Show me your homemade crosscut sleds (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 11/10/2021 2:29:40 PM EDT
[Last Edit: medicmandan][Edited]
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Never had one, always made do with some wood attached to the miter gauge. I have some more spare time coming up and I want to start doing some cabinetry. Been watching some videos and you can get really crazy with these.  How to Build a Table Saw Sled || Table Saw Cross Cut Sled  SMALL Cross-Cut Sled with ADJUSTABLE Fence, EXTENSION wing and BEVEL Feature!  Ultra Square Medium Sized Crosscut Sled  ? Make A Table Saw Cross Cut / Miter Sled Combo (ep58)  39 - Extreme Crosscut Table Saw Sled with Perfect Miter & Dado & Removable Zero Clearance Insert |
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Originally Posted By medicmandan: Never had one, always made do with some wood attached to the miter gauge. I have some more spare time coming up and I want to start doing some cabinetry. Been watching some videos and you can get really crazy with these.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U64_XKbc8sk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McXJxYLXq-E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OigXgK0Vj4EThis is relevant to my interests. |
"A Californian telling me about freedom.... It's like a Muslim telling me about Jesus." ~ZW17
Psalm 144: 1-2
$20 is $20
Psalm 144: 1-2
$20 is $20
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Attached File |
you'd be surprised how rotten of stuff you can eat and not get more than a little loose stool. Do it often enough and that doesn't even happen
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I can’t post pictures but just got don’t making another one today. Today’s build is 8 ft wide and 37” capacity. Made ou of 3/4” plywood. My other large one is 5 foot wide, 24” capacity. 2 layers of 1/2” Baltic birch all glued up with an interchangeable zero clearance insert. 8 ft wide is for cross cutting 1/4” plywood into 28” wide pieces after being ripped into 20”x 8 ft pieces. These 20x28” pieces are the stock size for my laser. I go through 50 4x8 sheets a month lately. I can cross cut 9 pieces at a time. The other is for dados and more precise stuff. Then I’ve also got a 24” wide 12” capacity sled for small stuff. |
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Mine's real simple. The biggest thing I'd recommend it determining your widest thing you'll be cutting, and add 4 inches. Made mine a touch too small. I'd also recommend leaving the back face adjustable so you can account for any movement or it going out of square, and but a chamfer on the bottom edge of your back face so the dust has somewhere to go. I glued and screwed mine together, so I'm effed. A piece of plexi running over the top where your blade is isn't a terrible idea as it keeps the dust from flying directly at you. Beyond that putting a few chunks of 2x material where the blade exits isn't a bad idea to dummy proof it. That way the blade never comes out the back of the sled. Now that being said, I don't really use it much anymore. Got a tracksaw and dedicated table setup that does the job of trimming stuff down. If I need to batch stuff out then I use my sled and a clamped on stop block (the tracks are cool but I'm ballin on a budget.) |
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Originally Posted By Homesteader375: Maybe some day when I have a table saw worth building one for. My miter saw is really accurate but obviously has a draw back compared to a decent table saw and a good sled. Buy a sliding table saw and you don't need a cross cut sled.  Hammer K3 Table Saw Review - Should you buy a Sliding Table Saw or Cabinet Saw? |
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Originally Posted By DirtyDirk: Buy a sliding table saw and you don't need a cross cut sled. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6sDBjty6joWhile I would love something like that I lack the space or the budget. |
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Originally Posted By medicmandan: While I would love something like that I lack the space or the budget. Exact same issue. My shop is roughly the size of 1 bay of a garage and a good chunk is dedicated to my CNC router. I'm looking at a Jet:https://www.jettools.com/us/en/p/-the-jps-10-1-75-hp-115v-30-proshop-tablesaw-cast-wings-/725000K Seems like a decent saw that'll do what I need. Maybe after my wife gets her kitchen, dining room, and bathroom remodels I can invest in the 24 x 36 metal and woodworking shop I'd like to build and go bigger. |
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I'm going to build one today. I say this only to provide myself motivation as I have the parts- some spare t track and stops- and I bought a uhmw plastic runner so I don't have to screw with my old worn wood one. I've been too lazy to cannibalize my old sled for my new sawstop. If I don't post a picture of a new crosscut sled here by 0000 EST on 11/21, please call me mean names. I will have earned them. Also, one runner or two? My old one had two, but I'm tempted to just do one for this one and save the other miter bar I bought for other sleds. I'm not convinced two bars really adds anything if the fit is snug. ETA: Not a bad start. I did do two miter bars. Being able to move the sled over for longer parts like a single bar sled can do isn't that important to me, I have a super nice incra miter gauge for stuff like that.  