Sliding table or crosscut sled

[Terry Hatfield]

Mark,

Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!!!! ...maybe someday.

Terry

[Dave Avery]

HHHHHHmmmmmm

Yeah, I know Mark. I've been thinking about a big combo machine upgrade. If I hurry up and buy the Dewalt slider, I figure that I'll be less likely to be able to justify the huge combo machine expense

[James Carmichael]

I hate to do this to you but with the router table there & it also sounds like you need the practice go ahead & make the sled. They are really very easy to make. If your fence is square to the miter slots & blade, cut your base square out of 1/4" plywood & mount your fence either on the front or back edge (your preference) then make the runners for miter slots lay them in the miter slots or slot if your only making it to run on one side of the blade make it so you'll cut a little off when you finish it. Now drop your blade below the table & bring your fence over where you can put the base of the sled against it & clamp it down & pre drill for the screws at each end of the sled & runners & screw down through the base & into the miter slot runners to fasten the sled base to the runners. You can either finish pre drilling & screwing more screws while its on the saw or remove it to finish this little chore.

As a totally green newbie, I appreciate the info, Bart. One question though (ok, 2): By "fence", are you referring to the front/rear crosspiece of the sled? and second: what's the best way to square one of those to the blade and miter slots?

Thanks!

[Chris Padilla]

Dave,

One thing that has been bugging me lately as I look around my gara...er, shop is the amount of money I spend on things I could make. Experience is always the key in woodworking (well, there is nice equipment out there to assist you) and turning out nice products so one would think that trying to make everything possible yourself would, in turn, gain you more experience and make you a better woodworker.

On the other hand, I could see myself building all sorts of neat jigs/tools and never actually getting any REAL woodworking done! It is always a compromise between time, money, and building something instead of building something for the shop!

To that end, I would say to go ahead an build yourself at least one fairly simple CC sled just so you can say "I've been there" and then decide if the sliding table is needed.

I am so envious of the folks here with dedicated shops who can literally weld their equipment to one spot. I get so bloody tired of wheeling my stuff around....

[Bart Leetch]

Quote:
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Originally Posted by Bart Leetch
I hate to do this to you but with the router table there & it also sounds like you need the practice go ahead & make the sled. They are really very easy to make. If your fence is square to the miter slots & blade, cut your base square out of 1/4" plywood & mount your fence either on the front or back edge (your preference) then make the runners for miter slots lay them in the miter slots or slot if your only making it to run on one side of the blade make it so you'll cut a little off when you finish it. Now drop your blade below the table & bring your fence over where you can put the base of the sled against it & clamp it down & pre-drill drill for the screws at each end of the sled & runners & screw down through the base & into the miter slot runners to fasten the sled base to the runners. You can either finish pre-drilling & screwing more screws while its on the saw or remove it to finish this little chore.
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As a totally green newbie, I appreciate the info, Bart. One question though (ok, 2): By "fence", are you referring to the front/rear crosspiece of the sled? and second: what's the best way to square one of those to the blade and miter slots?

Thanks!

If your fence is square to the miter slots & blade

(This is the table-saw fence.)

Bring your table-saw fence over where you can put the right edge of the base of the sled against it & clamp it down measure for hole depth & wrap some tape around the drill to indicate how deep you want to drill & pre-drill for the screws at each end of the sled & runners & screw down through the base & into the miter slot runners to fasten the sled base to the runners.

(This will square the sled to you fence & hence to your miter slots & blade.)


Mount your fence either on the front or back edge (your preference)

(This is the front or back rail(fence) for the sled that you can put your material against to square it to the blade.)

You can either make a sled with front & rear fence & have the sled set up so it uses both miter slots. Or you can make a sled that runs in only the right or left miter slot with the fence on the back or on the front. All of these different styles have their advantages.

[Ken Horton]

In case you don't want to build one this company makes a great miter sled called a Dubby. Here is the address http://www.in-lineindustries.com/

[W Craig Wilson]

HHHHHHmmmmmm

OK, Mark, I'll bite. Whose is it and where did you find it?

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Dave,

I really like my Smartmiter. With a 12" cut limit a sliding table it is not. If you shop space is really that thight I would statr saving and looking for a used combo machine. Some day I will have a combo machine or a monster size shop, or maybe both

[John Weber]

Dave,

My Dad has the DeWalt slider and saw, and it is a very nice setup. I've also seen them retrofitted to a couple Unisaws with very little modification. I would try a simple sled, if you don't like it go ahead and get the slider. Hey when you move up to the combo, the DeWalt will have even more resale value.

John

[Larry Works]

I also have a DW746 and I want to add a router table extension to it. Do you have a picture of yours? I would be interested in any information you could give on what you bought and how you installed it.