I am getting ready to make a crosscut sled. I was going to make the sled out of 3/4" x 2' x 4' material from HD. The types of material they have available, that I am considering, are birch, oak, melamine, and MDF. I am looking for any opinions on which material to use and why. Thanks in advance.
I used some 1/4" plywood, a piece of 2x4, a piece of 2x6 and a couple of strips of maple from some leftover flooring.
Why? It was lying around the shop and one day I wanted to make a crosscut sled.
djb
Thinner stuff will give you more depth of cut... Someday, it'll all be over....
Wed, Apr 14, 2004, 11:21pm (EDT-2) dave@N_O_T_T_H_I_S.balderstone.ca (Dave=A0Balderstone) says: I used Why? It was lying around
Yup. Same general idea, except 2X4 pieces, and a large chunk of that thick stuff, maybe 1 1/2" thick. Next one probably1/2' or 3/4" plywood.
JOAT I will feel equality has arrived when we can elect to office women who are as unqualified as some of the men who are already there.
- Maureen Reagan
Birch or oak ply.
Melamine is too slippery, your work may move. MDF is OK, but it may swell, crack, or chip.
Barry
I have used 1/4 Luan, OSB and 1/2 cabinet grade ply.
IMHO 3/4 will make it too heavy, and take a significan bite into depth of cut. Good quality 1/2" or 3/8" ply is my favorite choice.. the best compromise of weight and stability. OSB was not flat enough for my liking, but OK for a specialy sled.
I agree that melamine would be too slippery, really heavy too. Laminated MDF makes a good fence though (nice and flat).
-Steve
Best bet, if you are stuck with HD plywood, is to buy a sheet (or a 1/2 sheet) of 1/2" plywood ... the best grade they have and as flat as you can find.
Forego the 2 X lumber completely.
Use the 1/2" thickness plywood for your base.
The make a laminated fence(s) by cutting multiple identical parts and glue them together with a good wood glue to a desired thickness. No need to clamp, just screw the fence parts together with well placed screws.
This way you get a better depth of cut with the 1/2" thick base, and you get the dimensional stability of plywood throughout your sled parts.
Use hardwood runners for your miter slots ... HD oak is fine, and you won't need much.
Actually, mine is 3/8, not 1/4...
My next one will be 3/4, 'cause I have a piece lying around the shop and I want to make a sled for 45 degree cuts.
djb
And more flex. My 1/4" oak ply crosscut sled sucks because it bows up. I love my 3/4" MDF sled and I've never needed to cut deeper than it can handle.
I personally only really use the sled for panels, so 3/4" stock isn't going to cut into my max depth too much. I used baltic birch, but it fell out of square so I decided to make a new one. I'm thinking MDF. Cheap and flat. I hear a lot about MDF swelling, but in my experience, unless untreated and submerged, this really isn't a problem. I'll use Watco, paint or formica for to seal it. The extra weight is nice so the side of a bookcase won't pull the sled off the table.
On my old sled I had a fence made out of 2 3/4" pieces of MDF glued together and then laminated on both side with some old formica I had laying around. I was stupid and used glue and the nail gun to fasten it to the base. The nails almost always split the MDF a little, meaning my fence was out of square a little, wherever there was a nail. Did some research and read Pat Warner's article about tapping MDF. Seems like the best option, but I would like to hear any opinions.
What kind of wood would be recommend for the fence? I have maple, cherry, walnut, mdf and plywood on hand. Any suggestions? I may go the same route with the MDF but am consider one of those longer fences that extend past the end of the table. Maybe 50" long. ( per this style
I'm tired of ruining a bookshelf when making that final trim cut and want to do this right.
Chuck
Sometimes, I find heavy to be good for a sled. Check this out:
That board is 7 feet long and not supported at the other end.
Barry
snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net (J T) wrote in news:4185-407E379E-141@storefull-
3191.bay.webtv.net:
A google search of the archives from not too long ago will yield a great deal of information, including JOAT's odyssey in finding the perfect, for him, crosscut sled.
Here's the truth, if such a thing is available: You're going to want more than one sled. That's OK. They're cheap to make. The hardest part is storing them in a small shop.
A big panel cutter, with a leading fence. A wide cutoff box, with fences front and back for rigidity, and a place to clamp stop blocks, for repeatable cuts. A small one, for quick use, when you don't want to clear the entire aircraft carrier of a saw deck. One for miter cuts. OK, maybe more than one for miter cuts.
Figure out which blade you're going to use, and stick with it. Part of the function of these things is as sort of a zero clearance insert. A fat kerf blade used with a sled originally used with a thin kerf blade causes surprises the first time, and changes the geometry of the sled.
On a safety note: Glue a big block of hardwood behind where the blade exits the fence on the operator side. Save yourself a nasty surprise.
Patriarch, who enjoys reading JOAT's posts, in spite of the trolls' comments.
one sided 1/4" melamine is great though. put the finished side down and wax it.
I'm still very happy with Sled #2. 1/2" Baltic Birch for base; MDF for the fence. BB is a great/stable plywood. 1/2" is nice thickness (1/4" too thin - flex)
3/4" a smidge heavy. Not a fan of MDF for base - heavy and dingable. If I couldn't find BB, I'd buy the nicest sheet of Plywood HD had - or pick up some ApplePly from a local lumber yard.Fence needs to be square and flat. That's where MDF, as a man-made product, excels. Fence #2 was a 1x6"x6' hunk of primed MDF from HD. Cut in two - glued together to make it 1 3/4" thick. Bandsaw'd to produce pleasing curves.
Being completely anal about a sled this time, I just DAGS and here are the highlights:
Still would be interested to hear what material people would use on one of those long 50" fences.
Chuck
Used 1/2" Baltic birch for the base. laminated two pieces of the same for the front and back fences, and cut maple strips for the runners.
I sealed the top of the base with poly, waxed the bottom with finishing wax.
The design was from Kelly Mehler's "The Table Saw Book" Bc path.walk.at.cen.tury.tel.net
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Melamine rocks as a sled material---it is slippery, flat, and easy to work with. Only drawback is that it is bloody heavy and thus may pull your fences out of shape from putting it on and taking it off the table, but you are probably going to be building new sleds long before that happens. :)
Of course I have a chop saw.
I use sleds to cut w-i-d-e parts way more accurately than a sliding compound miter saw can. Not to mention precision dadoing and end rabbetting.
Barry
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