Thread: Sled

That looks good. The sled is the most useful jig in my shed. I hope you find it useful too.

Thanks Wongo, I still have bits of the tracks I used to go into the slots left over and will probably use them in other jigs as well. The tracks are English and are no longer available in Australia - I bought the shelving system some 25 years ago and always knew that the leftovers would come in handy.

Had never bothered with a sled before as I used the RAS mainly, but I can see its usefulness. My only concern at this stage is the exit of the blade at my end when the cut is almost finished - I am highly aware of it and have marked a red danger area to remind me of where my fingers should never go - but I considering some sort of cover/bracket to cover the exit side of the blade.

Regards,
Bob

Thats a good area to cover, thats where my husband got bitten

Donna

Donna, Not seriously I hope.

I did look at positioning a plate of timber over the exit but then I wouldn't be sure exactly where the blade would be - after some more thought my preference would be clear perspex which could be bent into a "U" shape and then attached upside down on the exit side so that the blade would be visible but covered. That is my thinking at this stage - just need to get hold of some to try.

Bob I have made a few sleds and try to do whatever I can to keep hands away from the blade.

The attached is more of a double mitre fence.
The thick back and rounded block cover the blade.
Plus the shape of the fence directs hands to hold it away from the blade.

My main sled has a perspex sheet running from front to back above the blade. It also adds a bit of protection from stray dust or chips being thrown into your face.

Most of the DIY sled plans I have seen printed over the years have a block of timber attached to the operator side of the fence that covers both sides of the blade - either a bit of 2x4 or something laminated out of 1x offcuts and extending back a bit over half the blade diameter. It is then cut into on the first cut thru' the fence - just don't push too far, again some tables have a stop block setup to stop you impaling yourself on the blade if you trip

Thanks for the suggestions.

Pity those tracks are not available any more, would be handy for a few projects. I think the idea of a piece of timber behind the sled where the blade exits the sled after the cut is a good one. Better to be safe than sorry.

Here are a couple of pics.

It is easy to add the perspex cover.

The stop would be a handy addition.

Originally Posted by munruben

Pity those tracks are not available any more, would be handy for a few projects. I think the idea of a piece of timber behind the sled where the blade exits the sled after the cut is a good one. Better to be safe than sorry.

Totally agree.

They are made in England, the brackets are designed in such a way that when locked into place [very positive] they do not rock sideways, nor can they come adrift as they have to be lifted and twisted to remove or relocate.

The brackets come in sizes from 6" up to 16" in 2" increments. I bought enough to do all of the shelving in our study, my son's room and the stereo speakers on the wall. Was not cheap stuff but as the saying goes - "anything good never is" and it has also lasted 26 years and is as good as the day it went up, not a mark on it. Unfortunately, stuff this good either prices itself out of the market or gets taken over and made less durable so that it needs to be replaced.

After some thought and playing with blocks to see what etc would/not work - I returned to the perspex idea.

The perspex [4.4mm] was a freebee offcut from the local signwriters and was not as difficult as I thought to form around some timber - there are some slight swirls where I obviously had the heatgun too hot but hasn't affected it at all. When I first looked at the idea I thought that the guard could be a little fragile but as the last pix shows - the weight of the sled is held by the guard - it appears that I built it to the usual standard of what the family calls the "brick outhouse standard" of strength.

Was always confident enough using the sled but not always comfortable when the blade exited but now all is great - the aluminium angle has purposely been left high as this is where my thumbs locate with no chance at all of getting near the blade.