracy of my cuts as well as provide that extra layer of safety by leveraging the integrated hold-downs. Instead of creating separate cross-cut and miter sleds, I decided to make a couple of 45 degree cut-off fixtures which are keyed to the T-tracks in the bottom of the sled.

I'd be very interested in your feedback.

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[glenn bradley]

That is a neat idea with the 45* guides. Very nice.

[Tommy Emmons]

Very neat idea for your sled. Did you have some plans or did you just wing it? I would like to make one like yours, but I don't have the experience yet to create one on my own without plans. Thanks for sharing.

[Travis Hirst]

I second Tommys thoughts. That is one of the nicest sleds I've seen. I too would be interested in plans. Please;)

Travis

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Hey Kevin...your sled is no slouch either! Looks very well thought out and built to withstand some banging around.

If you and Mark ever seen what I use for a sled, you'd both take turns slapping me. But plans are in the works, and your sled is inspiring.

-Jeff :)

[Ted Miller]

Kevin, Very nice, I too like the idea of angles, great idea...

[Joe Trotter]

looks good!

[Jim Summers]

Excellent looking sled.

I have not used a sled before and was wondering how it works? Does the slot that the blade travels in go all the way through edge to edge? Or do you stop the cut once you know that it has traveled through you material? Maybe I am thinking of how I have seen a panel cutter/sled operate and getting them confused on use. It sems that the fences/supports bridging the slot would allow the blade to travel through as long as you don't exceed a certain heighth.

Again, very nice.

[Andy Haney]

Just added this thread to my links list. There are some nice ideas there for me to steal (hehehe). Hope you don't mind if I incorporate some of that into the dream I'm fabricating.

Andy

[Zahid Naqvi]

Kevin, your sled is really nice, with some very innovative ideas. I like the idea of the 45 degree mitres.

So how accurate is the angle aluminum. This is probably something I might be able to do myself.

[Mike Langford]

Kevin,
Fantastic ideal with the miter cut-off fixtures! Nice design and layout on the rest of the sled also.

I've got to get busy and build me a sled......Thanks


........Oh yeah, Go easy on slapping Jeff :D

[Corey Hallagan]

Wow, nice sled! Thanks for the pics!

Corey

[glenn bradley]

Jim,

Once you use one you will wonder what you waited for. The saw cut does go all the way through. The fence at the rear and the bridge at the front keep the two halves aligned.

Here's a little tutorial I did on a large panel sled. I made one the same width and only 24" deep for "most" stuff. Same design.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=50581

[Jim Summers]

Thanks Glen,

That helps me understand. And from an operational standpoint you simply make your cut until you see the blade clear the material and then pull back.

Very nice indeed.

[Lee Thomas]

What did you do on the fence stop block? It appears that you inserted a tab into the underside ot the part that sits on the t-track, is this the same way you did the mitre blocks??

Very nice design btw, I think I might just copy this for myself! ;)

[Ron Blaise]

Awsome Kevin! Do you have plans you could share?

[Kevin Smith]

Thanks to everyone for their feedback.

I'll try to answer some of the questions posted earlier…


Sorry, I didn't take time to draw up the plans before I started. I basically knew what I was looking for and started the build. The size of my sled is roughly 28" x 20" which is smaller than many out there. I sized my sled based on the type of work that I do. I use a different sled for cutting panels - so didn't need to over compensate for depth on the cross-cut sled. Some sleds seem quite large and difficult to manage on and off the saw. My sled still weighs about 20 pounds but I'm not reluctant in anyway from grabbing it - even for just a couple of cuts. (This was important to me because I didn't want to build something that was awkward to handle and as a result just hung on the wall.)

Zahid - I didn't have any problems with the aluminum angle being straight. The 2" x 3" x 3/16" angle I picked up from one of the vendors at a WW show. I believe it was being sold as a router table fence - but is a little heavier than some. Since I faced this with a piece of 3/4" white oak, it may be a little bit of an overkill. The aluminum angle made it easy to attach and provided the necessary adjustment to ensure the fence was square with the world.

