Miter gauge vs miter sled?

[Al Willits]

OK, told the keeper of the Calderon that I'm pretty well set on tools after the drum sander, (hehehehe) but I think a good miter gauge is in the works, not to fond of the one that came with the Delta hybrid saw and would like something nicer.

Even got the wife's ok....but it cost me dearly...:D

Been looking at what's out there and the Jessum ones look pretty nice, the Mite-R-Excel looks like a nice unit, but I see Incra has a Miter 5000 and it comes with a sled, that looks nice also.

SO.....

Looking for thoughts on these or any other alternatives for a decent Miter gauge for my TS.
I have a couple of basic DIY sleds, but they're not set up for angles.
Tia

Al

[Jeff Cremers]

I would be interested in the responses as well.
I have read a few reviews and they say the Incra and Jessem come out on top most of the time.
I think one of the companies has a sled attachment that you can put any miter guage on as well
Jeff

[Mark Singer]

I use sleds for dead on square and miter cuts as in tutorials I posted here on SMC. For angles I use the Kreg miter gauge, I actually have one of the older Duginski models, I really like it!

[JayStPeter]

I have an Incra 1000SE miter gauge, a Jointech SmartMiter sled, and a large home made sled that can handle 38" crosscuts. The SmartMiter gets the majority of the work, but when you angle the blade or slap on a dado set, out comes the Incra. The big sled obviously is only used for large parts.
So, I'd get a quality miter gauge first, then get/build the sled to make it more comfortable for the standard operations. I have noticed that Incra makes a sled you put your miter gauge into, which could also be an option. I'm pretty happy, but would like a Mite-R-Slide. Since my current stuff is good, that keeps slipping in the priority list.

Jay

[Bob Levy]

I have a Dewalt Table saw with a sliding table. It came with an Osborne clone miter gauge. While it's not a bad miter gauge, I've never been able to get 100% perfect miters with it. So I recently was looking to upgrade to one of the miter guages you mentioned.

This past weekend I went to a woodworking show in Indianapolis. I happened to see a demo for the Dubby miter sled (http://www.in-lineindustries.com/single_dubby.html). Jerry Cole, the inventor was showing how you could cut 6, 7, 8, etc. sided picture frames that were DEAD ON!. OK, he had my attention. I've always been able to cut standard 4 sided picture frames but then I had to tweak this corner or that corner.

I watched 2 complete demos and thought...ok, I'll give this puppy a try. I brought it home and after setting up the jig (it took about 10 minutes) I cut a 5 sided picture frame that was just as perfect as what Jerry was doing at the show. I looked at it and said, this is AMAZING. Obivously you can't use it with dado's, but for general cross cutting and angled miter cuts this was just what I've been searching for. Granted it's not as sexy as the Jessem or the Incra or the other miter gauges that I looked into but it does work great. I give it 2 big thumbs up. Wood Magazine also rated it as their best jig in a recent review.

[glenn bradley]

You will probably want both if you build anything bigger than a breadbox. A good miter gauge is a wonderful thing but will not replace a sled for the intended purpose. The combo miter gauge / sled items are pretty neat but again are for smaller stock. As in almost all of our decisions; it depends. Think about the type of work that you do and buy/make accordingly.

FWIW, I have an Incra V-27 which I added their larger fence to and it works great for frames, trim, odd angles, etc. I have three sleds of various design for shelves, side panels, bevels, etc.

[Greg Heppeard]

Why not make your own miter sled with a good quality miter guage? I used a miter slide mounted to a piece of 3/4 baltic birch, squared it off on the saw then ran a dado for the guage. Then I screwed it into place. Then I made the left side by putting a small piece of miter slide on the bottom and a cleat on the front so it wouldn't slide with the sled. It works great and I can still cut all the angles I need. I have 32" capacity on square cuts. It took about a half an hour to make. I will probably put some slick strips on the bottom soon.

[Rod Sheridan]

I've used the Jessem for the past year and am very pleased with.

I like the flip stop, it cuts to 32" long which is great.....Rod.

[Aaron Beaver]

I have the Jointech Smart Miter and have been very happy with it. It has zero clearance at any angle so the scale is readable at any angle and you don't have to re-adjust it when you make angle cuts. It has been very handy for me.