Working on a coplanar front block for stability and a miter attachment. The idea is essentially stolen from Fisher's Shop, although it's not like he has a monopoly on t track and crosscut sleds. He does have several good videos though. The coplanar block with ride inside the t track and in addition to stiffening the assembly, it will also allow for angled cuts. I'm just waiting on my glue up to dry and I'll cut that out tomorrow. Came out pretty square too for the first try. I just used a square against the blade. Using the 5 cut methodology its square enough that the final cut is only ever so slightly noticeably out of square on a 24 inch square. That's not bad at all, and adding a coplanar block to stiffen it might remove that. I can always adjust if necessary. I'll probably make some wooden hold downs in place of those aluminum ones too. I am ultra paranoid about sawstopping myself. The t track I bought off amazon was super cheap- a dollar or two a foot and it came in 4 foot sections. While the interior is fine, I did have to grind down some high spots to leave the sled flat on top. But overall it was so cheap I would buy it again. You could alternatively just sink the t track channel in a bit more but I wanted the whole assembly to be flush or very close to it- and it is. |
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I need to take a finished pic of the table saw sled, thought I took one the night i finished but apparently not. Here it is in progress Attached File Attached File |
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Also have a resaw sled for milling short logs. Used it once a while back,added the t track today Attached File UAttached File Attached File |
Vote for freedom, not political parties
 5 Cuts to a "Perfect" Cross-Cut Sled |
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I just watched that video this weekend. 
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I used the design from Tamar on 3x3 Woodworking for this sled. Works great for smaller things, which is most of what I cut. Attached File Attached File Then I made this over-sized picture frame sled from the plans at Make Something. Works great, just a little big for my small table saw. But I needed to make some larger frames so it does the job. Attached File Attached File |
Work, work, work....curse of the drinking man
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Mine is a basic one but it has worked proper. I want to add a removable 45 degree block that I can clamp to the rear fence for quick cuts. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By Ciraxis: I need to build a new one, I fucked mine up putting a 45 cut in it, still works but its time for a change. I also need to make one purely for tapers A couple setups I have seen have separate inserts for zero clearance, dado, etc. Kind of like that idea instead of building multiple sleds. |
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Took a couple pics of it finished. Since the riving knife is connected to the guard and i don't want to take it off and on i found i can pop the springs off the anti kickback pieces and fold them out of the way Attached File Attached File |
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I stole the plans from a YouTube video and added some features. Zero cut bottom and rear are replaceable. I have mitre jigs that lock down to any angle and also have t-tracks. The bottom of the sled has homemade track. The orange framing square is handy for small, quick 45’s. It’s sitting in the wrong slot right now. Attached File |
Starting on mine today, let's see what happens between now and Christmas  Track came in last night, what is a good distance for spacing from blade? I was thinking 6 inches on right and then 6 and 12 on left, I have a small 23 year old Delta saw. I bought 4 t-tracks @ 24" and figured to put 1 on top for a stop, and the other 3 will cut off 2 inches or so so I have room at back fence to actually drop clamps and stuff into them. |
Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
PUPPIES WEBSITE--> www.whereisdude.com
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
PUPPIES WEBSITE--> www.whereisdude.com
So...them damn youtubers make it look easy....got 2 runners cut  Attached File And my pcs laid out, hope to cut bottom in morning, 20 x 36 is looking good |
Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
PUPPIES WEBSITE--> www.whereisdude.com
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
PUPPIES WEBSITE--> www.whereisdude.com
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Originally Posted By bansil: Starting on mine today, let's see what happens between now and Christmas Track came in last night, what is a good distance for spacing from blade? I was thinking 6 inches on right and then 6 and 12 on left, I have a small 23 year old Delta saw. I bought 4 t-tracks @ 24" and figured to put 1 on top for a stop, and the other 3 will cut off 2 inches or so so I have room at back fence to actually drop clamps and stuff into them. Mine, pictured above, are 3” left and right of the blade, then spaced at 4”. I could argue that they should be far enough away so the long end of your clamp couldn’t possibly reach the blade. But, I like them closer to the blade to hold small pieces up against the back fence. ETA: In case it hasn’t been mentioned already, the |
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Originally Posted By DV8: This is relevant to my interests. Agreed. Built a pretty basic one for my last saw. Which was a Ryobi with an obscure miter slot size (3/8” maybe). So I just gave it to the guy I sold the saw to. Need to build a new one. I’d purchased an Incra 1000HD shortly after upgrading to my current saw. So a new miter sled fell slightly in the list of build priorities. |
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5 Cuts to a "Perfect" Cross-Cut Sled |
| I ordered the parts to make a sled. I'm thinking of using both miter slots and no rear support; hopefully without the rear support I can use my dust collection hood. I want to do a removable zero clearance insert so it's useable with dados. |
"Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate — and quickly." -Heinlein.
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How square does it need to be? I am a machinist so under .5* is worst case I can't remember, 1 degree out it's like .019 out over 6 inches, going to be doing kitchen cabinets in the next year as well as smaller picture frames at 1st. I understand the 4 cut method, so you can Actually see how out it is, but most folks attach the fence to sled with counter sunk screws, thus if you cut with it and it's off, you can not reuse previous holes, so you move the holes and repeat test cuts until it's square. So I guess sleds end up with alot screwed up holes BUT some people glue and screw while building it, which means you can't move the fence to square it.....confused in TN
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Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
PUPPIES WEBSITE--> www.whereisdude.com
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
PUPPIES WEBSITE--> www.whereisdude.com
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Originally Posted By bansil: How square does it need to be? I am a machinist so under .5* is worst case I can't remember, 1 degree out it's like .019 out over 6 inches, going to be doing kitchen cabinets in the next year as well as smaller picture frames at 1st. I understand the 4 cut method, so you can Actually see how out it is, but most folks attach the fence to sled with counter sunk screws, thus if you cut with it and it's off, you can not reuse previous holes, so you move the holes and repeat test cuts until it's square. So I guess sleds end up with alot screwed up holes BUT some people glue and screw while building it, which means you can't move the fence to square it.....confused in TN If you follow the five cut method, you will attach the rear fence with two screws to start. One will be the pivot point if adjustments needed to made. Hopefully you can get it adjusted moving the screw just once and then add more to secure it. Most of the videos I have watched they did not use glue across that fence so that it could be adjusted. |
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Makes Perfect sense after watching that guy, just like indicating a vice or part it, one side is pivot point, make square and lock her down thanks again. Wood working scares me, welding, cutting etc on steel...easy pezzy....wood working is an art
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Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
PUPPIES WEBSITE--> www.whereisdude.com
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
PUPPIES WEBSITE--> www.whereisdude.com
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Here is another one from him for a nice miter sled.  2 Cuts to a "Perfect" Miter Sled |
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Yeah, the Ng one is basically the one I made earlier this year. I used a mag base and indicator to correct the error on mine but basically the same process. MDF base, maple runners, doubled up plywood fences fore and aft. All scraps. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
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Attached File I just (almost) finished this one. The base is constructed with two layers of 1/2" ply screwed together. The panel to the right of the blade is removable so I can use the sled with a dado. One key feature I wanted was the ability to use the overhead dust collection so I went with two miter guides and omitted the back rail. I designed it with only three T-track section but decided to add a fourth so I need to order another section. It also needs a right handed length of measuring tape. |
"Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate — and quickly." -Heinlein.
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Originally Posted By MMGUT: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/354981/PXL_20211102_023904444_jpg-2162027.JPG That is an awesome setup! |
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Originally Posted By DV8: This is relevant to my interests. Mine as well.
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Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
This is the guy I watched when I made mine. I followed his 5 cut and adjustment method and I came within like 0.0001" or some shit. I still have the actual number somewhere, I'll have to find them and post pics. How to Make a Cross-Cut Sled |
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Originally Posted By medicmandan: I should have mine finished this weekend. I didn't get that close on my adjustment but it will be fine for my needs. I may try one more time to get it a little closer.  |
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I added some swappable inserts to mine so I have zero clearance for 90 and 45 degree cuts and dado. Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File |
"Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate — and quickly." -Heinlein.
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Attached File Attached File |
"Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate — and quickly." -Heinlein.
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Wow, that is the fanciest cross cut sled I've ever seen. Pretty clever with the inserts. |
Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. - Adm James Stockdale
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Very nice. Wish I had done an insert to the left of the blade for doing 45s. I just need to run some screws through the bottom of mine, wax it up and it should be ready. |
| Thanks guys. Most sleds I've seen have the longer portion going to the left but I put mine on the right side. My reasoning is that I can set the Incra fence to my desired length beyond the scale on the sled and clamp a 1" wide piece to the fence to index the board I'm cutting on. |
"Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate — and quickly." -Heinlein.
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I made a basic one for my 8-1/4” Dewalt job site saw, and I tried the five cut method several times in a row, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t get it all that square. I’m not sure what was going on, so I finally just gave up. I only used it on small pieces that I didn’t want to cut in the miter saw, because it would put my fingers too close to the blade, so it was square enough. I’ve since sold that saw and upgraded to Dewalt’s 10” saw, so the sled no longer fits. Making a new one is on my to-do list. I’ve drawn it up, but just haven’t gone for it yet. |