cross cut sled question

4/17/20, 1:29 PM #1

Paul Woolson
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cross cut sled question

paul woolson

Hi all, working on a cross cut sled. Question: how you insure that the miter slot rail is mounted perfectly parallel to the blade (or perpendicular to the cross cut fence)? I have an application that needs to me spot-on 90° and can't think of a way to register it or adjust it afterwards. Thanks!

Re: cross cut sled question

4/17/20, 1:50 PM #2

Keith Newton
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Re: cross cut sled question

Keith Newton

I start with a sheet as big as I want the top to be. Then I put the slot guides in the saw top slots, and fasten down through the sled top with brads or staples well enough to hold them in place, then flip it over and attach better.

The with it setting on the saw with the blade down under the table, start the motor and slowly raise the blade so that it plunges up about 6" from the back, and slide it forward to within a few inches of coming out the front. Now I attach the back fence perpendicular to the saw cut.

I like to use 2" thick material for the front and back fences and at least 2" taller than the blades full height so whenever I need it for a deep cut, it doesn't get cut in half.

Re: cross cut sled question

4/17/20, 2:08 PM #3

Bruce, a MN Galoot
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Here ya go! *LINK*

William Ng sled method

Re: cross cut sled question

4/17/20, 2:26 PM #4

Hank Knight
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Re: cross cut sled question *LINK*

Hank Knight

Paul, there are lots of ways to do what you want to do. Keith's is one that works well. I've built several crosscut sleds and, if you're not afraid of a little math, I've found this YouTube video linked below to the most accurate way to set the fence to perfect 90 Degrees to the cut line.

As for attaching the runners, I stick double stick tape on the runners, place them in the miter slots on your saw elevated with thin strips of wood underneath them to raise the tape to just slightly above the table surface. Butt the edge of the sled base against your rip fence, lower it down onto the taped runners and press down to make sure the tape bonds well the the bottom of the sled. Remove the sled, turn it over and fasten the runners to the sled with countersunk flat head screws. Be sure to use strong tape so the runners won't move before you get them screwed down. Add the back and front fences as instructed in the video and adjust the back fence to zero per the video. This has worked well for me.

5 Cuts to a "Perfect" Cross-Cut Sled

Re: cross cut sled question

4/17/20, 2:28 PM #5

Hank Knight
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Ha! Bruce beat me to it.

Re: cross cut sled question

4/17/20, 5:55 PM #6

Paul Woolson
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Re: cross cut sled question

paul woolson

Thank you all! I've got my math work cut out for me this weekend.

Re: cross cut sled question

4/17/20, 7:05 PM #7

Walter Ahlgrim
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Re: cross cut sled question

Walter Ahlgrim

If your blade and miter slot are not parallel it is not worth the time to build a sled.

This video shows how to adjust them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yccbzNyc8JQ&t=655s

I just made a new sled I wanted a light weight sled.

First I made the runner. Then I made a dado to fit the runner so it would trim the edge of the sled when I fed it thru the first time. Then I tuned up carpenters square and used the square to position the rail.

WHY IS IT SO HARD TO POST A PHOTO TO THIS SITE!!!!!!

Walta

Re: cross cut sled question

4/17/20, 7:12 PM #8

Walter Ahlgrim
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Re: cross cut sled question

Walter Ahlgrim

https://photos.google.com/search/_tra_/photo/AF1QipOclZMTHVDio8Qf7nO_KvGov_MNK0OVrcJayeLL

Re: cross cut sled question

4/17/20, 9:43 PM #9

Kneale Brownson
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link doesn't work

- - -

I’m a fairly spry 82-year-old who had been a reader/participant at WoodCentral since the demise of Badger Pond. I started visiting BP to learn something about finish for a project I’d completed and became hooked on internet forums as a way of increasing my knowledge about all sorts of topics. I have been a moderator for a couple other forums on subjects I enjoy. My interest in woodworking began in the early 1970’s when my wife and I had contractors add to our house near Traverse City, MI, and I ended up doing the trim work to reduce mounting costs. I had no tools. I bought a P-C skilsaw, hammer, screwdrivers and one of those wooden miter boxes with a backsaw. I made trim for windows and doors from one-by lumber and started my woodworking career. At the same time, I started a 50-year career as a ski instructor. I got onto the night shift at a mental hospital so I could ski days, and spent my 30s and 40s with that schedule. I eventually replaced the PC-upside-down-in-a-board with a real table saw and began the purchase of enough equipment to fill a jam-packed 40-foot shipping container we used after we sold our property in Michigan. The ski instructing had taken us to Colorado and we were spending too much on maintaining utilities for two homes. A couple years ago, the dozen years spent at 10,000 feet of elevation was making my body produce too many red blood cells, so we had to leave my “forever” home in the mountains and we moved back to Michigan. Now I have to find myself a shop space for all those tools in the container.

