Cross-Cut sled for Dewalt Table Saw and some Table Saw questions

[IowaDad]

Hello everyone!!

Since i'm rather new to woodworking I have some questions. First, on my last project, i've noticed that when ripping wood on my table saw, i get burn marks. It is my assumption that the blade is dull and needs to be replaced. How exactly do you know when your blades are dull? Since my current table saw is a Dewalt job site syle, the "table" part of it is very small. I've been trying to find a good way to cross-cut a large piece of wood (for a cutting board). Does anyone have design specs on how to construct a Sled? I've found some online, but they are all mostly for larger saws. Finally, when gluing wood together (end grain cutting board) what do you use to keep the glue from sticking to the pieces of wood that your clamps adhear to? I've tried painters tape with my last board, but it was almost impossible to get them off once the glue dried.

Thanks in advance for your advice it is much appreicated!!

IowaDad

[brtech]

While burning may be a sign of a dull blade, it's more likely that you aren't pushing the wood parallel to the blade. That is probably because the fence isn't aligned with the blade. Look on Marc's video pages for alignment tips and make sure your blade is aligned to your miter slot and your fence is aligned to your miter slot.

Sleds plans rarely are fixed to the size of the table. If your saw has two miter slots, you can make a sled that fits it. The sled could be bigger than the table, although if you hang it off too far it will have a tendency to tip. Think about making your own extension wings to make your top bigger. The sled can be deeper than the table with the same caveat. You can also make infeed and outfeed tables, and get your sled even bigger if you really want to. On the other hand, perhaps you should be looking on Craigslist for a new-to-you table saw. A lot of projects get done on older Delta or even Craftsman table saws. When tuned up, and possibly (for the Craftsman), an upgraded fence, they are very decent tools.

Two words on keeping glue off something you don't want it on: "waxed paper". Paste wax also works, and also two words

[WoodClips]

The previous poster's suggestion that your fence might be misaligned is a good one. The problem could also be a dull blade, inappropriate blade for the job, feed technique (too slow), or maybe you are just using a wood that is more prone to burning and there isn't much you can do about it. What can you tell us about your table saw blade? Make/model, number of teeth, age, etc.? There can be a big difference in the quality of cut you get from a dull cheap-o blade that came with the saw vs. a sharp premium blade with the appropriate number of teeth for the job. You'll get a feel over time for how much pressure you need to apply to feed wood of a given species/thickness through a sharp blade vs. dull blade. If you have to push pretty hard, chances are your blade is dull or has too many teeth for ripping.

When you talk about boards being too large for cross-cutting, are you talking about the length of the board (tipping off the table/awkward to maneuver), or the width of the board (not enough space between the miter gauge and the blade)? Even with a larger table saw, I usually cut longer boards down with my jig saw to within an inch or two of their final length prior to cross-cutting to final length on the table saw--it makes it much more manageable than starting with a full-length board. For cross-cutting wide boards, you are on the right track looking at cross-cut sled plans. If you go over to the Fine Woodworking website and search for "Build a Simple Crosscut Sled for the Tablesaw", you'll find a nice article (membership required though) on building a 16" x 24" cross-cut sled that would probably be appropriately sized for your saw, or easy enough to modify to suit.

I use clear packing tape on my clamping cauls. Works great for keeping glue from sticking.

Rory

[dtrust]

So far all good suggestions.

I will only say that I used to use painter's tape myself, but recently found that waxed paper works much much better.

Also, I'm from the school of thought (I may be the only student) that thinks more glue is better and so I usually have a lot of squeezeout. I found that the easiest way to get the excess glue off the board itself is an old cheapo plane. It's easier than a cabinet scraper to get you down to the wood again.

Try the waxed paper, though. It's way better than the painter's tape.

[Vic]

Two things, if you're using a contractors saw, think seriously about building a surround for it. That will help in cutting larger pieces. As far as squeeze out, I'm assuming the glue isn't sticking to your clamp heads, but the pipe or bar. Wax it. Much cheaper in the long run than doing anything else. The glue will just pop off.

