STOP Making Out-Dated Table Saw Sleds, Do This Instead

New woodworking tools come in many different ways, sometimes people invent wonderful new ideas for tools, other times an old design can take on a whole new look by some simple re-building like a my newly modified Crosscut Jig for the Table Saw; years ago I made (or over made) a Table Saw Sled that would last a dozen lifetimes, but it was huge and cumbersome, so a couple of years ago I made a simple cross cut jig on the same principals, but it as a quarter the size and weight and worked faster and more versatile, so much so the prototype I made kept getting used more and more until I was finally convinced to make a Permanent Jig, with Baltic Birch Plywood, Laminated Fence and I even got to use the old metal Mitre Bar from and long since dis-used Mitre Gauge that came with my saw. Now I have the ultimate cross cut jig, it fast, light, easy to use and SUPER accurate for make very wide cross cuts which comes in handy for furniture and cabinet making.

[chriswilliams]

Very new to the tablesaw world. Straight away needed a cross cut sled. Went down the vast rabbit hole on how to make one....was a bit daunting. Then saw this. Made it in less than half an hour and works brilliantly.

[iandodd]

The multi-cut technique to check for square is a good approach. But the results showed that it was out of square (0.025” over 4 feet). What would have been helpful is to show how to adjust the fence to bring it into absolutely square. For viewers interested, a quick search for William Ng’s 5 cut method will walk you through the process. When I built my “obsolete” sled, I was able to bring it to within 0.003” over 4 feet, approx. 1/8 the error. It’s easy, only takes a few minutes and a little simple math but will ensure square cuts from now until that plastic runner needs to be replaced.

[howarddavies]

If you can't find the plastic for the runner, go to a kitchen ware department and buy a plastic chopping board of the right thickness which you can cut into strips.

[hockeyer]

Can’t believe I just watched another crosscut sled video! Thanks for sharing as always, Colin.

[nn]

Only thing I would tweak with your base design is to add a small angled cut where the fence board meets the table board to allow for any dust that might accumulate and throw off the fit against the back fence. Otherwise it is a great base design.

[bwillan]

Never saw the 3 cut test for fence squareness before. It's usually a 5 cut test and then take the cut off piece from the fifth cut and measure the thickness at each end. If it is the same, then the fence is perfectly square. It is the same principle of compounding or magnifying the error. Your method of checking with a square depends on your square being perfectly square to measure the error. This of course gets into the whole debate of how much precision do you need in your woodworking tools as wood is an imperfect medium. It moves with changes in humidity.

[hfaria]

Amazing video. Relaxed, without background music and the right pace, and complete step by step instructions. Thanks for sharing.

[richardflanigan]

I agree you should adjust your sled’s squareness and William Ng’s method is widely thought of as the best method to get a high degree of accuracy. Two things that I think you’ll need to better explain are 1. While lining up the sled to the opposite miter track would be accurate, this does not mean the blade or fence is parallel to the miter tracks and can introduce issues - the blade to the sled and your projects not using the sled but use the fence. 2. Not sure why you aren’t cutting through the back of the sled and using the back of the sled to prevent tear out and provide a smooth cut to the face of your work. I still believe it is helpful in doing certain work like cutting small parts to have the sled on both sides of the blade. I like to laminate 2 @ 3/4” pieces of Baltic birch for the back - very stable. I also put a very slight chamfer where it connects to the sled as saw dust might build up in the corner. Final comment - something someone else mentioned was waxing the bottom… I do that and wax the top of my tables.

[Buflonob]

Just bought my first table saw, and was looking at sleds, now i'm glad I watched this as it looks a lot better to just have this and i'm tight on space, thank you.

[themeat]

Thanks, Colin. The re-purposing of the metal runner is brilliant. I'm doing it. Thumbs up!

