Thread: Best crosscut sled I've seen

Thanks for the tip, I think I will make one of these for my new saw.
What sort of timber would you use for the mitre rails in Australia?

ClintO

A very good alternative to timber slides is UHMW .....

To quote PWS

This simple product is a blank piece of super slick material designed to fit in standard 19mm x 10mm mitre channels like those commonly found in table saws, disc sanders, shapers and many router tables. It is easily machined with most woodworking tools. Can be cut, drilled and tapped to suit your application. Dimensions = 19mm x 10mm x 600mm length (nominal)

UHMW Mitre Track Slide

The advantage over timber is that it will be very stable and will slide well in the mitre track. I have some with a section of T-Track I purchased a few years ago from PWS for a project that still hasn't started and it fits perfectly in the T-Track and slides very smoothly. Come to think of it I think I paid much more than what it is going for now ...... $8.50 is a very good price.

thank you for the info on the sled....I am gathering data since I will be making one soon..

If you need a easy source of UHMW try getting a large cutting board from big w or bunnies and cutting it up to size on the tble saw. Just be warned, it makes a bit of a mess and the 'shavings' stick to everything...stupid static!

M.

When I did mine a few years ago (must do a new one) I had a blade guard outside the back fence to 'stop surprises'
ie something for the blade to go into rather then appearing through the back fence, with the back fence set about 100 mm up the base (hope this makes sense)

Originally Posted by Sawdust Maker

When I did mine a few years ago (must do a new one) I had a blade guard outside the back fence to 'stop surprises'
ie something for the blade to go into rather then appearing through the back fence, with the back fence set about 100 mm up the base (hope this makes sense)

Ah yes Nick. I've got one on the back of my existing sled. Two bits of 45mm pine glued together (say around 100mm long) and glued on to the back of the sled. I thought it would save a little 'surprise' one day!

I inherited Sawdust Maker's sled when I bought his table saw so many months ago. It was a beaut as was the saw. Thank you Nick!. The only problem that I found with it was that the blade guard was in two pieces and it was easy to push the sled far enough forward so that the blade came through the slot. After using it quite a few times I noticed that the slot was a little wide, or maybe my blade was a little thinner and thought that maybe I should build a new one.


After seeing this video some weeks ago , I decide to build it. It is larger than the old one and has a solid piece of hardwood as blade protection. It would still be possible to push the sled forward enough to cut a slot in the guard, but at least i will get some warning as blade enters the guard.

When I made it , I considered using the UHMW plastic but, as it was a first attempt, decided to go cheaper. I bought a piece of DAR "Tassie Oak" from Bunnings, 19 x 40 mm x 1.8m for a few bucks. I paid some attention to the lie of the grain and straightness of the piece so that the grain would run across the slot to minimize movement. I took a slice off, I think about 12mm, flattened it with a #5, cut to length and after a few scrapes along the 19mm width it works really, really well