Building a router sled

This is a copy of a reply I posted to another thread. I got to thinking about it and thought it might be helpfull to post it independently. I always thought that a router sled was such a simple and fundamental concept that any one with a router table would have built one.

Make your own router sled. Here's what I did. Take two boards the length you want your sled to be. They ought to be at least 3/4 stock and 2" thick. Clamp each one on either side of the table, with their top edges level with the router table. These are your runners. Now take a sheet of plywood (I used 1/4) and lay it across the table so that it rests on the two boards. Fasten the ply to the boards. Cut the ply flush. The next step take two more sticks of lumber, again, minimum 3/4 stock, 2" tall, lay them across the platform you just built. Attach them to the ends of the runners and across the bottom of the ply, These are your fences. At this step be sure that these final pieces are perpendicular to the runners. Now wax the runners and edge of the router table. Chuck a bit in the router, slide this new sled over the bit. You can attach all kinds of clamps, etc. to customize the table. If you make several, one for each various sized bit you will then have an index mark where the bit will cut.

The possiblities of such a sled are endless. With stop blocks you can cut accurate tenons, dados in small projects, rabbets, etc.