Thread: Chasing accuracy and convenience with sleds and mitre gauges

A safest quick solution for cross cutting big stuff is a chop or SCM Saw.

Mate you are chasing a unicorn. For accuracy and repeatability, with safety, you have to have a sliding table panel saw. That’s why every cabinet shop has one. And bobl comment above is correct, with big bits of wood, take the tool to the timber, easier, much better.

Originally Posted by riverbuilder

Mate you are chasing a unicorn. For accuracy and repeatability, with safety, you have to have a sliding table panel saw. That’s why every cabinet shop has one. And bobl comment above is correct, with big bits of wood, take the tool to the timber, easier, much better.

Yeah, I know it's a bit of a unicorn. I can't really fit a slider in. I mean, it might be possible, just, but I don't really have the infeed/outfeed for that kind of tool in my home garage. I use a track saw if I'm breaking down sheets, but mine is a cheap/basic one, and I use it on the floor with foam under. So it's not the same accuracy as Festool/Makita on a MFT top.

Originally Posted by BobL

A safest quick solution for cross cutting big stuff is a chop or SCM Saw.

Yep, I have a 10" SCMS, which I do use for rough cutting long stock.

What I meant by 'big stuff' isn't necessarily cabinet parts, I just mean anything that is longer than my small crosscut sled which is 500mm wide.

Thanks for your responses gents.

I have the V120 mitre gauge it does in fact all over the stock ones. The only issue is you still need to make your own fence for it, so you will need to look at some aluminium extrusion etc etc.

Originally Posted by havabeer69

I have the V120 mitre gauge it does in fact all over the stock ones. The only issue is you still need to make your own fence for it, so you will need to look at some aluminium extrusion etc etc.

Yep, right on. I was thinking I'd get a length of the extrusion that a lot of people use for rip fence. I've seen Derek Cohen mention it a few times in various threads. Seems easy enough to source. Probably use a slightly smaller profile for mitre gauge. What do you use?

Probably 2040 profile for mitre and 4080 for rip fence would make sense.

I think you'd be best to use something a little higher than 2040 for the mitre gauge. Most mitre fences are at least 60mm high.

I'm a sled junkie!
I've got a sled for bevel cuts, one for miter cuts, Incra's miter express for straight and angled cuts, taper sled etc etc etc and this one pictured below.

For various angles you need a good miter gauge like the V120 mentioned above but for repeatable straight cuts at an affordable price nothing beats a simple home made sled.

Sled.jpg

This took me less than 30 minutes and most of that time was used finding some left over scraps and making the runner. Once the runner was moving smoothly and I attached it to the base I made sure the base went past the blade and the excess was cut off leaving a perfect reference to square the fence using an accurate square. Glue and screw did the rest. I found an old toggle clamp which helps holding small pieces so my fingers are no where near the blade. I can also clamp a stop block for repeat cuts. I added a fall off board to the right of the main base to prevent tear out. The only cost was the toggle clamp and a few screws
This sled doesn't need any elaborate fences or the 5 cut method for squaring. The beauty of a simple sled like this is you make it any size you like, you could even make two, one for small cuts and one for larger panels.

BTW the Matchfit stuff is OK but you have to make so many dovetail slots to cover all clamping positions because the clamps don't swivel at 360 deg like the ones from Kreg, Armor Tool, Rockler and Bessey which also have auto adjust technology. I made a huge sled years ago with only needing two T tracks and some of these advanced clamps. You can even make your own T Tracks with a router bit(s) as well. Some of the Matchfit sleds I've seen have 10 or more slots but if your happy going done that path then fair enough.

So if cost is a factor then I'd advise buying Incra's lowest priced miter gauge and make a sled(s) that suits your work habits

I grabbed a length of 2060. Feels right!

Thanks Barri. That more or less confirms what I was thinking. That is, both a decent gauge and a sled(s) are gonna make life easier.

Agree about matchfit. That they don't rotate makes it a bit less flexible. The other bummer is that MDF is not recommended because due to clamping force. Not a huge problem, but I will say I'm pretty tired wrestling twisted plywood. I should probably stop buying CD grade ply! Then again, workpieces on a sled don't need enormous clamping force, so maybe I'll try MDF.

Not a big deal to cut lots of slots. I have a trusty router table to batch it out. My prototype matchfit sled was done with a handheld router and straight edge. That was a total PITA.

I've got the hardware now, so may as well use it for cross cut sled!

Originally Posted by rogerwilco

Yeah, I know it's a bit of a unicorn. I can't really fit a slider in. I mean, it might be possible, just, but I don't really have the infeed/outfeed for that kind of tool in my home garage.

The space needed for a short stroke slider is exactly the same as a cabinet saw because the infeed and outfeed are set by the material and a short stroke slider with no out rigger is usually smaller than a cabinet saw with a 52" fence.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

The space needed for a short stroke slider is exactly the same as a cabinet saw because the infeed and outfeed are set by the material and a short stroke slider with no out rigger is usually smaller than a cabinet saw with a 52" fence.

You mean like a Hammer K3?

Unfortunately, the slider attachment for my saw is a full sheet capacity outrigger style, so it's not really an option. Cant see myself wanting or needing to upgrade anytime soon. I'd upgrade my combination planer/jointer to a Hammer A3 31 way before I upgrade the TS.

where did you get the 2060 from?

my only paranoia with the al extrusion is bumping it into the blade and setting off the sawstop brake.

I found the most useful thing I ever did for my TS was to build the Wood Knight's sled. It is multi functional, highly accurate, and a pleasure to use.

here's the link


How To Build A Cross Cut Sled (Free Plans) - YouTube

It doesn't manage great big panels and all, but I don't do huge builds anyway. If you want to take your TS to the next level of accuracy without spending bucket loads of money, this is the go.

I used MDF for mind and sealed it with a mix of poly and shellite. Tough as nails and is as good as the day I built it about 4 years ago now.