[gorak]

All you need to do with the stock miter gauge is to put a flat and true piece of hardwood on it as a fence - that's why it has 2 holes in it, for screws to screw the wood fence on. It also has an adjustment setting to true it up at 0* so you don't need to continually adjust it. Yes, a sled is slightly better in SOME circumstances, but 90% of what you need to crosscut you can do with the stock gauge WITH a fence attached to it.

[vicjs]

Hi Colin. You can save some time and material by using a table saw dial indicator alignment jig to set up your sled if you have one (best measuring tool investment I have made ). Simply place the jig in the miter slot opposite of the jig. Clamp the builders square firmly to the fence. Set the dial to read zero at the base of your builders square. Move the jig to the far end of the square and note the reading. If it is zero you are good. If not move the fence back or forth to bring the gauge to zero. Repeat just to confirm your reading. I don't trust builders squares and usually use a very large plastic drawing triangle for the alignment. I have never been off more than .003" using the 5 cut method. Your blade must be aligned with the miter slot for this to work!.

[ken]

I actually made one similar over 30 years ago. The idea came from "New Yankee" Norm, but he put the square portion on the other end. In this manner you're pushing the piece against the stop and it is much less "tippy" when you start since much more of the weight is on the front of the sled. Also, by extending the guide bar well past the end of the panel you can literally cut VERY large pieces since you're always assuring that the board is against the square stop. Although that can depend on your saw size and outfeed situation. Norm called it his panel cutter. And then they invented the track

[gogotrololo]

Saw cuts are never my finished edge, this technique will work perfectly to get me a good straight cut! love it

[BlessedLaymanNC]

My first couple of sleds were kind of like your heavy one. I saw some of the other options including the big red do-everything types of sleds you can buy. I was fascinated by the one where the right side of the blade was fixed but the left side slid. I made this same sled you show here, but with a slight twist. My first cut established the right edge of the sled. I used a square to align the fence to the edge I just cut. It was really good.

But the twist is that I also made a right hand sled. I did the same thing without the fence. It was just a runner and the same height as the sled. Then I lowered the blade and flushed the right side next to the sled. The right sled was longer than my jobsite table saw so it would support 6 more inches than the saw top.

I pulled the right side back, raised the blade and pushed the right side next to the sled together into the blade until the back of the right board was aligned with the back of the saw.

This gave me no gap to the blade and zero clearance at the blade and I felt better about some pieces being supported on both sides of the blade. I did not need the right side many times, but I discovered that with this setup, I could use my blade guards. For my saw, the blade has to be fully raised. I used 1/2 inch plywood instead of 3/4 but I don't think that really matters.

I also added a piece of 1x2 board that extends from the tables saw fence when it is flush against the right board, to the saw blade. It is over a ruler so that I can move the table saw fence to adjust the stop block to measure repeated cuts. This gives me 11+ inches from the piece I cut off to the table saw blade. That should be save enough.

Again, all of this works great even while my blade guard is on my saw.

Like you noticed, the sled is super light. I've been procrastinating using a 3/4 version where I add screw holes to mount accessories for things like angles and rabbits and finger joints.

For me and my small shop, the smaller and lighter, the better.


Great video, as usual. Keep it up.

[robinharris]

I like the simplicity of this. I’ve been thinking of building one of these for a while... so it’s off to the workshop now... nice work & thanks Colin!

[artiefufkin]

That's great. I would be able to use the blade guard on my saw with this type of sled. I am going to make one.

[kasbakgaming]

Personally, I also like to add just a thin coat of wax to the bottom of my sled to help keep it smooth running on the table. I use simple furniture wax, and before applying I take a heat gun and apply a slight amount of heat to the surface to help the wax run a bit and get just that little bit further into the fibers. It's not a perfectly smooth surface, so I still have a bit of friction to help with control, but it's just enough to make my cuts run that little bit smoother.

[Bargle]

Oh yes. I changed over to this style of sled years ago. Still have the big one for the rare occasion I need it, but the little one does what I need 99% of the time.

[MarkMoore-xkrn]

what I like about old school is that nothing falls down onto a blade. there is no stressing when using the sled.