What's a good sled runner?

[Matt Meiser]

I need to make a new sled for my new saw. I tried wood runners in the past and found it moved too much over the seasons for my liking. I also tried UHMW on my last sled which was hard to get installed straight. I'm currently looking at the Kreg ones, but almost $50 for sled runners? Are they really worth it?

[Steve Kohn]

Have you considered just regular bar stock? Obviously drilling and tapping are necessary but standard 3/4 by 1/4 bar stock worked for me. I've used steel, but don't see why aluminum wouldn't work also.

[ken masoumi]

The last time I made a sled for my TS I used plywood,so far so good.

[Matt Meiser]

I priced precision ground steel bar at McMaster and it makes the Kreg parts look cheap. Is standard steel precise enough?

[Jerry Bruette]

I took some advice from Bill Huber and used Incra miter sliders. Mounted easy and I think they have the best adjustment mechanism.

Jerry

[Matt Meiser]

The aluminum ones that look like inverted t-track or the steel ones that have the adjustment discs like their miter gauges?

[Brad Adams]

Standard steel bar stock. Use a hammer and vise to beat it a little bigger to fit the slot precisely. You don't have to widen the whole bar just a few spots to get it to fit right. A little file work after that and your all set. With just a little work, I've found steel runners to be way better than wood. Tried the uhmw and didn't like it at all, just to flexible. I've had steel runners on my sleds for fifteen years and have yet to see any wear on the miter slots of my unisaw.

[John McClanahan]

I bought bar stock by the foot from a local company that sells machine shop supplies. I don't think it's precision ground, but a lot better than what's found at the steel yard. Price wasn't too bad.

John

[Jamie Buxton]

Do you have a thickness planer? If so, use hardwood. With the planer, you can make the hardwood exactly the width of the slot on your tablesaw, or just a few thousandths narrower so it slides nicely but doesn't rattle.

I make the runner a tad taller than the slot is deep. I put the runner in the slot, put glue on top, and put the sled down on top of that, with few weights to ensure good contact. After the glue dries, I take it off the saw, flip it, and use a hand plane to reduce the height of the runner until it fits in the slot without hitting the bottom of the slot. This procedure assures that the runner is absolutely straight when you glue it to the sled.

[Jerry Bruette]

The aluminum ones that look like inverted t-track or the steel ones that have the adjustment discs like their miter gauges?

The aluminum ones. They're already drilled and tapped, all you should have t do is mount them and drill some through holes where the adjustment screws are incase you need to adjust sometime in the future.

[Bruce Wrenn]

3/8 X 3/4 1018 steel. This what miter gauge bars are made from. Alan Schaffter told me about this product. Here a 12' length sells for about $36. Some 3/8 X 3/4 aluminum is too wide, by a couple thousandths. I can't remember where I bought a piece of 3/8 X 3/4 aluminum that is a perfect fit, but only comes in 24" lengths.

[Phil Thien]

Here is how I do mine:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?82788

The trick is the UHMW plastic has to sit in a shallow groove in the sled base to keep it straight.

If you are doing a sled with two runners just make two half sleds and use the front and rear fences to connect them.

If your sled base is thick enough you can just screw through the runners into the base.

I've tried the Inca bars, they can be difficult to adjust so they stay snug as they extend past the front or back of the saw.

The UHMW plastic ones are always snug, there is no play whatsoever. They also slide perfectly, no binding or anything.

[glenn bradley]

I have used UHMW, Incra Miter Sliders and QSWO with equal success. All three have been in service for years.

[Don Welch]

Another vote for Incra - steel ones w/ adjustments for slack take-up

[Richard Coers]

Use quarter sawn hard maple, or white oak. Also mahogany is very stable, so also works well. Hard to beat the price, and if it's a little snug, grab the cabinet scraper.