Crosscut sled

[Matt P]

I am a newbie, making mitered-corner jewelry boxes, and will be cutting small boards about 5" wide x 9" long x 1/2" thick (sides of the box). If I am going to make 45-degree bevel cuts on a benchtop table saw, can I just use the miter gauge to make the crosscuts, or should I make/buy a "crosscut sled". Note that the crosscut sled would have to have the kerf cut be a bevel cut, so I would have to dedicate the crosscut sled to bevel cuts.. does that make sense?

I don't want overkill if I can just use the miter gauge...

thanks,
Matt

[frank shic]

boards of that width are pretty easy to cut with a miter gauge although the quality of your cut will vary greatly depending on what gauge you are using. building a crosscut sled will definitely improve the quality of your cuts with a little bit more investment of time or fund$. regardless of which system you use, you would definitely want to have adjustable stops to make identical cuts for your box parts.

BTW welcome!

[Lee Schierer]

Either method should work just fine. Your critical adjustment will be getting the tilt at exactly 45 degrees. If you are off you will have gaps in your joints. My suggestion is to cut the pieces longer than needed and fit them together without glue to insure a perfect fit at all four corners at the same time. Once you have all four corners mating without a gap, then trim the pieces to the correct length. You also need to insure that opposite sides of the box are exactly the same length.

Note: Corner joints with toe or heel gaps are not as strong and don't look as nice as properly fitted parts.

[Mike Golka]

A sled is easy to make and will give the best results as you can support the entire lenghth of the piece being cut. A stop block ensures consistent lenghth of pieces and scraps cut to set the blade angle make for perfect fits. I have a dedicated sled for the same purpase as yours and it works flawlessly.

[Roy Hill]

If you want to invest a little, you could purchase a "dubby cutoff fixture" from In-line industries. These things are amazingly accurate and very easy to operate. They are on the web by the same name and .com.

Roy

[Paul Hendrickson]

Have you considered making box joints. They are very strong and super easy, even on a benchtop saw.

Good fiting miters will be hard to do on a benchtop saw because of the wobble. You might make a 45 degree sled that does not require you to tilt the blade, but would require two passes. That would be much easier to get the angle just right than tilting the blade, IMHO.

[Matt P]

Thanks everyone! - my miter gauge is an Incra 1000SE.. or perhaps I might purchase the Incra Miter Express sled

[Gary Keedwell]

I am on the side of the sleds. My Dubby is over 15 years old is makes perfect miters. I don't think you will get very good accuracy by tilting your TS blade. IMNSHO:)

Gary K.

[Matt P]

I thought that bevel cuts with a table saw would be very accurate (can't I just use a gauge to make sure the blade is 45 degrees?) ..? Either I tilt the blade or tilt the workpiece - I thought the former was easiest..

[Gary Keedwell]

Not sure what you are making. When I do picture frames and moldings..I put my Dubby on 45 degrees and run the wood through the blade. About the only time I tilt my blade is when I rip a bevel.:)
Gary K.

[frank shic]

matt, what kind of tablesaw are you running? if it's anything recent, it should handle a 45 degree angle tilt without any problems. if in doubt, there's always wixey...

[Matt P]

It will be the Dewalt DW745.. (I have zero space for a larger saw) the whole reason I'm going to purchase it is for the bevel cuts for jewelry box miter joints..! Right now I use the router table and a 45 degree chamfer bit to do it.. kind of a pain.

[Mack Cameron]

It will be the Dewalt DW745.. (I have zero space for a larger saw) the whole reason I'm going to purchase it is for the bevel cuts for jewelry box miter joints..! [quote]Right now I use the router table and a 45 degree chamfer bit to do it.. kind of a pain. Hi Matt; it's the only way I would cut a bevel. Guaranteed to be 45 * every time, and you never have to change the TS and put it back to 90* again. I don't understand your comment re: it being a pain, but to each his own I guess!:)

[glenn bradley]

I made a few using my Incra miter gauge and fence on a much larger table saw. The results were OK. I made a small dedicated sled and am much happier. I'll try to find a pic.

Found 'em, Post #15 here http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=60360

[Phil Thien]

I am on the side of the sleds. My Dubby is over 15 years old is makes perfect miters. I don't think you will get very good accuracy by tilting your TS blade. IMNSHO:)

Gary K.

How's that gonna work cutting 5" high box sides?

Yep, he's gonna have to set the blade to 45-degrees. Using a Wixey he can get true 45-degrees no problem. And the sled works best.

[Matt P]

I made a few using my Incra miter gauge and fence on a much larger table saw. The results were OK. I made a small dedicated sled and am much happier. I'll try to find a pic.

Found 'em, Post #15 here http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=60360

that is helpful Glenn - thanks. I probably will buy the Incra Miter Express and make/use it exclusively for bevel cuts. As I understand it, you can't use the same sled for both bevel and 90 degree cuts?? Becuase with the Incra Miter Express, you have to make an initial kerf cut in the middle of it. I don't see that with the Dubby. I thought you were supposed to have the cut supported on both sides of the blade. Also, the Incra will let me use my existing Incra miter gauge with it..

[glenn bradley]

that is helpful Glenn - thanks. I probably will buy the Incra Miter Express and make/use it exclusively for bevel cuts. As I understand it, you can't use the same sled for both bevel and 90 degree cuts?? Becuase with the Incra Miter Express, you have to make an initial kerf cut in the middle of it. I don't see that with the Dubby. I thought you were supposed to have the cut supported on both sides of the blade. Also, the Incra will let me use my existing Incra miter gauge with it..

I've played with the Incra at Rockler but never worked with one. It seems to be a very high quality, well thought out little unit. I'll bet you will be very happy with that. I have a couple sleds with swappable inserts that allow any angle you want but they are larger than you probably require (or want to store).

P.s. You are correct about the kerf but additional parts are available if you wanted both functions.

[frank shic]

matt, the dewalt 745 is a great little saw! i've checked it out multiple times at home depot. the rack and pinion rip fence is an AWESOME feature that i wish the bosch had. it's also extremely light compared to most of the other so-called portables.

[Gary Keedwell]

How's that gonna work cutting 5" high box sides?

Yep, he's gonna have to set the blade to 45-degrees. Using a Wixey he can get true 45-degrees no problem. And the sled works best.
Your right ..guess I didn't follow the question. Made a few boxes a few years ago using box joints. I'm not fond of mitered boxes. Just my personal preferences. Just the end grain to end grain thing ...freaks me out a little.:eek: :)

Gary K.

[Dave MacArthur]

Matt, I'm with Mack--
I have a locking miter router bit, which has given me the best results. The angle is always 45 degrees, the sides lock nicely together, increased strength.

[Matt P]

Thank you everyone.. This is my plan (for mitered corner jewelry box sides) using the Dewalt DW745 benchtop saw in MY BATHROOM WORKSHOP (I live in a studio apt):

1) use my Incra Miter 1000SE first with no crosscut sled and angle the table saw blade to 45 degrees. See how clean the cuts are.

2) If 1) is not satisfactory, try a crosscut sled.

3) if 2) is not satisfactory, go sledding.. or skiing.