Thread: Cross Cut Sled

Go on, be a devil and get yourself an extension table I have one fitted to my Mk3 and have never regretted the expense - after all, the time will certainly come when you will want to cut something other than a 90deg end!

Have to agree with the extension table.
Today I was cutting 2440x600x25mm mdf veneer. (note: this is @%#$ heavy!)
I was trimming 50mm off each end of the long length. Suffice to say I think I was pushing the extension table to it's limits, since if the length was any longer I think it would have over balanced.
Cutting the ends, it was critical the cuts were square. I was nervous the extension table wouldn't cope, but it cut beautifully along my markout line!
(note: I first tried cross cut mode, but I didn't have 600mm of travel for my cuts. So I had to try another method)

Bob, I have exerience similar problems and have also thought about building a cross cut sled (procrastination sets in about thuis time!)

"ONE DAY" I will make one, I thought about making a hardwood slides that fit neatly into the table track, therby, in theory, elminating the slight movment of the protractor.

Kev

[This message has been edited by Brudda (edited 15 September 2002).]

Bob, Johnno is right! The sliding extension table is the extra that turns the Triton into an accurate saw for cross-cutting whilst still in the bench saw mode.

I get perfect 90 degree cuts, can rip fairly large panels, and can also use the extension table for cutting angles that can't be achieved with the protractor.

Simply use the protractor to find the angle, extend that setting to the fense on the extension table, and lock the fense into the same angle. As the fense gives greater distance between it and the blade than does the protractor, larger work peices can be cut.

I doubt that a homemade jig could achieve more and the table is not overly expensive.



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Woodchuck Canuck
Good luck is the residue of good planning!

I hope to be very soon a triton owner and this very question has been one that i have thought a lot about. I think the Triton has an inherent design restriction which would make it difficult to build an accurate sled. Most table saws have "open" mitre tracks at each end. This means when building a sled you can just stick a few runners on the bottom and then sit the whole thing on top of the table. The "closed" triton tracks result in the specially shaped slides which must fit through the top to engage the tracks. The precision of any sled would in part come from the long length of the runners fitted to the bottom which prevent any twisting of the sled as it slides along the table. I thought that one could make narrow runners that slide down between the two horizontal projections of the tracks, BUT, to make the sled stable these would have to be quite long, this in turn would severly restrict the "run" of the sled and limit the width that could be cut.
Having said that, there is always a solution to any problem. Would it be possible to construct the sled so that the screws/bolts which attach the slides to the sled are elongated at 90 degress to the run of the sled so that they can be snugged up to either the inner or outer walls of the tracks, perhaps helping to minimise wobble? The other thought i had involves running a sled with one edge against a carefully set (a simple setting jig could be ripped from a piece of mdf to the exact setting so that setup is very quick) rip guide along with one or two runners in the mitre tracks. The extra length of the rip guide should ensure a wobble free run, of course this would limit the length that could be cut and mean you would have to cut once with the protractor and then trim the edge to square with the sled. OK for short pieces i guess but with a long piece most of it would hang unsupported.
Its interesting that on the same day, two people have posted with concerns over accurate cross cuts while a third has posted wanting a sliding extension table after being very impressed with the results. Seems like the extra $250 would be money well spent. I must say though the the extra add-ons has been a source of frustration for someone hoping to soon get a Triton. Add the height winder kit and the sliding extension table to the Mk 2000 and Triton saw and it seems the dollar figure just keeps growing. What you end up with is of course a very nice set up which is still more economical than a TS with a sliding cross cut carriage.
Good luck with your search for a solution. Please be sure to post what you come up with.

Cheers, Tim

[This message has been edited by Vonrek (edited 16 September 2002).]

Thanks for your replies.

I do have a sliding extension table and use it when I have a fair bit of work to do, and I'm very happy with the results. But my workshop space doesn't allow it to be up all of the time, and its a lot of effort for a one off cut, and that's why I'm looking for a simple solution for precision one offs.

Regards,

Bob

Have you read the other topic about reducing the tolerance in the mitre slots? Maybe this is your answer.

Otherwise, if you don't want to set up the extension table, then maybe Vonrek is on the right track. He recognises the problem of using sleds in the Triton gauge slots because of their limited length.

