Have a Table Saw? You NEED to do This!!!
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- Опубліковано 2 лют 2023
- A well made table saw cross cut sled is one of the most used jigs in my shop! The precision and repeatability make it an absolutely essential tool! But when it’s done wrong, they can be difficult to use or overly complicated for their purpose.
My old sled is one I picked up at a yard sale thinking it would solve all my table saw sled needs, but it just created more problems.
So I’m building a new sled to address all the issues I’ve had with cross cut sleds in the past! These upgrades include aluminum miter bars to prevent issues with wood movement, a T-track on the fence for accessories, and the @katzmosestools Katz-Moses Stop Block to upgrade from my previous stop block method!
👉Join my Patreon for more! / biscuittreewoodworks
✅ Products used in this build:
Katz-Moses Stop Block: kmtools.com/collections/katz-...
Rockler T-Track: amzn.to/3jkmQFl
Rockler Miter Bars: amzn.to/3WNLtYO
Minwax Paste Finishing Wax: amzn.to/3RxDWwh
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This costs you nothing extra, but helps me keep the lights on! - Навчання та стиль
I don't have any plans for this cross cut sled, but if there's enough interest I'll make some. Let me know!
Does this mean no maths then?
Bob
England
Seems to me you explained a lot about the details of assembling this sled, but a big question I have, and I have watched many "sled" videos, is what factors to take into consideration when determining the dimensions, the base thickness, the base material, the far fence function, the shapes and height (not heighth - a pet peeve of mine) of the far and near fences, etc. I think the parameters that need to be considered when building a sled for a particular saw are more useful than a set of plans for a specific saw. I know I struggled with these questions this week when I built my first sled for a cabinet door project I am currently working on. Also, there appears to be some magic in determining the offset from the blade cut line to the left and right sides of the sled, but I'll be damned if I can understand the magic - any enlightenment you could provide on this topic should appeal to your viewers.
Again, great work, keep it up.
@@psmola101 No magic needed!
For the base material you want it to be flat and stable so a sheet of plywood is perfect. I've tried 1/2" plywood and it has more tendency to warp, so I prefer 3/4" plywood.
The far fence is needed to hold the sled together. Without it that end of the sled would just flop around not only making the sled inaccurate but very dangerous to use.
The height of the fences needs to be higher than you will run the blade so that you don't ever cut all the way through them. 4" is a good number since table saws typically don't cut that high.
As for how far to the left and right of the blade the sled should go, it's really up to your preference. You can go as wide in either direction as you want to go, it's just going to make a much larger and heavier sled. Same for depth of the sled from front to back. Go as wide as you need without making the sled too massive to use.
Hope that helps!
@@psmola101 Heighth!! Crikey me too……how did it get started?
Bob
England
A Mier Guage can act as the base for a sled.
"Now I won't bore you with the details" (proceeds to give the most clearly understandable demonstration of the 5-cut method ever)
Me: "Oh, I get it now"
Great! I’m glad it was helpful!
Yeah - I've seen others get into the math so much that the method get lost in the message.
I only do math under protest.
😁
Great presentation of a fit-for-purpose, accurate crosscut sled with no "ultimate" hype. Your demonstration of the 5 cut method is very clear.
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
very strange, a video that didn't waste an hour and a half or more with useless jibber=jabber.............to the point.......thanks.........a great example of the 5 cut method..
Thank you!
This video was very nice to watch. Thanks for sharing.
Simple explanations. That’s the way everyone doing UA-cam videos should do. Some make it sound much more complicated than it has to be. I guess they are trying to make themselves look brilliant. Thanks for making user friendly videos.
Thank you! I agree, some people are making things way too complicated just for the sake of the video. I'm hoping to help people make better projects, not overly complex contraptions that don't serve much purpose.
Nice job explaining William Ng's method. I just yesterday came across his 11 year old video on this topic. I especially like the way you marked the A and B on the 5th cut, and explained by way of example and simple analysis which way to rotate the fence to bring it into alignment. You are a skilled teacher. My only suggestion to others building a sled would be to clamp the fence in position once you have inserted the feeler gages to make the 0.013" adjustment, and before you install the next screw.
Keep up the good work, you have a natural teaching talent.
Thank you!
I agree with your take on the video, and also with your suggestion to others.
Good work all around, imho.
Great job of explaining the math for how to arrive at the amount you need to move the fence. I don't think I've seen other videos with the math broken down in detail like that!
Glad it was helpful!
Great Video. The absolute best/simplest description of the 5 cut method I've heard yet. Thank you.
Thanks!
What happens if “a” needs to be bigger than “b”, do you just remove the other screw instead?
