Crosscutting Sled Capacity Questions

[Steve Barlet]

Greetings! First SMC post! I've lurked for a long time and finally got tired of not being able to see attachments. I'm trying to bend my mind around some crosscutting scenarios and could use some help.


So I'm pretty new to woodworking and interested in making or buying a crosscut sled for my Ridgid R4510 portable table saw. What determines crosscut sled capacity? Some sleds have a vertical piece of wood on each end and others, like the Incra sliders, have one side open ended.

I've seen some sleds that offer, for example, 24" of crosscutting capacity. The R4510 is only 21" deep- will that limit my capacity?

I'm trying to make the most of my portable saw and I'm hoping I didn't purchase a saw last year with too little depth.


Thanks,
Steve

[Craig Day]

Steve,

A crosscut sled is a very wise jig to make. You will use it often and it will be a very valuable tool in woodworking.

The capacity of the sled for cut depth is really limited to how deep you want to make the sled. There are practical limits on how deep you want to make the sled. You are mostly limited by your table depth, as the deeper you make the sled, the more sled you will have hanging off the table when you cut a piece. As the sled hangs further off the table as you push the piece through, it can start tipping off the table. All of the sleds I've made match the depth of the table, or are a few inches deeper. There are also methods of securing the runners in the miter slots to keep the sled from tipping as more of it moves off the table (both when you start the cut and when you finish the cut), but I personally find these more cumbersome when inserting and removing the sled compared to how often I really need to take advantage of them holding the sled from tipping (and believe me, you will switch from crosscutting to ripping very frequently once you have a sled).

If you have outfeed and infeed tables, then of course you can make the sled even deeper as you will have support to keep the sled from tipping. The limits are really a balance issue of having something that safely balances and doesn't tip backwards on the floor when you start the cut, or tip forwards on the floor when you finish the cut.

If you have any scrap plywood and 2x4s laying around you could experiment with balance by screwing a "test sled" together fairly quickly. You don't have to put runners on the sled. Simply move the sled all the way forward to where it would finish the cut, and all the way backwards to where you might start a cut (further back for wider cross-cutting capacity). Make sure you put something sufficiently heavy+wide in the sled to simulate worst case conditions. Also test it with more standard stock. If you build a sled that matches your table depth, you'll find that it balances fine when you finish a cut, but the deeper the board you try cutting, the more you'll find yourself supporting the sled when you feed it into the table. It's infrequent that I'm cutting really wide boards, so using a little more elbow grease to support the sled when feeding it into the blade is OK for me.

I've never purchased a crosscut sled, so I cannot comment on how well they might work. Building one isn't hard. I would recommend using the 5 cut method for squaring up the fence properly. In my opinion, this video from wnwoodworks is excellent on making a proper sled: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbG-n--LFgQ

I think having a fence (the vertical pieces) on the front and back makes for a more solid and stable sled that will give better results. You can make very, very precise and square cuts with a good crosscut sled.

Good luck!

[Bill McDermott]

Welcome Steve,

You will be making a first sled, then another....

Almost every cut will be something under 8". So a small and simple cross cutting sled is a quick and easy place to start. Then you may want something to use on panels. For panels, I like the design that has the fence on the front, rather than the back because I have an out-feed table to catch the sled on the way past the blade, and can still get the cut started safely. Finally, you may build the work horse, sled of your dreams with what you learned on the first two. At least, that's how it worked for me. You will really like having a sled.

[Steve Peterson]

I agree with Bill. You will eventually have 2 crosscut sleds. I have a 14" version and only occasionally need to cut something wider. I need to make a 24" version, but expect that the smaller one will get most of the use.

Steve

[Mark W Pugh]

I always had the same questions. So, just recently I built one, which goes from the front to the back of my table saw. I do have a out feed table, so I had to cut a slot in that. How far, well, the sled only needs to be pushed about half way across the table to cut something.

Just building new cabinets, I found that it could easily cut any panel. If you have an out feed table, the only thing you need to watch is the amount of overhang, in the front, when you begin a cut. It's just like cutting a big piece of ply. I personally don't know of anything I will be cutting that would require a 24" cross cut, but that's just my world.

So, the real question for you to answer is, do you have an out feed table and how big of a piece do you plan on cutting? I think the out feed table is much more critical than an infeed table, but that's just me.

The video posted by Craig above is dead on. I made my sled, thought it was square until I ran through the "5 cut process". After a feeler gauge adjustment. it was dead nuts on, at least for woodworking.

[glenn bradley]

I'm sorry I didn't read the whole thread but, I'm sure it was mentioned that the sled's capacity is between the front of the blade at the required height and the 'operator position' fence of the sled while the sled is in a stable position on the saw. I have several; one was made for several large panels that needed to be done for a project (about 40" between fences). It has earned its place in the shop since and so continues service. My "regular sled" is about 22" between the fences for no particular reason.

