Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 29 of 29

Thread: Any easy plans for a cross cut sled?

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Doylestown, PA
    Posts
    7,551
    An adjustable fence. T-bolts in oversized (or slotted) holes is my favored method. Only a small amount of adjustment range is required.
    I find this useful too. I added a fixed section to the sled in back of the movable fence. In that fixed section is a through hole with T nut. Put a machine screw with lock nut butting against the fence. Now I have a fine adjustment mechanism and once locked a stop for the fence.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Sacramento, ca.
    Posts
    269

    Niki's sled

    I lurked years before joining this group. I remember a fellow named Niki who posted clever designs for varies jigs. They were clever and will thought out. Here is a link to his method for building a cross cut sled; Cross-cut sled, a different way to make it. I used this method to position the runners on two slides, and it works very well. Niki has past on now, I miss his innovative method of work reflected in his posts. His posts live on.
    Bill

    " You are a square peg in a square hole, and we need to twist you to make you fit. " My boss

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Midland MI
    Posts
    887
    I just recently made the wood whisperer sled, it was quite easy, just follow the video, I do not like where the cut out is in mine, I believe I followed the plan and it is at about 2/2 or 3/4 of the way to the right hand side, I wish it was either centered, or on the left hand side, I normally have cutoff to the left, so if your cutting a 4ft board and want to use table saw fence as a stop, I only have about 8inches of fence contact. also it seems quite big, most of my cuts are smaller, under 10 inches, I think I am going to make a smaller setup one of these days

  4. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Michael Cole View Post
    Would like to build a cross cut sled for my table saw. Anyone have links to plans for an easy to make sled?
    I know I'm late to the party on this, but William Ng has a superb video on you tube and his website. He offers a cut list, and provides the math on how to figure out how and where to adjust the rear fence to provide perfection in crosscuts. If you follow his directions, you only have to adjust your fence once to be within 1 one-thousandth of where you want to be. http://wnwoodworkingschool.com/5-cut...ross-cut-sled/

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    El Dorado Hills, CA
    Posts
    1,311
    Also late to the party, but check out the "wedgie sled" on the segeasy web site. This is a site dedicated to making segmented turnings. They show a really cool way of making the runners.

    They start with a strip of hardwood close to the width of the miter slot. Drill a hole in each end about 1/4" from one side and cut a slot about 1.5" long on the bandsaw. A screw inserted in the hole is used to flex the tab to create a perfect fit to the miter slot.

    The rest of the features are specific to cutting wedges for segmented turning, but the sled base could easily be adapted with a square fence.

    Steve

  6. #21
    I just made a sled for my saw. Didn't have any hardwood available for the runner. Top of that my "work" area is an unheated metal pole barn. So it is very susceptible to moisture , heat and cold- constant battle. I did have some trex type porch flooring available and use it for runners. They work great. Beside not being affected by moisture and temperature they turned out easiest make. Having made wood ones in the past , getting them the needed snug was extremely easy. I just had to get the close and minor adjusted after attachment to sled was just a matter of using my metal scraper . It was a breeze to scrap off tiny amounts in select spots.

    One thing you must be aware of is that the screws will swell the runner. So after you got the runner to fit perfect and then when screwed to sled nothing works . Don't panic the scrapper easily fixed that in no time.

    Finally the plastic type material needs no waxing of lubrication of any type .
    Last edited by Denny Tudor; 12-19-2015 at 2:29 PM.

  7. I built the woof whisperer one just the other night. This was my second crosscut sled. As another commenter noted, it's important to square your blade to your miter slot before you build the jig.

    On my first sled I used polyethylene runners from Amazon and I was not impressed. This time I got on the same jungle based site and picked up a cheap 12" drafting triangle and a pair of the microjig zero clearance adjustable runners. I don't have a jointer or planer so making my own seemed futile.

    Anyway, I went with a 1/2" ply base and made the fences from two pieces of laminated 3/4" ply, secured with 2 1/2" deck screws. On my old sled I tried to use a single thickness of 3/4 with pocket screws and the whole thing felt flimsy as a result.

    On the new sled I got lucky, square to 1/10,000 of an inch per inch of cut on the first go!!
    Last edited by Clayton Petry; 03-16-2016 at 6:41 AM. Reason: Adding reference to which sled

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    22,492
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Fitzgerald View Post
    Another piece of advise if I may...... make sure you use a blade of the kerf width you intend to use for the life of the sled when you make the initial cut in it......and remember to use that kerf width blade in the future.
    Or make replaceable inserts and use the sled for all sorts of things . This leads you away from the more basic build but, it is an easy feature to add and I really enjoy the benefits. In the end you want to tailor your sled to your use. The coolest whiz-bang accessory is dead weight if it is not of use.

    Box Sled (17).jpgMed-Sled-Used-2011 002.jpgMed-Sled-Used-2011 004.jpg
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  9. #24
    Eagle Lake

    Nick Ferry

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Virginia and Kentucky
    Posts
    3,364
    Glenn,

    That is the nicest cross-cut sled I've seen (on the left). Much better than the one I made.

  11. #26
    I post this because you are probably using plywood in those projects.

    A panel sled is very useful and, IME almost indispensible when cutting plywood parts. The are quite easy and quick to build.

    Its basically a very simple sled with a couple differences:
    1. The entire sled is on the left of the blade. There is one runner in the slot and another that runs along the left edge of TS.
    2. There is one fence. A 3/4" thick cleat fastened to far end of sled, so you are pushing against the fence as you cut.
    3. I installed a couple lever clamps to secure the piece (not necessary but useful).

    I use a couple saw horses and a 2x4 to support very long pieces.
    Hope this helps.

  12. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by Michael Cole View Post
    Would like to build a cross cut sled for my table saw. Anyone have links to plans for an easy to make sled?
    Google William Ng on YouTube and his perfect crosscut sled, it is the best plan out there, and concisely presents how to construct and adjust it for cuts true to one thousandth of an inch.

  13. #28
    The wood whisperer learned to make his sled from William Ng and uses Ng's design and construction methods. I just made two of these last week, one for cross cutting and one for dadoes, following the Ng videos which are very clear. It was fairly easy to get the sleds accurate to 0.002" per foot. I used 1/2" birch ply for the base. Mine are 30 x 27, which is large, and they are they weigh a little over 16 pounds each. If I was doing it again I'd make them a bit smaller to save weight.

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Libertyville, IL (Chicago - North)
    Posts
    360
    Put a couple sloppy, fast coats of shellac on the bottom. Sand smoothish. Wax. Enjoy and immensely easier slide across the saw table.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •