|
|
 |
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
By
KONRAD SAUER
Photography By DAVE STARRETT
Illustration By LEN CHURCHILL |
CROSSCUTTING SLED |
| Extend
your tablesaw's range with this shop-built accessory |
 Shortly
after unpacking my tablesaw I realized I needed a few things.
The first was a crosscutting sled. Sounds basic, except that
if you build your own, it must be perfect. And that part's not
basic. You will need to make sure your blade is square in the
saw, the fence is square to the blade and that all your tools
are dead-on accurate to make this project.
In a lot of ways, a crosscutting sled can replace a mitre saw
for cutting beautiful mitres, crosscuts, dados, rabbets and
tenons. That's why it's worth the time and expense to build
a good one.
Start by cutting a square piece of plywood for the base. It
needs to be dead-flat and square; the accuracy comes from a
solid foundation like this. My first sled had quartersawn hardwood
runners, but for this one I used strips of low-friction plastic
that worked at least as well, without the potential for seasonal
movement.
Place the runners in the slots on the tablesaw, then lay the
plywood base on top of them. Use the saw fence to align the
plywood with the saw blade, since the two should be parallel.
Next, mark the centre of the runners on the top of the plywood
using a line that continues across the base from front to back.
This shows where to drill the screw holes to attach the runners
to the base.
Fasten
the runners with screws driven down through the base into predrilled
holes, making sure the screw heads are countersunk flush with
the ply. The sled should glide very smoothly in the tablesaw
at this point. If it sticks, check that the screws have not
pushed out the sides of the runner material. If they have, sand
a bit off or remove the screws and install them again with a
larger pilot hole.
|
CLICK
ABOVE
TO ENLARGE |
|
Attach the
front brace now. This part keeps the two sled halves from coming
apart. The brace needs to be at least 1" taller than the maximum
height of your saw blade. Glue and screw the front brace in
place, trying to keep it square. Once the glue has dried, set
the sled on your saw and make a cut three-quarters of the way
across the base, from the front towards the back. Install the
fence on the uncut portion of the base. Precision is important
here; if the fence is out of square you'll never be able to
trust the sled for accuracy.
Start
by preparing stock for the fence now. It needs to be big, heavy
and perfectly square. I used a chunk of hard maple for mine.
Round the top edges of the fence as you go, since you'll be
holding and pushing on it quite a bit. Once the fence is milled,
place it on the edge of the sled, then use a machinist's square
or try square to position the fence perpendicular to the saw
kerf. Clamp it in place, then flip the sled over and install
two screws to temporarily secure the fence. Try a few test cuts
without applying too much pressure to the fence as you push
it. Check the pieces, if their ends are perfectly square, then
put in two more screws to serve as indexing points for final
assembly. Take the fence off, apply glue to it and reinstall,
then do another test cut before letting the glue set. If the
first cut is not perfect (a fairly likely scenario), remove
one of the screws and rotate the fence slightly, clamping it,
then drilling another screw hole in a new location. Repeat as
necessary until you're ready to commit yourself with glue.
I finished the bottom of the sled with paste wax to help it
glide over the tablesaw top, a small detail that makes a big
difference.
Part |
Material |
Size |
Qty |
| Base |
Baltic
birch ply |
3/4"
x 24" x 30" |
1 |
| Fence |
hardwood |
2"
x 4 1/2" x 23" |
1 |
| Front
brace |
hardwood |
1
1/2" x 4 1/2" x 12" |
1 |
| Runners |
low-friction
plastic |
3/8"
x 3/4" x 48"
(Lee Valley 46J90.16) |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
| FREE
NEWSLETTER |
Subscribe to our newsletter. Every few weeks, you'll get a behind-the-scenes
peek at the magazine, the web site and the folks who put it all together.
CLICK HERE |
|
|
PROJECTS
