Crosscut sled


Dnorris1369

Recommended Posts

I misunderstood the original post...I saw "jobsite" and thought you'd be using it on a jobsite.  My instinct was to say the Incra is a precision tool that might not be a good fit for the rigors of construction sites.  But that's not what you meant, so apologies.

 

I'd still probably build one because they're easy to make and much cheaper than buying a fancy one like the Incra.  But you might have to make yours considerably smaller since you have a small saw.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd recommend making your own, because if you take your time, you  can make a better sled than you can buy. My dad owns the Incra, but since I gave him my old saw and sled, he doesn't use it anymore. The one I made is bigger, more accurate, and easier to set up fixtures with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree that making your own sled isn't really too bad. Both Marc and William Ng have great in depth videos on how to make and dial in your cross cut sled. I have 3 sleds right now. I started with a super huge one that worked well but it was a bit of a pain to use for most applications but I keep it around for those times when I have over sized boards I need to cross cut. I made a smaller one for general purpose and I also made a separate one just for my dado stack so I wouldn't mess up the kerf on my other sleds. I haven't gotten around to it but a miter sled would be extremely handy as well. Wood working for Mere Mortals has a great tutorial on how to make a miter sled.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I made mine out of hardwood and it's holding up fine.  Just some scraps left over from another project.

 

Nothing wrong with buying them either.

 

Might be better for you to make them on your first sled..  Work out the kinks and bugs and then determine what you want to do with the sliders later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

==> One large and one smaller. Use the smaller most of the time.

Same here... My 'small' sled can handle about 9" cross-cut width and the 'large' about 20"...

 

After about a year of non-use, I cannibalized the large sled for parts to make a box-joint sled (which I use a lot).

 

After a few years, I've still never felt the need to replace the large sled...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok guys fixing to start my sled. Have couple questions should my sled be exact size as top of saw or bigger or smaller and is oak ok to use for runners. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Keep the distance in front of your blade in mind. With your job site saw its going to be tight so I'd probably just go as big as you can.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oak is okay for runners...I'd use white if you have it and more importantly, which ever species you use, make sure you pick straight grained wood and orient that grain to where any expansion and contraction occurs up and down in the miter slot, not side to side.  In the summer your runners will swell and you'll have to scrape them down a bit so that they slide smoothly, then by the next winter when they shrink again, you'll have some slop.  Selecting and orienting your grain correctly will help reduce this problem, though it won't eliminate it altogether.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.