[CaptFerd]

Heres a sled I built for just what your doing.

Make sure your blade is square with your miter slot and your fence is square with the blade. Most of the time you get burn at the back side of the blade when the wood is exiting the saw. It could be that the fence needs to be adjusted out at the back.

For the glue thing I use freezer meat wrapping paper. Its a white paper and its waxed on one side. you can buy it at walmart. Can be used over and over again.

[jgfore]

Well, there is little left to say after these fellows have given some great explinations on the burns and the glue issues. However, as for the sled, can I recommend the INCRA 1000SE (or INCRA 1000HD) miter gauge. I was doing the same thing that you are; trying to decide on which sled plans to use in building my sled. I needed to be able to cut perfect 90 degree cuts aswell as 45 degree miter cuts. I spoke with a few woodworkers and several of them pointed me towards this tool. I have found it to be one of the best purchases in my shop. If you are dead-set on a sled, it also comes with a sled attachment (pictured below). The only down side is the price! The miter gauge is about $160.00 and the sled attachment is about $$300.00. I do not have the sled attachment be cause I find that the gauge itself is enough.

Trust me!!! I have made enough junk and purchase a lot of junk that now sits under a bench somewhere and collects dust, but this tool I use every project and almost every cut on the table saw.

No! I do not have stock in INCRA.........I just believe in letting people know about a good thing.

My 2 Cents.

Jeff

[IowaDad]

WOW!!! Awesome information! Thanks SO much. Here's what I have for hardware, Dewalt DW744 saw (nothing around it just the saw itself) and a Freud TK806. The blade and saw came together and I havn't invested anything else. The piece i'm currently trying to cut is for a cutting board. Before ripping (the state it's in now) it is 43" long, 18" wide, 3/4" thick and is a mixture of Purpleheart and Hard Maple. Since I wasn't sure what to ask when shopping for wood, the only thing the local lumbermil had in stock was 3/4" stock. Soon after I got the wood home, I realized that in order to keep my end dementions the same, I needed to have 43" in length.

Here is the first board I made. It was much smaller only 9" wide but 43" long:

It was pretty easy to rip since it mostly fit on the table. I did get a big kick back at the end and that was my fault. I was pushing the side not being cut (if that makes sense). Good learning lession there...

Here is the the board i'm currently working on:

You can see the small board in the background if that puts it in perspective...

Thanks so much in advance!!

IowaDad

[WoodClips]

Looks like your cutting boards are turning out really nice.

I think the source of your burning is probably your blade. The Freud TK806 is an 80 tooth cross-cut blade, which is something you'd use in a miter saw or possibly for cutting plywoods where you are concerned about tearout, but not something you'd use for ripping (way too many teeth). I'd recommend getting a 40 tooth thin-kerf combination blade from a quality manufacturer like Freud, CMT or Forrest. You can get a decent blade for around $50, or a really good blade for around $100.

Rory

[IowaDad]

Ok so heres an update. I went out and purchased a nice 40t freud blade. Bye bye burn marks! Hello chipouts

So I constructed a nice cross cut sled from 1/2" MDF and 2x6's (should've used 2x4's!!). So now that I was able to cross cut my large board I proceeded to start cutting. I noticed that the wood (which is 3/4" think) began to warp. I didn't really worry about this as I assumed that during the final glue-up phase I could use the clamps to straighten the pieces out.

So after about 10 minutes, I have my 40 pieces of 1" ready for my end grain glueup. I did two different practice runs as I wanted to make sure things lined up. I started gluing (i use a bit more glue as I wanted to make sure I had good coverage) and once all 40 pieces were setup on the bar clamps, i started slowly tightening the ends. Once slightly snug, I added two more for the middle. After tightening I noticed that there were still gaps in the board. It appeared that I didn't take the dry Iowa winter air in consideration. The glue set and I was unable to get most of the warping. I believe there's about 5 or 10 1/16" gaps between peieces.