Lee - What I did with the stop block as well as the miter fixtures was to route a groove in the underside of each and insert a piece of UHMW stock. However, I've done this on other fixtures and have just used a piece of hardwood as the guide.

Thanks again for your questions and feedback...

[Al Willits]

Nice fence, can't wait to get home and add the miter slots to mine...nice touch, thanks for posting.

Al

[Art Mulder]

Kevin,

How thick is the table? Just trying to figure out how much inserting those T-tracks weakens the table, and how you compensated for that.

Also, the 45-degree angle addition is a very cool feature. Saves building another dedicated jig for those. The one thing I'd wonder about is dealing with length. most 45-degree jigs have the angles oriented the other way, so if you have a longer board it can protrude. But with yours, the board would hit the backboard if it is too long. How do you find that in practise?

[Jim Becker]

Kevin, that's a really nice and versatile design. I neve tire of seeing different adaptations of jigs and sleds like this...many ideas from from them. Thanks for sharing!

[glenn bradley]

Hi Art,

Not trying to answer for Kevin but, one of my old sleds was 3/4". T-track was 3/8" deep. I had read of folks using screws AND epoxy for the track due to concerns about panel strength being weakened. Sounds interesting. At any rate, I had no problems with 3/4" BB ply with the dados cut for the track. Ran the sled for quite awhile and changed it out for a new design, not due to any failure. I would be a little concerned if it was PB or MDF but have no direct experience.

[Kevin Smith]

Art,

The base of the sled is only made out of 3/4" stock. Therefore I would suggest using 3/8" deep t-track - which is specifically designed for use in thinner stock. However, since the sled is fully supported by the table I wasn't overly concerned about cutting into the base. I utilized my plunge router to cut the slots for the t-tracks resulting in a very tight fit for the track. This means that the track would be in compression on any upward forces. The 3" vertical leg of the fence takes most of the flex out of the base. You'll also notice I held the T-track back from the edge of the sled to ensure full stock thickness in those areas.

With regards to your other question, this is something I had to play around with a bit. You'll notice that I have a shorter rear support than some of the other sleds and this is primarily the reason for that. As such, I have the ability to cut stock up to about 6-1/2" wide with the 45 degree fixture against the fence. This size throat allows me to handle most of my projects.

Great questions!

[Kevin Smith]

Glenn,

Thanks for your respone to Art's question. I didn't see it before I made my post.

One of the other things that I didn't mention is that my t-tracks are located directly above my runners - which proivde for additional stock thickness in securing the t-track. Without that, epoxy is probably the better solution.

[Kevin Smith]

Since there has been a number of comments regarding the 45 degree miter fixtures, I thought I would share some additional information as to how I utilize these components…

From my experiences in using a conventional sled (like the one I have here) for miter cuts, there seems to be a significant risk of kick-back if the end being cut off is not properly secured to the table. I always try to make use of the hold-downs or toggle clamps when making a cut. However, sometimes this may not be practical.

Commercial miter sleds try to reduce this risk by having the cut-off fall harmlessly (not always) toward a stationary table. And the problem with conventional sleds is that they tend to carry the cut-off back into the blade - thereby increasing the likelihood of flipping the cut-off back your way. In my opinion, trying to control those small cut-offs was a real challenge.

So... what I do in those situation is to loosen the t-bolt (ever so slightly) on the 45 degree cut-off fixture and use it like a mini-sled which slides between the shoulders of the t-track. This allows the small cut-off to drop to the far side of the table which (at that point in time) is stationary with respect to the sliding fixture. ...A "sled-within-a-sled". This technique seems to work quite well when clipping small parts or making those final shave cuts.

Needless to say - your hand is a lot closer to the blade during this type of operation. However, I usually wrap my thumb around the toggle clamp and grip the stock firmly with my fingers. This technique forces me to keep my fingers safely away from the blade.

Please take extra care if you try this!