Maximum capacity for crosscut sled?

[Brian Penning]

Anyone else wish their crosscut sled was a little deeper sometimes?
Been trying to figure out what's the maximum capacity I can make a new crosscut sled and still, of course, get true cuts. Basically talking about a panel sled.
I figure it would help if I have the runners protrude somewhat at the rear but how much?
Suggestions?
TIA

[Michael Gibbons]

Brian, I went down to measure it. It's 16" deep, 28" wide and I have a 24" t-track screwed to the bottom and 8'' is sticking out the back. If you do build one make sure that you don't put any mounting screws in the backstop were the blade will cut when you make the initial pass. You could probably make it wider but then it might get unweildly. If I were to make another one, I'd make it so that it sits on the RIGHT side of the blade. That makes it easier to measure and cut to the line than to measure backwards and flip the workpeice around and cut it. I originally got the idea from Norm, but when he had the 2 part jig episode, he made another one that went on the right. Making a larger panel sled would be the ticket but to use it safely would mean having a much larger tablesaw top for it to rest on but then you'd have to stretch a bit to finish the cut on a wide panel.

[Dave Dye]

Michael, any chance of a picture or two.

Thanks

[Michael Gibbons]

Sorry. At the moment,I suck at downloading pics. I'll try and get them up tomorrow with help of the wifey.

[Rich Schneider]

My sled is the same width and depth as my tablesaw top...so it is somewhere around 42" wide and 28" deep if my memory serves me correctly and is setup so that it straddles the blade.....there are different ideas on how to build the sleds to accomodate deeper panels...some I have seen have a flush support across the front instead of an elevated support....mine is elevated, but I rarely have any need to crosscut a panel larger than 18"-19" with it.

[keith ouellette]

I am looking at the same thing and have decided I am going to build three. The largest of which is going to be for cutting full panels but it will have to have supports like roller stands to hold it up before the cut is made.

I figure if I build it a little deeper than 48" I can use two wedges in front to keep it pushed tight against the back. That and a good hold down clamp will make it work I think.

[Brian Penning]

Since 1st posting this I've see a couple of large ones. This one made by Norm looks good and you can see that the runner sticks out beyond the front and back of the sled.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZFOX9kUKm4

[Steven Wilson]

Brian, the size of a crosscut sled is really determined by how much you mass you want to work with and how well you can support it. Whatever you build make sure that you can adjust it to remove error. The 5 sided cut method is often used to setup sliding tables and the same procedures apply to setting up your crosscut sled.

[JayStPeter]

Normally I use a Jointech SmartMiter. But for larger pieces I have a homemade one that can cut 36".

[Danny Thompson]

Mine is 2' x 4', which works well given the size of my table (3' x 7')

I would recommend the following guidelines:

Maximum depth: Measure the distance from the front edge of your table to the leading edge of your blade, and double it. This will ensure that your sled is balanced on the table, and therefore aligned in the miter slots, throughout the cut.

Maximum width: The width of your table.

My 2 cents.

[Michael Gibbons]

Brian, Thats pretty much what mine is like except that it's on the other side of the blade and the stop is at the front so you are pushing the work piece and the sled through at the same time. Also I think the aluminum t-track would tend to wear much less than a piece of wood of any kind.

[Bob Stritzke]

The sled that I use is five feet wide and three feet deep. I like the way it works for larger materials. It's takes a little effort to lift on and off the saw but works great. But you need an outfeed table on the back to hold it up. When cutting wide panels then I use a roller stand in front to hold it up.