Here is my new question

I figure I really have three options:

1.) Throw out the board... really don't want to do this

2.) Use an Epoxy to fill the gaps

3.) Use a Stick Shellac to fill the gaps

After the epoxy or shellac were to cure, I would sand the excess off and level the board and then proceed on finishing the board with the usual 50/50 mix of mineral spirts/Salad Bowl varnish.

Any other options or issues with the options?

thanks SO much in advance!

IowaDad

[WoodClips]

Sorry to hear that your glue-up didn't go as planned. If a couple of the rows are particularly bad, one option is to cut along the joints to cut them out, and then glue the two halves back together. This is sort of an option of last resort though--getting the cuts in the right place so they are right along the existing joints could be tricky. I don't have much to offer in terms of filling gaps. I think you'll find that it is pretty hard to make a gap blend in, regardless of what you fill it with.

If you build another cutting board, you may want to do the glue-up in a couple steps to make it easier. For example, do two glue-ups of 20 rows each, and then glue the two resulting pieces together once they are dry.

If you are getting chip-out with your new blade, there are probably things you can do to minimize that. When you are ripping, a zero-clearance insert in your table saw should help. You may also want to switch to your 80 tooth blade for the cross-cuts. The 40 tooth combination blades usually work alright for both cross cutting and ripping, but if you need really clean cross cuts, a blade with more teeth will help. A 60 tooth blade is more common for a dedicated cross-cut blade.

Rory

[jshoey]

In regards to the gaps, after the first glue-up, the panel must be completely flat before crosscutting it. Since you are gluing what was once the top and bottom sides of your panel together and not the edges that you cut straight on your table saw, they are the sides that need to be especially flat. I had a planer knife that had sucked up a few chips and stuck down a little further in one spot, so every section of the cutting board had a gap between it where the knife cut a little deeper in that spot. After flattening the pieces individually, it glued up perfectly.

[Grixxly]

First, if it's the blade that came with the saw, scrap it. I would recommend a combination blade from a good maker. I use Freud, but I know CMT makes a good blade and I'm sure there are others. Second, a cross-cut sled is almost an essential. I would recommend buying a white 'plastic' cutting board from K-Mart or WalMart or et al; use the table saw to cut it into a couple of strips that fit your miter slots. Then use two-sided tape with the strips in the slots to secure it to 3/8-3/4 plywood (cut to a size easy to handle for most of your cross-cut needs). Then screw the strips into the bottom of the plywood. Then I would secure a straight board on the front of the sled and one at the back of the sled that is straight, square, and taller than your blade can cut. Then raise the blade and make your first cut. Now you have a kerf reference and can do most cross-cutting safely. Finally, parchment cooking paper works great at not sticking to glue.

--Grixx

[Grixxly]

First, if it's the blade that came with the saw, scrap it. I would recommend a combination blade from a good maker. I use Freud, but I know CMT makes a good blade and I'm sure there are others. Second, a cross-cut sled is almost an essential. I would recommend buying a white 'plastic' cutting board from K-Mart or WalMart or et al; use the table saw to cut it into a couple of strips that fit your miter slots. Then use two-sided tape with the strips in the slots to secure it to 3/8-3/4 plywood (cut to a size easy to handle for most of your cross-cut needs). Then screw the strips into the bottom of the plywood. Then I would secure a straight board on the front of the sled and one at the back of the sled that is straight, square, and taller than your blade can cut. Then raise the blade and make your first cut. Now you have a kerf reference and can do most cross-cutting safely. Finally, parchment cooking paper works great at not sticking to glue.

--Grixx

Guess I should have read the whole thread... You look to be going in the right direction!!! BTW, where at in Iowa? I'm from Swisher, IA though I live in Memphis, TN now, though my Dad still lives in Cedar Rapids.

--Grixx