@@anphan3208 Start with the corner block and feeler gauges against the fence and clamp the block in place. Remove the feeler gauges and the screw and push the fence against the corner block. Insert new screw.
So, instead of adding the feeler gauges as in the video, you're subtracting the feeler gauges.
Agreed! Your explanation of the 5 cut method is excellent. A very nice and clear video. Your editing skills are superb. I need to make mine soon. Shop reorganization in progress.
Thank you!
Great video! Probably the best demo/explanation of the 5-cut method I’ve seen.
Wow, thanks!
I've used a crosscut sled of this basic design for many years and I'll testify it is really good. A real plus in your method is to apply a chamfer on to the back fence. Good idea. Excellent video and well presented!
Thank you!
This is easily the best representation of the 5-cut method for squaring your crosscut front fence. I've seen a LOT of crosscut sled videos and your explanation was the best I've seen. Most other UA-camrs just gloss over the math, and some even skip the step of multiplying by the length between screws. And I agree about avoiding hardwoods for your miter slots, as I live in a high-humidity area....I use aluminum miter bars or HDPE miter bars (which is sometimes cheaper than aluminum, esp. on Amazon). However, due to high humidity after a few years, my double-thick front fence began to bow inward (concave looking down). So I upgraded and added one of those aluminum "super" tracks from Woodpeckers, which has made a world of difference. Not only perfectly straight, but the additional track grooves allow multiple options for adding stops or additional accessories.
Thanks! An aluminum fence is a good idea unless you have a SawStop. My monster sled had an aluminum fence and I was always worried about tripping the blade break if it was too close to the.
@@biscuittreewoodworks You're right, I never thought about a SawStop. I've never had the "spondulix" to afford one of those, lol.
@babounous No - it's not - William Ng is
ua-cam.com/video/UbG-n--LFgQ/v-deo.html
At 13.00 you could see the pilot hole drill move the fence. Oops!
Wow! You explained all of that so well! Thank you!!
Thanks! Glad it was helpful!
So many Table Saw Sled videos lose me at the complexity they add to them. This one Simple and exactly what you need. And you got the comment and thumbs up because of the stop block bit! Great job.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the video!
Very cool. I always heard about the 5-cut method but this is the first time I actually understood, great explanation!
Great to hear!
I really like the simplicity of design and function balanced with cost effectiveness!
Awesome video!
Well done, Sir!
Thank you very much!
Excellent presentation and explanation of the 5-cut method!
Glad you liked it!!
I appreciate this video as much as I was entertained by it. Keep doing what you’re doing. This is great!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video. Very well explained, to the point, and more importantly, not a second wasted on jibber jabber. I love the clear & simple 5-cut method explanation and how you made fun of yourself with the cut-block. Well done buddy.
Glad it was helpful!
I can't tell you how many cross cut sled videos I've watched over the years, and I've build quite a few as well. This is probably the most straight forward, concise video I've seen. You explanations are clear and detailed, yet straight to the point. As others have mentioned, this is especially true in your explanation of the five cut method. I've seen many botched explanations of that process. Great job! I'm now a subscriber.
Thank you!
Very clear, concise and meaningful explanation of your process. Thank you for making everything so understandable.
Great video and explanation of the five cut method.
Thank you!
Awesome video man. Such a smile breakdown of a well made sled and the 5 cut method. Thank you! 🇺🇸
Thank you!
My sled is similar in size and construction and includes the Katz-Moses stop block. I did add T-track parallel to the blade on both sides of the blade. The t-track is about 14" long and 6" from the blade. This allows me to have an adjustable clamp to hold down wood when necessary and I also often clamp my shop vac hose with the floor attachment attached to suck up sawdust as I cut. I did learn a few things from your video for my next build. Well done!
Awesome! Sounds like a good sled!
Very well presented. Kept it simple. Thank you. I will be using your method to create my sled
A lot of UA-cam woodworking channels over complicate the design trying to grab attention and views. I really think a simple, accurate sled is one of the best tools you can have in your shop.
I have watched many videos on this subject, this was the best by far. Very good instruction!
Thank you!
LOL, loved the stop-block bit. That was funny.
I also think the sled is nice, simple, and functional. Great job🤓
Thank you! I had a lot of fun with that part!
great demonstration of the 5 cut method.
Thanks!
Great demonstration of the five cut method. First time that I truly understand it 🧐💡and can apply to my crosscut sled build.
Awesome! Glad to hear it!
Thanks. A lot of really good tips for me to digest and use for my new sled
Glad it’s helpful!
Best video to explain how to adjust the fence!
