buy or build a crosscut sled

[Stephen White]

Can't decide. Watched a couple of videos, seems easy enough yet I wonder if it will end being precise enough. Can order a kit that has the hardware and that seems to make sense and will save time. I get that its a project but pumped on making tools but there seems to be a real lack of options. The one I see around is made of MDF and also have seen pictures of the ones that arrive smashed up and prob useless.

What does everyone here do?

edit 11/9

Just ordered the Dubby combo right and left. Was a tough choice and respect those here that said it is a worthwhile project for a new woodworker and that makes sense but I have a lot of projects to learn with and I think the thing that rang true to me is the several folks that said they were never really happy with the one they built. I come up a little short on a project I don't have to work with it all the time.

Several here recommended the Dubby and watched some videos and read a lot of woodworkers (including in sawmills archive) rave reviews so it sounds like a good tool.

[Mike Kees]

I bought a sliding TS. Before those days I had a crosscut box made from Baltic birch plywood and used UHMV plastic for the runners. It is possible to build an accurate box with some care and attention to detail.

[Cary Falk]

I have an Incra sled and Miter gauge, Takes up less room. It is lighter. It has infinite angles, I was never satisfied with my home made one.

[Frederick Skelly]

I have an Incra sled and Miter gauge, Takes up less room. It is lighter. It has infinite angles, I was never satisfied with my home made one.

Me too. Small, easy to store, nice tool.

[John TenEyck]

I built a large crosscut sled when I wanted to build my kitchen cabinets 25+ years ago. Nothing fancy; plywood base, maple runners, poplar fence front and rear. It is as perfect to 90 deg today as I can measure using the 5 cut method as it was when I first built it. When it absolutely has to be right this is what I use. I think it took about half a day to build for the cost of the materials which wasn't much. I have other crosscut sleds, too, each built for a specific purpose.

John

[Thomas McCurnin]

William Ng has a great video on making a cross cut sled and calibrating it to 3 thousands of an inch.

[Bob Jones 5443]

Thomas got there first. Yes, William Ng, YouTube. Be patient and hear William out. Study his method; it's the gold standard. It is as accurate for crosscutting as a Biesemeyer fence is for ripping. Indispensable in the shop.

The first time I made one, years ago, I used cheap plywood, which I refer to with a name I cannot print here: ____wood. Bad idea. Use the highest-quality Baltic Birch you can find. Half-inch is the right scale. MDF erodes at the edges.

Don't buy a crosscut sled. Every time you use the one you made you'll be proud of your handiwork.

Good luck and have fun!

[Bryan Lisowski]

I agree to make your own. Watch the Ng 5 cut method and it will be accurate.

[Steve Eure]

If just using it for crosscuts, my advise is to build it yourself. If you want to do angled cuts with one, buy one. Incra and Dubby Sled are the best out there in my opinion. I do segmented turning and made my own sled for it, but it never gave me repeated results that I likes. It was close, but still had a gap or two. I bought the Dubby and on the first, last , and in-between segment rings, I have never had any gaps. I still use my homemade crosscut sled all the time for crosscuts though. It really depends on what you want to do with it.

[Marc Fenneuff]

Building a crosscut sled is kind of like a rite of passage. Give it a try - I had a blast building mine. Watch the Kings Fine Woodworking and William Ng vids on youtube to familiarize youtself with the 5-cut method.

I used half-inch baltic birch.

[Brian Tymchak]

Tom Mc Laughlin of Epic Woodworking has a 3 cut method for squaring a fence on a sled. Haven't used it but it seems pretty simple.

https://youtu.be/2l5DFlCRGKo

[Paul F Franklin]

Tom Mc Laughlin of Epic Woodworking has a 3 cut method for squaring a fence on a sled. Haven't used it but it seems pretty simple.

https://youtu.be/2l5DFlCRGKo

I used the three cut method described by Tom on a recent build after hearing about it on the FWW podcast. Then I checked the result using the 5 cut method. The latter showed the fence was off less than two thousanths over about 20 inches...close enough for me. The three cut method is a little simpler for those who might struggle with math a bit, or who lack good calipers. But it is likely a little less accurate because the error is only multiplied by 2, and measuring it is a little subjective because it relies on how "tight" a story stick with stops is on the test board compared to a precise caliper measurement. OTOH, the accuracy I got using the 3 cut method was plenty close enough for me at least.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Built several "panel cutters" in NYW style. Finally after many years of watching Jerry Cole demonstrate the Dubby, broke down and bought one. Kicked my own butt a thousand times for not buying one earlier. Have super neat cut off sled now. It's a single runner, with a fence on one side only. Fits into left miter slot. Measures about 6" X 8." Turned it around in miter slot, and cut, so no matter which way I load it onto saw, it's correct. Use it in place of my gauge for squaring cuts on small stock.

[glenn bradley]

Obviously two schools of thought here. I do have one small sled that I use for small stuff but my other sleds are much larger than the commercial versions. I don’t have a lot of trouble making square cuts on small parts where as large panels are another story. I have made a half a dozen sleds for myself and others.

The three cut method looks slick but it’s more involved than the five cut method. Choose your poison, they both will work to get you dead on. Whether you want zero clearance inserts on the face and fence, pivoting fence for angles, t-track for stops, measuring tape etc. is up to you.

[Ed Edwards]

Here are the responses from "the creek" from 2013.
Bill NG does a great presentation on his site, as well as the 5 cut method. As was said earlier.

Ed