Hi Folks,

So I finally finished the tablesaw sled, it took way more time than I anticipated in the end!. Having said that I think it'll last me a good few years hopefully.

Inspiration was taken from various You-tube video's but nothing specific.

Features:

Split top Sled
Replaceable Zero Clarence Inserts for any blade width
Adjustable fence system to do any angle cut
Option to extend fence & do repeatable cuts easily
T-track for accessories & hold down clamps
Micro adjustable stop block (WIP)

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To begin with I used good old Sketchup to design the basic build. My first priority was to engineer
something that didn't take away too much from the depth of cut, so I kept the thickness of board to a minimum which is: 16mm MDF plus x2 1.2mm for the laminate. Talking of laminate, I picked up 3mtrs of the stuff for less than $50 from Timberwood which I was pretty happy about. I laminated both sides of Bunnings 16mm MDF using contact cement, no drama's there, just used a roller to get the cement on both laminate and substrate fairly quickly.. I cut everything to size.

My next task was making sure that the way I was going to install the t-track into the MDF would hold sufficiently. I figured I couldn't use wood screws as MDF isn't great at holding 'em anyway plus they would have to be really small so they don't pass right through to the underside!. I opted to use M5 machine screws & blind Tee Nut, this way the track was going nowhere no matter how much you tightened the hardware & clamps down!. I used a Dado stack on the tablesaw to cut 19mm wide x 9.5mm deep channels on both boards, this left me with enough room for M5 T-nuts to be sunk from the reverse side.

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Next I cut a 6mm x 25mm recess on both boards so the zero clearance inserts could sit flush with the sled top. The insert is held in place with machine screws and t-nuts, same as the t-track. I then went ahead and installed steel mitre slides on both sled boards, these can be adjusted for alignment and mitre slot play from above the sled through the access holes which I pre-drilled & countersunk.

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The adjustable fence brackets were made out of 6mm thick aluminium angle I had knocking around. All the holes were made using the router and a spiral upcut bit, cutting very slowly I might add! (I had to make another jig to do the cuts for this!). Finally the four corners were rounded off using the router then I used oil based enamel to finished the edges. All hardware used is from Timbercon.

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I should probably add that this is a very short explanation of what I did to make this bugger, there was as always alot of trial and error with a few things but I got there eventually. As it stands the sled is very accurate and has alot of possibilities for accessories which I really like plus its not very bulky because it breaks down into two halves.

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Feel free to critique as this helps me build better stuff, I'm very much an amature. Anyway thats my show and tell over, onto the next project!.