Thanks! 👍
This is the simplest and best explained 5 cut method for building a cross cut sled. I appreciate the teaching without the self deprecating humor and silly garbage to many "experts" use to entertain. This is why the comedy channel exists ! Well done.!!!
Thanks! I drop some humor from time to time but try to focus on delivering the best woodworking information I can!
thanks for that,
that's the best description of the FIVE CUT METHOD as I've seen so far.
thanks again.
Glad it was helpful!
I just ran across your channel and was impressed by the way you presented the video. Very informative. Great miter sled. I am looking forward to looking at your other videos.
Great Job!
Awesome, thank you!
Very well explained, especially the 5 cut method of truing the cut. Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Really great video. It was clear and concise. I’ve never seen that 5 cut method for squareness, I really love it. I’ve wanted to build a cross cut sled for some time. I think I’m ready.
Glad it was helpful!
Haha. Upon further review yes to the music but great choice of music. No distraction at all. Keep doing your thing. Thanks for your editing skills. You toned down the music perfectly at the right time. You obviously have multiple skills. 👍
I try my best, thanks!
I really appreciate the clear, concise lesson here. Thank you, Sir!
You're very welcome!
Great work my friend!
Thanks for stopping by! Loving the stop block so far!
Excellent video, very well explained with some great engineering practices. I have never thought about making a sled, but may now. Good work............
Thanks! I use my sled all the time!
I like your attention to safety and accuracy. Great video, thanks.
Great! Thanks for watching!
A friend of mine is a retired structural engineer. He made me one very similiter, but he used thick aluminum plate and extruded aluminum bar that was fiberglass coated used several "T" tracks, I have had it for almost 9 years, it is .00001 out of perfect square, I can also adjust if it ever were to get out of square, surprisingly it is quite lite. It also has several gigs I can use with to to make box joints, miter cuts & so much more.. I myself am a retired Master Carpenter.. I only use my shop, now to teach my grandchildren carpentry.. And I do occasional projects.. My children & grandchildren use the shop 90% of the time..
Thank you for sharing.. I wish we had the internet and UA-cam back when I was active working the trade...
That would be fine on most saws, but pretty sure you couldn't use that on a Sawstop.
You can turn the stop feature off. There is an inherent increase in safety when using a crosscut sled (no cut on a saw is completely safe!), so a metal sled should be no problem. Having said that, my sleds will always be wood, not metal or melamine.
@@harveyalan788 It's a bit of a hassle to go into bypass mode on the Sawstop and you have to go through that procedure every time the saw is stopped and restarted. Possible, sure. But I bet someone would go through a lot of blades and brakes trying to use a metal sled.
You can’t even measure .00001 out of square. Good grief.
When in woodworking would you need to be that accurate? I was a machinist for 38 years. I did first articles for the Government. Never have heard of having to measure that tight. Helicopter rotors are allowed.005 runout. As in the other comment “ good grief “!
Wow, an excellent presentation and explanation. I am a teacher and you have a knack for explaining this complex task.🙂
Thank you! 😃
Great video Sir. easy to follow and very straight forward, thanks a lot for sharing.
Thank you!
I will be building a sled soon, will use this tutorial to do so. 👍
Awesome! Enjoy!
Love it, simple and accurate what more do you need.
Thanks! Glad you like it!
Sweet. Thanks for sharing, and blessings, from this old man in Tennessee.
Thanks for watching!
Very good presentation young man
Thanks!
Well done, good and educational video. Thank you Will have to return to see your other videos. Thanks
Awesome, thank you!
I’ve been putting off building one of these because of the five cut method. I’m horrible with maths like that, but your explanation gave me that “ah ha” moment, and I finally understand it. Time to build a sled. Thank you sir!!!
Awesome! Glad I could help!
😂 this was/is the best video I have seen so far for the 5 cut. Explanation was fantastic, now I can go and adjust mine with out using Sheldon math! Brilliant, thank you. 🤙
Glad it helped!
Excellent video. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I have a sawstop slider. I used 3m spray adhesive to put a strip of 150 grit sand paper on the fence. Nothing has ever slipped again while cross cutting. Should work perfectly on this one too.
👍
LOL'ed at the very end when you were talking about stop block being beautiful and red. 😂 Just for that it was worth watching the whole video
Awesome! Glad you liked it!
Thanks for the video. I too prefer a simple crosscut sled.
Nice demonstration of explaining how to determine which direction to move the fence to achieve square.
I like my big sled to overhang the edge of the saw a couple of inches on the left. This allows using a clamp to hold the fence during the initial build vs using the screw. I also find it handy to be able to clamp on this edge without interfering with the sled movement from time to time too.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Good content, thanks.
