Finish on bottom of sled?

[Mike Cornelsen]

How do fellow Creeker’s finish the bottom of their tablesaw sleds? I wanted mine to be slicker than myself walking across ice after consuming quantities of fermented hops and barleys. To this end I had noticed how slick hardboard is after a couple of coats of wax so I put a layer of waxed hardboard on the bottom of my sled. While it does move smoothly, fibers from the hardboard get caught in the micro-grain of the tabletop leaving streaks (which I didn't expect with Johnson's wax on both the hardboard and the tablesaw top). I spent this evening polishing and buffing out the tabletop in the vain attempt to achieve the mirror finish that I will never achieve but I continue to strive for because I’m a tool junkie. I’m removing the hardboard, leaving the plywood and I was wondering what others do to the bottom of their sled (if you finish it at all)?

[Greg Funk]

Just plain plywood for me. I wax the tablesaw once in a while and I don't have to use a lot of pressure pushing the sled so I've never felt the need to wax the sled.

Greg

[Gary Keedwell]

Got me to thinking...went down to my shop to look at bottom of my 15+ year old Dubby sled. Formica with 3 strips of (plastic?) that looks like scotch tape. One on either side of runner and one on the other end. All strips run parallel with runner.
Gary K.

[Bill Huber]

Mine is made of MDF and I didn't put anything on it, I do keep the table saw clean and waxed.

I think if you wax one side you should do the same to the other. Now I am not sure of this but when you think of it, its like a finish. Seal only one side and thing can warp a little.

[Mike Cornelsen]

Formica? Hmmm... Some thread somewhere it was suggested to sand Formicia with 400 grit sandpaper and finish with shoe polish for a super-smooth finish on a router table top. That's worth an experiment. Woodworking and playing in the shop is a hobby for me. If I was trying to pay the bills out of the shop, it would be plain ply and whatever I could throw together to get the job done. But since I'm just playing around...

[glenn bradley]

BB Ply sled, shellac sanded to 400, Johnson's Paste Wax.

[Dean Thomas]

Formica? Hmmm... Some thread somewhere it was suggested to sand Formica with 400 grit sandpaper and finish with shoe polish for a super-smooth finish on a router table top. That's worth an experiment. Woodworking and playing in the shop is a hobby for me. If I was trying to pay the bills out of the shop, it would be plain ply and whatever I could throw together to get the job done. But since I'm just playing around...
If you do Formica, it's a good thing to put the laminate on BOTH sides of the sled so that it does not warp. The glue on one side will seal the sled on that side, so in the interest of preventing warpage, seal BOTH sides.

A lot depends on your climate and your shop. If you're air conditioned and heated with humidity for winter (climate controlled), it's not a biggie. Wax your saw table regularly and you should be good. If your shop is as humid as mine, all precautions taken are valued.

I'd use a carnauba wax product instead of shoe polish as shoe polish is not a hard was. picks up crud, rubs off easy, yada yada yada. One man's opinion on that, obviously.

[Jeff Booth]

I have plywood sleds with quartersawn oak runners. I use Butcher's wax on the runners about twice a year and occasionally wax the table surface, but have never treated the plywood itself. I consider that most of the resistance is between the runners and the slots, but my table slots are not pristine and my table does not have anything close to a mirror finish (the saw is 20 years old (PM63), I got it 5 years ago for $50 in 100 pieces and since then it has had some minor overhead water dripping incidents) All tolled the saw works really well for me, but it is no Sunday driver, regular worktruck instead.

J

[Mike Cornelsen]

Cruzin through Lowe's today and at $45 for a sheet of Formica, it's sand, shellac and Johnson's until I have some leftover scrap to play with.

[Roland Chung]

I saw one that had that special white plastic for the runners that fit into the miter gauge slot. The material was a hair taller than the slot and the bottom of the plywood had a couple rows of plastic white tape.

[john bateman]

This stuff works well:
http://pricecutter.com/product.asp?pn=400-1158&bhcd2=1191244854

http://pricecutter.com/images/500/400-1158.jpg