How about this idea: build a new table for you WC that sits on top of the standard table. Use 2 sheets of 3mm laminate. One sits on the table and locks to the table (maybe using the slide inserts you bought). The 2nd is cut up and screwed to the 1st, with gaps making the mitre tracks.
(alternatively, use a thicker laminate and route out the mitre tracks). Obviously you would have to cut an opening for the blade and rip fence.

The advantage is that you now have open ended tracks that you can put long runners in. You could even make the tracks standard dimensions so you can use professional jigs. And it should be easy to take the table on and off.

The disadvantage is that you lose 6mm of cut depth. I'm also not sure how easy it would be to get the tracks exactly positioned and parallel. And after all that hassle, it may be easier to just set up the extension table after all.

Anyway, it was just an idea...


[This message has been edited by John G (edited 17 September 2002).]

I built one for my 2000 table and it worked great. I used 16mm laminate and waxed the base. I used 25 x 25 rails to guide it along the tables sides and the whole thing was accurate. The back and front was 150 x 40 x the full width. I screwed a 6mm acrylic sheet over the blade zone front to back but opted out for the triton guard and dust port - better. Got an old miter guage and fixed this on the left side. This was set up with pointer and adjustable scale but once set never had to touch it. Glued and polyed a paper tape measure from the blade out on the miter's fence.
Put a hole in left side for height winder and bring spinning blade through laminate.
Once I had the slot, I mounted the riffer and blade guard.
Watch out- if you bring the saw through the front of the 150 x 40 the fingers are in danger - I attached a piece if scrap over this area and painted it red - just to contrast. Possible to maybe set a stop on the slide under the table top restrrice the forward movement?

Hope this helps
Sandy across the ditch

Sandy, I can almost picture this. I think I recall that you sold your Triton equipment. Do you have a picture, or could you provide a simple drawing with dimensions, etc.?

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Woodchuck Canuck
Good luck is the residue of good planning!

Yes I sold the equipment but my thumb has growwn back or atleast what was stiched has feeling in it and I am ito my shopsmith in a big way although I fondly miss the 2000.
Picture this... 16mm laminate wide enought for the table plus 100mm. long enough to cover the table top.
!50 x 40 sitting front and back screwed through the laminate.
2 @ 50 x 50 x the length of the table, mounted under the laminate held in tight to the edge of the table. glued and screwed. do one side at a time and check for slide-ability - u want it to slide smothe with out binding.
Once this is established cut slot and lift off slide table and mount blade guard plate in table slot . Replace slide table and mount blade guard to the plate. Now the slide table wont come back too far and also wont tip off triton table.
The fun starts here..source a miter guage - mine was old B&D unit that i scrounged from a garage sale. mount fence (also laminate) close to front rail. trial some cuts to get perfect 90 degrees, lock here and move fence through blade's path and cut off (zero clearence fence yeah) Now calibrate protractor if needed-mine just needed cleaning up. One sliding cutoff table just wax and it slides freely parallel to blade (side of table).
Just watch the front cut!!! through the 150 x 40 support - no I didn't get bitten here but I got a bit of a fright when the spinning blade came through it so easily.

Regards
Sandy across the ditch

Since the preceding post has anyone made a crosscut sled for their Triton 2000?

There is no room in my workshop for the extension table.

At the same time has anyone made a tall fence for the 2000 specifically for cuttiing tenons or similiar?

Just thinking out loud - never tried it (as I have the extn table), however....

If you aquired a second protractor and had it in the second slot, then joined the two together with a piece of MDF, high enough to not to be cleaved in two by the blade, would this make for a sufficiently accurate cross cut fence?

After a lot of research, I have made a magic sled for my 2000 and it does a perfect job.

I will get a photo of it in a couple of days and put it on the forum.

Regards,

Bob J

Re Stuart's suggestion of the two protactors - I tied it and it wasn't very successful.

I found that the short guides on the protractors that fit into the channels are simply too short and they wouldn't permit free travel along the full length of the channel. (Maybe the channels arn't exactly parallel?) The device would end up binding.

That is why I eventually ended up building the sled utilising the table edges as the "channel". The sled travels the full length of the table without any binding at all and runs so smoothly without the slightest lateral movement. I am very pleased with the end result.

Regards,

Bob J