I have a narrower (front to back) sled used for cutting structural pieces rather than panels. The narrower size means that I could put a perspex cover above the line of the blade, wide enough to reduce the likelihood of touching the blade but without impeding the ability to hold pieces against the fence.
Sounds great!
Great representation! Thank you from Russia.
Thank you very much!
🤣🤣🤣Thanks for that last bit! Excellent explanation and I learned it better with you (5 cut method). Love your no frills, straight shootin vids. Subscribed!
Thank you! Glad you're enjoying the videos!
I cut dovetails slots into my crosscut sled to add MicroJig clamps so I can clamp down smaller pieces that need cutting.
I thought about adding t-track for clamps but I’ve never needed to clamp anything down to the sled.
Perfect! Great video. Have the same saw. Love it. Thanks.
Thank you!
This was very useful, thank you.
Glad to hear it!
That’s precision. Love it.
Thanks!
Great video Sir. I’m sure you will get good use for your new table saw sled. 🇨🇦💝👍
It's been great!
Very useful video, thank you.
You are welcome!
Excellent video, thanks. Straight forward and well presented. I subscribed.
Thank you!
Simple and effective... all that I need. The only change I *may* make/add... a couple Dovetail slots in the base to allow me to slide in some (MicroJig) MatchFit clamps if I need to secure/hold parts down as I cut. Possibly cut an an angle from the back fence area side towards the blade kerf on the front fence area, so it can easily handle large to small parts, yet the dovetail portion of the clamp can't run into the blade. Cut before assembling the front fence of course.
Thanks for watching! Let me know what yours ends up like!
What a great vid, he make it so simple.
Thanks!
Best explanation scene to date!
Thanks!
Awesome video! I have to make one asap!!
Thanks! I use mine all the time!
Thanks again. I will make one like this.
Awesome!
That was a great video and I love watching u!!
Thank you!
Of course
Excellent video
Thanks!
You got me there with the stop block. 😂
🤣
Nice job and better explanation. Between 10:10 and 10:17 I did the math mentally and my answer was 0.016 but I saw yours and went running for the mobile to check mine. I believe that your first trial was correct enough.
Yes, the first attempt was probably good enough, but then I couldn't show you how to make the adjustments for better accuracy if you needed to.
For safety, it's very important to add some type of positive stop to the forward movement of the sled, so that the saw-blade will NEVER fully cut through the glued on "safety housing" shown in this video. This is particularly important when trimming thick parts, such as table legs, when the saw-blade is near full height extension.
To achieve that, I have slots cut into the outfeed table that can prevent the miter bars from going too far.
Great video. Thank you!
👍😁
best sled video i ever sawed
Thanks!
Very impressive!
Thank you!
Thanks mate - excellent!
Thank you!
Lol I loved the stop block humor at the end
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
Good stuff!!!!
Thanks!
Good video. After watching some other vids, I noticed that some guys incorporated some washers and bolts to attach the back fence in order to catch sawdust or you could cut a notch with your router to allow for some sawdust to collect without having to blow off each time.
Great tip!
When I grow up I'm going to get a table saw like yours. Aside: 4:50 I bought the Harbor Freight oscillating sander. It's exactly the same thing as the Ridgid, but 1/2 the price. I use it frequently and have no issues with it.
I had heard a lot of good things about the Ridgid oscillating sander. It’s ok for rough work but not very accurate. I may upgrade to a floor standing model at some point. I’ve been doing this for a long time now so I’m getting away from cheap tools and investing in higher quality tools that do a better job.
Love the simple design , execution, and explanation of this project.
Thank you very much!
Very nice thanks
👍
Nice presentation. I want to make a cross cut sled with the ability to use dado stack
I have another sled just for dados. Same construction methods apply!
I'm impressed by the method and precision to make it square. Personally, and for probably a lot of us, that would have ended with a hammer tap 😅. I'll save that video for later. Maybe I really need to be more precise with the tools I use everyday to be precise...though.
Thanks!
You measured the fence adjustment from one end to the other, 34” I think you said. However, it pivots on the right screw, so measure from the screw position. It’s picky, I know, but some folks might have placed the right screw further in. You got great results and like your video.
No, I measured from the screw. That's exactly what I said at 10:45, measure from the screw because it is the pivot point.
@@biscuittreewoodworks, I feel like such a dunce. This isn’t the first time I have needed to be set straight. Thanks for responding and keep up the great work.
I found putting a few good coats of good paste wax on my table saw jigs helps keep them from being affected by humidity.