[Al Willits]

Have the feeling we're getting close to the "to many to chose, and they all prob will do just fine" stage...:D

I think any of these would be ok, but I keep coming back to the JessEm Mite-R-Excel, besides its a pretty red color...or so Beasty says...:)

So looks like as of now, I will definitely go with that one...probably...least as of now.

I think building a miter seld will happen, but I wanted a good miter gauge anyway.

Al

[Joe O'Leary]

I have the Jessem and like it a lot. However, for critical 45º miters I think a good sled is better because you can cut rights on one side and lefts on the other side of the blade. This will cancel out any minute angle errors instead of doubling them. Make sense?

I just saw a great design from Niki if you are interested.

Joe

[Al Willits]

I have the Jessem and like it a lot. However, for critical 45º miters I think a good sled is better because you can cut rights on one side and lefts on the other side of the blade. This will cancel out any minute angle errors instead of doubling them. Make sense?

I just saw a great design from Niki if you are interested.

Joe

Sure does make sense, I believe David Marks has a sled that does that too and I thought that would be the way to go, just wondering if it sets up for other angles to though?

But I still think a good miter gauge would come in handy ??
I'm redoing the brick molding around the house windows and wondering if they might be a bit long for the sleds, maybe not.

Always looking for good stuff to make, thanks.

Al

[Eric DeSilva]

"I think any of these would be ok, but I keep coming back to the JessEm Mite-R-Excel, besides its a pretty red color...or so Beasty says..."

If you order from RWW, it seems to be a pretty blue color. Also $20 cheaper. Anyone know if there is any other difference? Having fondled one of these things in a WC store, I was pretty impressed. Liked their brass bars for alignment and the whole thing had a *substantial* feel to it. I nearly choked on the pricetag tho'.

[Pete London]

I have a Incra 5000 mitre sled and I am very happy with it. A bit of a bugger to set up properly and must be re-aligned after a blade change. That only takes a minute or two however.

[Joe O'Leary]

Al,

The sled will only cut the angle you make it for, i.e., 45º. I'm glad I have both.

Joe

[Chris Padilla]

I think any of these would be ok, but I keep coming back to the JessEm Mite-R-Excel, besides its a pretty red color...or so Beasty says...:)

My Incra 5k Miter sled is also a puurty red...but leans more toward maroon/wine.... :D

If making your own, consider the Incra miter sliders bars (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=11337) as well (as opposed to a piece of hardwood).

[Al Willits]

The Incra slides are what I used on the two sleds I've built, like them and there easy to install, plus adjustable.

RWW ???

I'm thinking the gauge would probably be the first I'll get, then at least make a 45 degree sled...for now, I could have used a 22.5 one on the TV stand, but I can maybe see futher use for one of them too. maybe :)

No matter how many jigs/sleds/thingies I make, it ain't gonna be enough is it???:D:D

Al...thanks all.

[Ted Herazy]

Why not make your own miter sled with a good quality miter guage? I used a miter slide mounted to a piece of 3/4 baltic birch, squared it off on the saw then ran a dado for the guage. Then I screwed it into place. Then I made the left side by putting a small piece of miter slide on the bottom and a cleat on the front so it wouldn't slide with the sled. It works great and I can still cut all the angles I need. I have 32" capacity on square cuts. It took about a half an hour to make. I will probably put some slick strips on the bottom soon.

Greg - is that mini T-track you used for runners?

[Wayne Cannon]

Save your money and get the miter gauge that started it all. It's quite a bit lighter than the Incras, every bit as accurate, and less expensive than the others. It doesn't appear in reviews because it's no longer a "new" product. The Kreg is almost identical (as are many of their products, so they probably purchased the patent rights). Whatever you do, add some sandpaper (e.g., 120 grit) to the face, otherwise your work will almost always slide slightly, even for a 90-degree cut.

http://www.woodhaven.com/ProductDetail.asp?Id=1641

The Osborne has better support for longer pieces, but at a price. It's also pretty heavy (about like the Incra).

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=48305&cat=1,240,41064

Use a crosscut/miter sled for anything heavy, long, or "draggy" against the table top. A miter gauge just isn't up to that kind of work.