Router table sled without miter slot?

[Toller]

A few months ago I was building a router table and asked about putting a miter slot into it to use with a sled. Several people said they just ran the sled against the fence and found it worked out well. It made sense, so I went that way.

The table is fine, but now I am making the sled and am not sure it still makes sense. On some cuts (say a tongue and groove frame) won't the router bit hit the sled? I suppose you could put a spacer between the sled and workpiece, so the router bit is too high to hit the sled, but that seems like it would ask for inaccuracies.

Am I missing something here?

[Upscale]

Why can't the piece of wood ride against the fence as you've always done? Is it too small?

Is your problem, that you don't having anything to guide the sled?

One way I can think of a sled working without a mitre slot is to have the sled ride against the front edge of the router table assuming it's a straight edge.

[Toller]

When you make a frame, you route the length with one bit and the ends with another. I really need something to hold the wood when doing the ends.

Yeah, that is certainly a possibility, but holding it agains the fence would make allignment easier.

>

[tom]

Using the sled's fence as a backer board is common. Helps to eliminate endgrain tearout. Just don't put any fasteners where the bit contacts the sled's fence. The fence is easy to replace if necessary. Tom

[Upscale]

Any chance you can fasten some type of guide bar or its equivalent to the fence as a basis for guiding a sled. I'm thinking of something along the lines of the Lee Valley router table sled.

[dadiOH]

Yes. Which is good, stops blowout ___________

Yes. You are trying to be too fancy. Forget a sled, just grab a piece of scrap around 4" wide by at least that long with two square edges and use it to push the skinny piece by riding the push block on the fence. When you are through cutting ends, trim off the 1/2" or so that was cut by the bit and set the rest aside for use next time.

-- dadiOH ____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[Toller]

Interesting concept, but I am using a Rockler fence I got at a garage sale, and it doesn't have the top part the sled rides in.. (Mini-gloat though; unused and complete for $5.)

[Dave Hall]

If I read the question correctly, you are using the router table sled like you would a table saw sled, i.e. you are placing the work piece on top of the sled surface. As I have seen router table sleds, they are more like push blocks (or miter guages) in that the work piece stays on the router table surface and sits in front of the sled and the sled pushes it past the router bit. The sled does get pushed into the bit and acts as a backer board. Either build the sled with a disposable piece at the front corner or, as someone else said, simply cut that part off the sled after each session.

Dave Hall

[Toller]

That is one way to do it, but I wanted to clamp the wood to the sled; much like

my old table I ran the sled in a miter slot, but I always had problems alligning my crappy fence to the miter slot. So, I did away with the miter slot and figure I would just run the sled against the fence. But not it seems like the router bit will cut into the sled base in many instances.

[dadiOH]

If you just *have* to have a sled, make a fairly long one so you can cut out a bit in the center where the wood you are routing will go. Then the non-cutout parts of the sled edge can ride on the fence.

-- dadiOH ____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[Suanne Lippman]

Why didn't I think of that! Good idea.

[CW]

Why?

[CW]

If your part is clamped to the sled and your sled runs in a miter slot, what do you need the fence for?Clamp a stop block to the table to establish length, but your part up against it, clamp to sled, push past cutter. No need for the fence.