The Donkey Designs a TS Sled

Re: The Donkey Designs a TS Sled

William Duffield

Once you completely understand the 4-corner figure match technique (which I figured out on my own many years ago) you should immediately realize that a 4-corner natural edge match is exactly the same procedure, and you get the figure match for free. You just need to make your bottom edges the reference surfaces, which might mean a little more tweaking the joints vs. referencing off the top edges.

I found another interesting and effective plan for a table saw miter sled, but not of the donkey's ear variety. What I like best about it is the blade guard. As an exercise, I'll let the interested students decide what its strong points and weak points are.

https://stumpynubs.com/product/table-saw-miter-sled/

James charges a modest amount for the plans (I get nothing), but most everyone who participates here is probably smart enough to figure it out from the photos and descriptions.

Re: The Donkey Designs a TS Sled

eliot feldman

Alluding to a wheelchair ramp was not a good idea. I wouldn't want to be in that chair; it wood feel off. But this trapezoid example would nevertheless result in a grain-matching wraparound box.The board edges would meet at matching heights at each corner. But the heights at the four corners would be different. The top surface connecting the four corners would be a flat plane, but not one parallel to the ground. So the wheelchair would sit at an odd compound angle.

Re: The Donkey Designs a TS Sled

eliot feldman

I can see that it should work perfectly. And it has the added feature (that my design doesn't have) of compensating for tiny errors in one or the other of the 45 degree fences by assuring a perfect 90 degree sum-of-angles. This idea does require, though, that the two fences do indeed meet to make a 90 degree angle. So you still have to be careful when making it. One thing I prefer about my design over this one is that this one requires that the blade be cranked up high for most boxes. (My design needs only the thickness of the stock to be above the sled base.) So, taking into account the thickness of the sled base( probably 3/4 in.) and a decent height for the box sides, the blade for your design would have to be pretty high. So I believe you would need a full ten inch blade. But for what I'm interested in, and others may also be, namely a grain matching wraparound box, I want a very thin blade so as to get less kerf removal and hence better grain matching. My blade dedicated to this sled is 8 1/2 x 5/64 inch. I don't believe you can get a ten inch saw blade that is that thin. ( Of course I could be wrong about that.) In fact, today, I plan to go out and get a newer, sharper, blade because my blade is kind of old. And I find myself wondering if I can get a good one of this size.

Re: The Donkey Designs a TS Sled

eliot feldman

I am wrong. I just ordered a 10inch, 40TPI, 5/64 inch thick Forrest blade to be used exclusively in my new sled. . They call it their Ultra Thin. It's pricey, but I'm positive that the cut will be terrific.( If not, Forrest has a return at no cost policy.)I may be throwing money away, because they will sharpen the Hitachi 5/64 that I have for $25. But it won't be a Forrest!

Re: The Donkey Designs a TS Sled

Bruce McCrory

I think your new thread shows well the result of matching sides, end to end along a board. One corner will be odd. Not too edgy.... He-haw, hee-haaw.

http://www.woodcentral.com/woodworking/forum/handtools.pl/page/1/md/read/id/502756/sbj/first-natural-edge-box/

Re: The Donkey Designs a TS Sled

eliot feldman

You say a corner will be odd? Me, make something odd? I've been trying to explain that all corners (edges) come together "perfectly" because every edge meets its exact mirror image at the intersection of the re-sawn surface and the surface created by the beveled saw cuts.That's the whole point of starting with two boards re-sawn from the same board.

Oops!

Bruce McCrory

My bad. I am not used to resawing--unable to--and was not paying close attention to your methods.

Also, to address your earlier comment, I don't know Eastern US tree species. Here on the left coast 80-percent of hardwoods can be summed up in two species, Bigleaf Maple and Red Alder. So, ID is knee jerk accuracy.

Re: Oops!

eliot feldman

I actually can easily re-saw -- not because i have any special skill. But I am the happy owner of a fine 16 HD Laguna band saw. I have it fitted with a one inch wide blade, and the saw came with a good fence. (I did take the time to sharpen the blade myself.) So I find re-sawing to be easy. I've seen hand tool guys re-saw by hand. THAT takes some skill!

As for the wood in that little box, someone at the local Woodcraft store told me it was persimmon. So I said that's what I think; but I couldn't identify it myself.

Oh, by the way, it's fairly easy to re-saw on a table saw, if the board is not too wide.

Re: The Donkey Designs a TS Sled

Steve D, CT

Eliot,

Your sled design was so amazing that no one called you out on posting table saw jigs on the hand tool forum.

Well done...

Re: The Donkey Designs a TS Sled

Eliot

I think I got away with it because the whole idea for the sled came from a (true) donkey’s ear shooting board that has the fence in the middle of the board do that you can shoot in both directions and keep the reference faces and reference edges where they should be placed against the ear.