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.
| Material | Size | Qty |
|---|---|---|---|
birch ply | 3/4" x 24" x 30" | ||
x 4 1/2" x 23" | |||
brace | 1/2" x 4 1/2" x 12" | ||
plastic | x 3/4" x 48" (Lee Valley 46J90.16) |
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