Thread: What material to use for various TS sleds and jigs?

The only concern I would have with Melamine is that the surface you put your workpiece on will be quite slippery and you don't want your timber moving during the cut. The slippery face where it slides on the machine surface would be okay. I tend to make mine from ply, any sort as long as it's flat, or MDF but I seal the surfaces with Shellac so moisture doesn't cause it to move over time.

I use "formwork ply" from Bunnings. It is reasonably good quality ply, with a black "non-stick" finish both sides.

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I agree, good point about the surface friction between sled / jig and work piece. The melamine & the phenolic or resin faced ply available are relatively slippery when compared to a natural wood or plain MDF surface plus they will take the edge of your saw blade's teeth.

I treat sleds / jigs as consumable items, so I much prefer to use standard CD ply or MDF especially if its free! Plenty of suppliers & cabinet makers are always wanting to off load the face sheets used to protect sheet products. I also attempt to make my table saw sleds with a sacrificial insert, so it can be replaced with a fresh new insert for "zero clearance" applications, or an "over face" of say 3mm MDF or Masonite etc that can be cribbed along to do the same.

The key points you want are stability, i.e. won't twist / warp in use or in storage between uses; simplicity / ease of construction; and of course, cost.

I use MDF. An 18 x 2400 x 1200 mm sheet from Bunnings will cost you ~$50. That will make a lot of sleds and jigs. I've never bothered sealing any of mine, with no issues.

Like Mobyturns, I also consider them disposable, so I don't worry if I need to alter something for a particular job. If left alone, they'll last forever.

One think to consider with respect to melamine etc. coatings, I tend to add useful pencil marks on my sleds/jigs to aid whatever job they're doing at the time, which would be somewhat more difficult with a plastic surface.

All very good points, thanks everyone. I was also leaning towards mdf for cost and stability. I was also recently told about getting free face sheets from cabinet makers so going to give that a go.

Originally Posted by BMKal

I use "formwork ply" from Bunnings. It is reasonably good quality ply, with a black "non-stick" finish both sides.

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I bought a 17mm 2400x1200 sheet of Bunnings formply for something else that didn't eventuate, after chopping it up for other projects I've got some left over for a sled, it seems to be nice and flat

good call

Hodgo

i've generally made them from whatever i've got lying around.

My current table saw sled is MDF with plywood front/rear fences, don't really have any issues with material sliding around. I've got another mitre sled made with MDF, and a few other made from ex ikea/officeworks desks.

My point is they all do the job, and most are one offs, ie jig is made to do a job and probably won't see the light of day ever again as i'm not a production shop.

If i were to buy new material to make a jig i'd probably opt for MDF, but i generally try and minimise the use of MDF due to the dust hazards it creates when being machined.

I use the pre finished floating floor material, nice and flat, stable, 240 grit sand paper glued to top side solves the slip problem if that's your concern. Need extra width, just araldite 2 pieces together at the join.
The other advantage is its about 7mm or 8mm thick so your not losing mutch in terms of max blade capacity.

Hi everyone,

Now I know I'm late to this party, and this might not be practical for you. However, the maintenance team at my workplace (lead by a lovely old bloke named Ted) bought a number of commercial (HDPE?) plastic oversized cutting boards (maybe bench tops?) at a local auction for $50.

The boards were about 20mm thick and were well over 1m² each. (some were wider, some were longer/thinner) They worked beautifully for their jigs. I found out about it when I was able to borrow their workshop to complete a larger project, (rebuilding dance club grade sub woofer vented enclosures capable of handling 4KW of amplification, housing multiple 18" drivers... so not a small box by any means) and I was impressed with the material. The plastic had just the right amount of slip/grip for an adjustable jig, was heavy and sturdy enough to have negligible warp on a table saw, and the flatness was as good as any board I'd ever find.

I asked Ted and his colleague Rob if they had any issues with melting, and they said that it was an issue when they installed a slightly thicker blade, but once they went back to a slightly thinner one, it wasn't an issue anymore.

Now after a little research, I wouldn't recommend buying the 3m x 1.5m sheets new (online quotes tell me it's about $1k), but if you can find some of these (or larger off cuts) in a local scrap yard, auction house, Gumtree, or whatever, they're practically thrown away.

Just a humble wacky alternative suggestion that few people would consider.

Good luck!
Hamish.

MDF is convenient and I also try to limit my use of it. For smaller sleds I use recycled pine from dunnage or scraps.

I use HDPE for custom stops on my TS sleds, also boat trailer bunk skid material. Makes great non-stick mandrels for wood turning too. Nice and easy to machine with wood working gear but it can make a huge mess with c$ap sticking to any surface.

Originally Posted by Mobyturns

MDF is convenient and I also try to limit my use of it. For smaller sleds I use recycled pine from dunnage or scraps.

I use HDPE for custom stops on my TS sleds, also boat trailer bunk skid material. Makes great non-stick mandrels for wood turning too. Nice and easy to machine with wood working gear but it can make a huge mess with c$ap sticking to any surface.

HDPE also makes good zero clearance inserts for your table saw, bandsaw and mitre saw.

Just as a useless bit of info

Bunnings sell both proper form ply and a cheaper "film faced" ply.

The film faced is pretty much the same but doesnt have the same certification that the form ply does so that it can actually be used with concrete which is why its cheaper.