I am building a small crosscut sled to use for slotting guitar fingerboards. I need 12-18" bars. Preferably 12". Not that much motion involved. I looked at Zero Play (plastic, adjustable) and Rockler aluminum. I'm open to thoughts.
Thanks!
Mike
I am building a small crosscut sled to use for slotting guitar fingerboards. I need 12-18" bars. Preferably 12". Not that much motion involved. I looked at Zero Play (plastic, adjustable) and Rockler aluminum. I'm open to thoughts.
Thanks!
Mike
I use the Incra Miter Slider and very happy with it.
I have sleds with Incra aluminum runners, UHMW runners, Steel runners and wood runners. In my environment on the left coast they all perform equally. Having learned this, straight grained ash or white oak is my choice today.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
I cut mine from stock UHMW poly and attach with a conical shouldered screw in a hole made with with a center drill. Voila - fully adjustable for zero play, self lubricating, and no humidity induced fit problems.
MSC Direct item # 32000754, 3/8" X 3/4" X 24" 6063 aluminum bars. $10.20 each. Using dado set in TS, I route a 3/4" dado, about 1/16" deep to locate miter bar on bottom of sled
Last edited by Bruce Wrenn; 08-06-2018 at 8:51 PM.
I cut mine from leftover engineered hardwood which is basically plywood.
My sled is 3/16" plywood with an Oak runner and a
Basswood cross fence. One side of the blade only. Make the plywood a little wide then run it thru the saw to trim to width. Then install the cross fence perpendicular. No need for adjustment if built in this order. And don't worry about a little slop in the runner, it will always be the same as when you trimmed. The result is very light and accurate.
Hmm. No thoughts on Zero Play runners? Which is fine... just curious
I have a set of the Zero Play runners somewhere. I remember buying them for some jig and their being kinda flimsy and hard to adjust. I've used the heavier Incras on a couple of things and love them.
This part of the country has pretty wild temp/humidity swings so haven't even tried using hard wood.
I've got a couple different brands, but the are only adjustable where screws are. The rest of the bar stays the same, so support is every few inches. On the aluminum ones, if they are sloppy, center punch a dimple every couple inches along length, along one side only. Go lightly with dimples, as it doesn't take much.. They will wear in for a perfect fit. The ones I referenced originally are a perfect fit in my Delta saws, exactly 3/4". I wish they stocked them in 36" lengths,but they don't. Boo-hiss!
Mike, for a sled with limited travel, the ends of the runner need not run past the miter slot ends. Extend the ends of the runner past the sled and make a small sawkerf in the end. A small screw threaded into the kerf gives a simple zero-play adjustment. This technique is common in the construction of "wedgie sleds" which require exacting precision.
I was far too cheap to buy anything so I used some old cutting board material which seems just like UHMW. Worked excellent.
Joe
JC Custom WoodWorks
For best results, try not to do anything stupid.
"So this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause." - Padmé Amidala "Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith"
So, i ordered 2 of those blue aluminum bars, 18" from Rockler. How does one locate the holes on the sled?
I bought a slider😜.
Before that, i had a machinist make me steel runners. Aluminum doesn’t play well with steal.
To locate holes, use double sided tape.
I've done it by letting the bars hang out of the miter slot by ~6" and then placing the sled base on top. Clamp the bars to the sled, flip it and use a center punch to mark the holes. Alternatively I've placed the base on the top and marked the positions of the miter slots then cut shallow dados with a router and edge guide or dado blade so that the basement are inset into the base. The holes can then be easily marked when seated in the dado.