Great tip!
Just don't use anything that contains silicone oil if you are planning to add a finish to your cut pieces. It can really interfere with getting a uniform coat (found out the hard way).
Great, nice, simple video! I’ve made two sleds so far and used them both for 10 years but watched anyway because you always get something from a how-to video. What I got from yours was that the fence measurement should be from the pivot screw to the other END of the fence (not to the other end screw) I’ve never seen that clarified in other videos, also, anything under 0.00 is good enough (I’ve always shot for under .004). you’re right, quit chasing zero, wood moves. Here’s something about runners I’ve always wondered about: if you glued the one nearest the fence first, fix it with screws, and then glued the second one without the fence, but with slight pressure applied to the sled to the right until the glue cures, your runners would be exactly right and the correct tightness regardless of how narrow or wide the runners were ( if you cut your own) in the slots …right? You’ve inspired me to build a cute,little, mini sled for my gift boxes, thanks.
If the runners are a little loose, you can do that to make them fit a bit tighter.
Building my first sled tomorrow. Don’t have a feeler gauge though, so just going to wing it with playing cards and single pieces of paper haha. At least I have a digital calliper!
That should work out just fine! A single playing card should be about .010” and a piece of writing paper is about .003”. So you should be able to dial it in very precisely with that!
@@biscuittreewoodworks the metal casing of 9V batteries is always a hundredth of an inch. When I started measuring them I expected to find some differences. I never have though. Makes ya wonder if there's not some big battery conspiracy going on. But it's still handy shim stock being as consistent as it is. The guts of batteries are different though. If that helps you sleep at night. Duracells are different. There's 6 little metal batteries inside of them. The rest are all sandwich stacks.
I would love to have plans for this.
I hope to have plans for this and several other projects up on my website soon!
Great videos! Keep up the good work, Devil Dog
Thanks, Semper Fi!
@@biscuittreewoodworks I wasn't a Marine, but served with them as a Corpsman in the Air wing.
Another channel worth subbing too. Awesome. I’m trying to remember if you played music through the video, I have a feeling you did. That would be my only critique but I don’t think it was during your talking. Anyways at least it wasn’t distracting. I’m gonna build that exact sled. Was thinking I’d just use a framing square for the back fence but I like your precision 5 step method. I love a challenge and I love to be a sponge Bob absolutely square head !!!! Thanks
Thanks! Music is always a difficult thing to get right. Some will love it, some will hate it. It's often necessary to include because dead air on video is terrible, so I try to fill the dead air with very light music almost to the point you don't even notice unless you are listening for it.
👍 some good advice right there kids
Thanks!
Nice presentation and design. For angle cuts do you use a chop saw instead of cabinet saw?
Depends on what I'm doing. If it's something quick and doesn't require a lot of accuracy I'll use the miter saw. If I need to be very accurate for furniture or fine boxes I'll use the table saw.
Nice video. You explained things really well. However, while I’ve thought about building one of these for awhile, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’d rather get the Dubby sleds or the Incra 5000, I think it is. The Dubbys are basically sleds, one for each side of the blade with a miter gauge style push fence to be able to cut miters. Can use just one, but a think having both could be really useful at times. The Incra is basically a miter gauge fastened to a sled. It has a built in adjustable stop block. I think a 180 or more positive stops. And a board that sits on the other side of the blade to support and catch the cutoff. Yeah they both are definitely more expensive than building one like this, and if you already have a nice miter gauge, this one would probably be the way to go. I’m still just using the one that came with the saw, so I’d kinda like a combo of miter gauge and sled. Won’t swear to it, but I think the 2 Dubbys can be fastened together to basically make a full sled.
Anyway, I liked your video and maybe a smaller version with the stop block for cutting a batch of small pieces for whatever would be handy and easy to store.
Thanks! I have the Incra 1000 miter gauge, it works great! I thought about getting the Incra 5000, but decided to just build this one instead.
great video and quick explanation of 5 cut method! Do you feel slop in the miter bars for the runner? I've tried them and still feel too much "play"
Not at all. There should be some nylon set screws that allow you to tighten up the fit.
Hello Sir. I love your presentation. I have a Dewalt table saw that the surface is 19 X 19 what do you suggest the available working space to be excluding the thickness of the fences ? I appreciate your input.
Depends on how you set it up. I’ve seen people build huge cabinets for a small job site saw to give them more working area than someone with a professional tablesaw.
Excellent
Thanks!😊
When l made my crosscut sled l used red tuck tape on the box l made to remind myself of the danger in this area. Just an added safety feature. Nice sled by the way.
Thanks!