Have a Table Saw? You NEED to do This!!!

A well made table saw cross cut sled is one of the most used jigs in my shop! The precision and repeatability make it an absolutely essential tool! But when it’s done wrong, they can be difficult to use or overly complicated for their purpose.

My old sled is one I picked up at a yard sale thinking it would solve all my table saw sled needs, but it just created more problems.

So I’m building a new sled to address all the issues I’ve had with cross cut sleds in the past! These upgrades include aluminum miter bars to prevent issues with wood movement, a T-track on the fence for accessories, and the @katzmosestools Katz-Moses Stop Block to upgrade from my previous stop block method!

✅ Products used in this build:

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[roberthoyle]

This is the simplest and best explained 5 cut method for building a cross cut sled. I appreciate the teaching without the self deprecating humor and silly garbage to many "experts" use to entertain. This is why the comedy channel exists ! Well done.!!!

[kennethpierce]

Simple explanations. That’s the way everyone doing YouTube videos should do. Some make it sound much more complicated than it has to be. I guess they are trying to make themselves look brilliant. Thanks for making user friendly videos.

[e.t.preppin]

Haha. Upon further review yes to the music but great choice of music. No distraction at all. Keep doing your thing. Thanks for your editing skills. You toned down the music perfectly at the right time. You obviously have multiple skills. 👍

[NicBellamy]

"Now I won't bore you with the details" (proceeds to give the most clearly understandable demonstration of the 5-cut method ever)

Me: "Oh, I get it now"

[suearmstrong]

Great job of explaining the math for how to arrive at the amount you need to move the fence. I don't think I've seen other videos with the math broken down in detail like that!

[houstonsam]

Great presentation of a fit-for-purpose, accurate crosscut sled with no "ultimate" hype. Your demonstration of the 5 cut method is very clear.

[garyb]

Possibly the best description of how to setup a table sled that I've ever seen. Thank you I will use this method.

[johnbro]

Great video. One addition i find invaluable in my sled is t-slots for shop-made hold down clamps to make cutting small parts safe and accurate.

[PhilRgers]

That 5-cut method is pure gold. I always wondered how to get a crosscut sled to be that accurate. I made one that was "good enough" for some simple framing, but I could never use it for anything that required any real accuracy. Thanks.

[psmola]

Nice job explaining William Ng's method. I just yesterday came across his 11 year old video on this topic. I especially like the way you marked the A and B on the 5th cut, and explained by way of example and simple analysis which way to rotate the fence to bring it into alignment. You are a skilled teacher. My only suggestion to others building a sled would be to clamp the fence in position once you have inserted the feeler gages to make the 0.013" adjustment, and before you install the next screw.

Keep up the good work, you have a natural teaching talent.

[jerylpinkert]

Years ago I worked in a machine shop that manufactured small parts for aerospace products. Accuracy was imperative and the tolerances were usually plus or minus 10 thousandths of an inch which is the thickness of a human hair. I appreciate your attention to perfection, however in regard to woodworking, a human hair off from perfect is perfect.

[ZappninLLP]

Thanks for making Ng's five cut method understandable!

[Arkansas_Aficionado]

So many Table Saw Sled videos lose me at the complexity they add to them. This one Simple and exactly what you need. And you got the comment and thumbs up because of the stop block bit! Great job.

[jamesfogle]

Great Video. The absolute best/simplest description of the 5 cut method I've heard yet. Thank you.

[babounous]

This is easily the best representation of the 5-cut method for squaring your crosscut front fence. I've seen a LOT of crosscut sled videos and your explanation was the best I've seen. Most other YouTubers just gloss over the math, and some even skip the step of multiplying by the length between screws. And I agree about avoiding hardwoods for your miter slots, as I live in a high-humidity area....I use aluminum miter bars or HDPE miter bars (which is sometimes cheaper than aluminum, esp. on Amazon). However, due to high humidity after a few years, my double-thick front fence began to bow inward (concave looking down). So I upgraded and added one of those aluminum "super" tracks from Woodpeckers, which has made a world of difference. Not only perfectly straight, but the additional track grooves allow multiple options for adding stops or additional accessories.

[joshuawixom]

Great video! Probably the best demo/explanation of the 5-cut method I’ve seen.

[TheWolfster]

A friend of mine is a retired structural engineer. He made me one very similiter, but he used thick aluminum plate and extruded aluminum bar that was fiberglass coated used several "T" tracks, I have had it for almost 9 years, it is .00001 out of perfect square, I can also adjust if it ever were to get out of square, surprisingly it is quite lite. It also has several gigs I can use with to to make box joints, miter cuts & so much more.. I myself am a retired Master Carpenter.. I only use my shop, now to teach my grandchildren carpentry.. And I do occasional projects.. My children & grandchildren use the shop 90% of the time..
Thank you for sharing.. I wish we had the internet and YouTube back when I was active working the trade...

[zxborg]

Very cool. I always heard about the 5-cut method but this is the first time I actually understood, great explanation!

[cospittner]

Great video! Liked the explanation of the 5 cut method because it summarized it in a way that I can easily make use of it instead of turning it into a science project. Thank you for the content!

[biscuittreewoodworks]

I don't have any plans for this cross cut sled, but if there's enough interest I'll make some. Let me know!