Big-and-Little-resized.jpg

My smaller "box sled" is about 13" between the fences and is used for miters or small 90* stuff.

Box Sled (17).jpg

[Rich Engelhardt]

My sled is about halfway between Glenn's regular (22") and smaller (13") one.

But - I have a track saw for anything larger so I don't really need a larger sled.

[Phil Thien]

I have a single cut-off sled that accommodates 24" wide pieces. It is a light-weight sled (1/2" BB plywood), I use it for everything.

[Steve Barlet]

Thanks for the replies!

I don't have any outfeed or infeed support build yet. I was wondering if I needed to build infeed support to support a sled.

I was worried not only about tipping, but also keeping the sled aligned. I imagine the further back (towards you) the sled is pulled, the less material there is in the miter channel, so it may not be fully straight?

For the 5 point alignment, how often do you need to perform it? If you switch out TS blades would you have to adjust it again? Or just make sure whatever you have installed is aligned to the miter slot.

[Mark W Pugh]

Thanks for the replies!

I don't have any outfeed or infeed support build yet. I was wondering if I needed to build infeed support to support a sled.

I was worried not only about tipping, but also keeping the sled aligned. I imagine the further back (towards you) the sled is pulled, the less material there is in the miter channel, so it may not be fully straight?

For the 5 point alignment, how often do you need to perform it? If you switch out TS blades would you have to adjust it again? Or just make sure whatever you have installed is aligned to the miter slot.

An feed table will support your in feed, but what will support your out feed? To me, the out feed is more important because you can hold the sled up as you are pushing, just like cutting big pieces of ply, but better since you have runners to help. It is VERY hard to hold the sled at the end of the cut if you're using a big sled. Actually, I would say impossible to hold the sled up after a big cut. I think you are asking for trouble using a big sled without an out feed table. Just my 2 cents.

If you build your slides correctly, the worry of them aligning goes out the window. Watch this video. Starting at about 14:40, he talks about runners. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbG-n--LFgQ

Addition. Just let me add, it depends on the size of your sled. Small sleds wouldn't require any tables to support. I think you want a BIG sled though, from your post.

[Steve Barlet]

I'm building some bedroom furniture, bookcases, and storage units. I don't expect to need a full 24" capacity... but my panels may come within a handful of inches of that. I might just need to build one and test out the mechanics. There's about 8" between the front of the blade and the leading edge of the table saw. I may need both infeed and outfeed support for such a large sled.

So, I watched the whole video. Very detailed! The table saw that William Ng is working on appears have a very deep top. I'm thinking I should just DIY a larger TS top.

Well I ordered a feeler gauge set from Amazon for the sled test. Need a better caliper now, too.

Is using hardwood a necessity for the runners? I only have scrap softwoods.

[Tony Haukap]

Is using hardwood a necessity for the runners? I only have scrap softwoods.

Woodcraft sells pre-made bar stock...

KREG 30-Inch Jig and Fixture Bar -- http://www.woodcraft.com/product/200...g-kms7303.aspx

I never cared for using wood as the track runners, metal doesn't move with humidity changes and the kind of tack linked above can be adjusted to give the kind of fit you desire in the miter slot -- once adjusted it never changes.

Also, before you set off building what in my opinion is an over built sled, take a look at the one Norm Abram made...

New Panel Cutting Jig -- http://www.normstools.com/images/nor...-jig-new.shtml

New Yankee Workshop Table Saw, Pt 1 -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHdvRpkn9X8

New Yankee Workshop Table Saw, Pt 2 -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syoaip-nFtM

It's a single track runner and rides on one side of the tablesaw. The advantage is that if you put the ledge on the back side there's no limit to the size of panel you can cut (Norm demonstrates this with an alternate version of the sled in the tablesaw video). This is the kind I use and for occasional use it works fine... now, if I had a second tablesaw that I could dedicate solely to crosscutting, where I'd never have to remove it, I'd build one of the dual track runner kind like is in the video linked in the above message, but for the occasional panel cut I like this simple straight-froward design better.

[Tony Haukap]

Here's a better video of Norm Abram building a panel cutting sled...

Norm Shows You How to Build a Jig Part 1 of 2 -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lc6ItDd7Q0

[Mark W Pugh]

Here's a better video of Norm Abram building a panel cutting sled...

Norm Shows You How to Build a Jig Part 1 of 2 -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lc6ItDd7Q0

The only problem with Norm's video is, he doesn't tell you how to correct a non-square sled. His stuff is ALWAYS perfectly square, not so in my humble shop.

[Mort Stevens]

he doesn't tell you how to correct a non-square sled. His stuff is ALWAYS perfectly square

He also doesn't go to the extreme using dial calipers and micrometers to measure wood! I know there are a lot of woodworkers that do, I'm not one of them and have never seen a need to use them in the woodshop.