TS SLider

[Rocko McCombs]

Hello,

Has anyone made a homemade cross cut slider for their table saw? Or do you know of any links you can share?

Thanks,
-Rocko

[Danny Thompson]

Do you mean like a crosscut sled?

[frank shic]

rocko, here are the first two hits off of google for crosscut sled:

http://www.thewoodshop.20m.com/howto_crosscut.htm
http://benchmark.20m.com/articles/CrosscutSleds/CrosscutSledArticle.pdf

keep in mind that they don't work nearly as well as a devoted slider if you have the room and money for one.

[tim mathis]

hi rocko,
i found instructions on making a sliding table saw table
the book is from fine woodworking called
ingenious jigs & shop accessories
essentials of wood working
the instructions are by guy perez.
(found the book at half price books - if there is one near you most have the same books from store to store.)

the guide - rail assembly
tube rails are made from 1 inch ID electrical conduit ( the heavy stuff)
the table rolls on 4 pairs of roller-skate bearings ( each bearing 7/8 inch dia.)
60 inch pivoting aluminum fence.
the article states it is strong and accurate and fully adjustable.
they tell you how to make it out of wood , aluminum and
the heavy conduit.


i am a welder by day so the one i will make will be welded metal. i have all the parts and the conduit tubes are very heavy. hopefully i will find the time to put it together after the holidays are over.

if this is what you are looking for it would be easy to make the way they show how to do it and i think it would be very strong.
hope this helps tim in centerville , ohio

[Pat Germain]

I made a crosscut sled for my contractor saw just a couple of days ago. You can get fancy with a sled, or keep it simple. Mine is of the simple variety. Basically, you just need a wide, flat piece of material with rails on the bottom with are squared up. Then you need something at the back of the sled to put your stock against and hold the two flat pieces together after you cut them in two.

I took a section of 3/4 birch ply I had leftover from a recent bookcase project and cut it down just a little. It's pretty much the same size as the top of my saw.

I then took a section of red oak I also had leftover from the same project and used it for the rails. I didn't know if this would work, but it did: and it works great! I expect the wooden rails will eventually start to wear and create some slop. At that point, I can make more or buy the fancy rails with adjustable wheels.

At the back of the sled, I attached a 2X10 which I squared up on the jointer and planer. I also cut 45 degree angles at the top ends and rounded over the edges to make it a little easier to work with.

After getting everything square using a simple, steel framing square, I waxed the entire bottom of the sled as well as the rails. I used Johnson's paste wax.

The only thing I bought for the sled was a roll of adhesive-backed sandpaper. ($15 was more than I wanted to spend, but I'm sure I'll find other uses for it.) I used only a small section of the sandpaper for the back of the sled in order to help my stock stay put during cuts.

Overall, the sled works great! It's not the ultimate sled, but it sure beats the sloppy mitre gauge I was using. I'll post a picture if anyone is interested, but there appear to be plenty of examples already online.

[John Guerra]

Rocko,

Wood magazine did one in their issue #127. Here's a look.

[Rocko McCombs]

Thanks to all for the replies.
To clarify, I'm not talking about a "cross cut sled", I have made those and they work very well. I am referring to the a sliding table on rails and bearings. A unit to replace the left wing of your saw. Thanks Tim and John for the info on sliding tables. I'll look into that. It should get me started.

Jessem makes a great one but they cost a bundle:
http://www.amazon.com/JessEm-07500-MAST-R-SLIDE-Sliding-Attachment/dp/B000G1KNXC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1196549518&sr=8-2

If anyone else has more ideas...keep em coming.

Thanks again,
-Rocko

[David Duke]

Thanks to all for the replies.
To clarify, I'm not talking about a "cross cut sled", I have made those and they work very well. I am referring to the a sliding table on rails and bearings. A unit to replace the left wing of your saw. Thanks Tim and John for the info on sliding tables. I'll look into that. It should get me started.

Jessem makes a great one but they cost a bundle:
http://www.amazon.com/JessEm-07500-MAST-R-SLIDE-Sliding-Attachment/dp/B000G1KNXC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1196549518&sr=8-2

If anyone else has more ideas...keep em coming.

Thanks again,
-Rocko

Rocko, I have the Mast-R-Slide and it is a fantastic unit. Yes it is a little expensive but if you count your time you would never be able to build one for that cost, plus you will need metal machining access to get the kind of tolerances your going to need and you haven't even began the fence yet.

Just a note on the Mast-R-Slide fence, while it is more than adaquate it is the one area that I think that they could improve on.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I've been kicking this idea around for quite a while. It's a glorified extension table that folds down. It uses a standard sled. However, it has a rail that provides more support for the sled so the sled won't teeter when the sled is in front or passed of the blade.

-Jeff :)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/tablesawextension2-3800x640.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/tablesawextension2800x640.jpg

[Tim Marks]

what software did you use for that drawing? Some nice detail there,