Re: cross cut sled question

4/18/20, 1:15 PM #10

paul grover
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Re: Here ya go!

Paul grover

Just built a new sled, used the 5 cut method. Works great. I located both fences 1/2” between the fence and the edge of the plywood to protect the fence whe being stored. That 1/2” overhang gave me a great place to do my measurements for adjustments.

Re: cross cut sled question

4/19/20, 1:17 AM #11

Walter Ahlgrim
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Re: link doesn't work

Walter Ahlgrim

Try this link

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LyHRfQh67iiroSHVA

Re: cross cut sled question

4/19/20, 3:05 AM #12

paul in AZ
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link is still nonsense

Re: cross cut sled question

4/19/20, 12:09 PM #13

Bruce, a MN Galoot
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Try this *LINK*

Sled pics

Re: cross cut sled question

4/19/20, 4:13 PM #14

Kneale Brownson
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Re: Try this

kneale brownson

Both your new links worked for me, but I'm a Google user. Google may not let other browsers in.

- - -

I’m a fairly spry 82-year-old who had been a reader/participant at WoodCentral since the demise of Badger Pond. I started visiting BP to learn something about finish for a project I’d completed and became hooked on internet forums as a way of increasing my knowledge about all sorts of topics. I have been a moderator for a couple other forums on subjects I enjoy. My interest in woodworking began in the early 1970’s when my wife and I had contractors add to our house near Traverse City, MI, and I ended up doing the trim work to reduce mounting costs. I had no tools. I bought a P-C skilsaw, hammer, screwdrivers and one of those wooden miter boxes with a backsaw. I made trim for windows and doors from one-by lumber and started my woodworking career. At the same time, I started a 50-year career as a ski instructor. I got onto the night shift at a mental hospital so I could ski days, and spent my 30s and 40s with that schedule. I eventually replaced the PC-upside-down-in-a-board with a real table saw and began the purchase of enough equipment to fill a jam-packed 40-foot shipping container we used after we sold our property in Michigan. The ski instructing had taken us to Colorado and we were spending too much on maintaining utilities for two homes. A couple years ago, the dozen years spent at 10,000 feet of elevation was making my body produce too many red blood cells, so we had to leave my “forever” home in the mountains and we moved back to Michigan. Now I have to find myself a shop space for all those tools in the container.

Re: cross cut sled question

4/19/20, 10:28 PM #15

William Duffield
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Re: link doesn't work

William Duffield

That link worked for me, but I have a Google account.

I really like your weight saving idea. Mine, which is 26" deep, for cross cutting sheets of plywood and table tops, is much too heavy to be convenient, even though I store it right above my table saw top. I think the holes would also help me get a good grip on it when getting it down and putting it away.

However, I have a safety concern with short cutoffs not supported by the sled. I had one built that way. I took it apart after a short cutoff of a tropical hardwood (purpleheart) was slammed violently against the saw top, and bounced across the room as it dropped off the stick I was cutting and got caught in the saw blade teeth.

Re: cross cut sled question

4/20/20, 9:50 PM #16

Kneale Brownson
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Re: link doesn't work

kneale brownson

You could do the "weight saving" for all but the area near the fence.

- - -

I’m a fairly spry 82-year-old who had been a reader/participant at WoodCentral since the demise of Badger Pond. I started visiting BP to learn something about finish for a project I’d completed and became hooked on internet forums as a way of increasing my knowledge about all sorts of topics. I have been a moderator for a couple other forums on subjects I enjoy. My interest in woodworking began in the early 1970’s when my wife and I had contractors add to our house near Traverse City, MI, and I ended up doing the trim work to reduce mounting costs. I had no tools. I bought a P-C skilsaw, hammer, screwdrivers and one of those wooden miter boxes with a backsaw. I made trim for windows and doors from one-by lumber and started my woodworking career. At the same time, I started a 50-year career as a ski instructor. I got onto the night shift at a mental hospital so I could ski days, and spent my 30s and 40s with that schedule. I eventually replaced the PC-upside-down-in-a-board with a real table saw and began the purchase of enough equipment to fill a jam-packed 40-foot shipping container we used after we sold our property in Michigan. The ski instructing had taken us to Colorado and we were spending too much on maintaining utilities for two homes. A couple years ago, the dozen years spent at 10,000 feet of elevation was making my body produce too many red blood cells, so we had to leave my “forever” home in the mountains and we moved back to Michigan. Now I have to find myself a shop space for all those tools in the container.

cross cut sled question

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