Cross cut sled

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Raw69

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Hi looking to make my first one this weekend, any suggestions for which material to use as the base? And do you need to apply anything to help with a smooth slide?

Cheers
 
I too will be making one soon. I like using formica faced board for things like this, my router table is made from one inch MDF faced on both sides with formica so runs nice and smooth. Failing that good birch ply with a coat of sanding sealer and wax would be my choice I reckon.
 
Watch out.... there are fingers..... about :)

Quite a while back I looked into cross cut sleds. All the designs I looked at, put me right off, safety wise because, no use of a crown guard and fully exposed blade. I did a bit more digging and found a much safer design, that keeps the crown guard, fully in position.
Seems a preety solid design and safe but I never pursued it as I got a 2nd hand sliding table for my TS.
Cross cut sled here https://www.popularwoodworking.com/proj ... esaw-jigs/

I don't think it makes any difference how careful one is, if the original idea is inherently dangerous in itself.... just an accident waiting to happen. People who may have used the other designs, might say, had no problems. I say lucky so far. Sorry guys, bit of rant over:)
 
It's perfectly possible to make that's safe, but I think I've only ever seen one that was, other than the one I made a decade or so ago.

Ask yourself this question... Why can't you buy them as an accessory from the table saw manufacturer?

In general, you don't need one and there are better ways of doing it, safer too.

Phenolic faced ply is readily available and is great for jigs.

Aidan
 
I would argue that a sled makes a lot of tasks safer on the table saw. Cutting small items is a good example. I am however talking about a well made sled with some way of clamping the work so fingers dont get in harms way.
Regards
John
 
MDF I find works well for the base, little seasonal movement, so the slot stays aligned all year.

F.
 
Well clearly the majority you'll see online are made from ply. But there's ply and there's ply; you wouldn't want to use cheap stuff.

MDF is obviously an option but chipboard might be just as good if not better. Again, quality matters.

Raw69":1db310na said:
And do you need to apply anything to help with a smooth slide?
Depends on what you use as your base. Phenolic is very slick, the bare surface of normal ply would benefit from being varnished and then having a bit of wax rubbed on every now and then.

Melamine-faced products will slide well naturally too, not quite as easily as phenolic but good enough that you may never feel you need to wax them. You might want to wax the slot or the slide periodically, regardless of other factors.
 
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