type of material to make crosscut sled

[Steven P]

And that sled is nothing more then 3/4 ply and ??? thick fences? I like the way that seems to perform for you. Side support is high on my list of things to accomplish.

SteveP.

[Jay Chan]

I made mine from 1/4" plywood from Home Depot. It was fine when I made it. But after I left it in my garage woodshop for a couple weeks, it bowed (because of the relatively high humidity level). I had already put finish on the plywood when I made the sled; but that didn't prevent it from becoming bowed.

On the other hand, a piece of unfinished MDF that I left near the ground level (4" off the ground) for one year is still straight.

When I re-do mine, I will use MDF or melamine.

Jay Chan

[Jim Wilson]

Just curious -- what do you consider "way more accurately"? Not trying to nitpick, but I've heard this claim before and I'd like to quantify it.

Thanks,

Jim

[B a r r y]

I have a General 650 table saw, accurately set up. I also own a Delta Sidekick 10" SCMS, set up as well as I can get it. The General has much less arbor runout than the SCMS, so it makes a _really_ square cut. There is no comparison at all between a properly tuned table saw compared to any miter saw I've ever seen. Maybe I just haven't seen the right miter saw?

When I build cabinets or shelving, I expect the ends to show NO light against my Starrett square, no matter how wide the panel may be. I also expect them to be perfectly square, plump, and level when assembled. The larger the part, the smaller the error needs to be to throw off the works.

I can cut 6' tall, 16" wide 3/4" panels on my sled that will stand on end, alone, without support. I can't do that with my SCMS. The proof is when I assemble a bookcase, and it dosen't matter which end gets slid into the dado first, as it's ALL square and straight.

The SCMS is simply not as good. I haven't measured it, so I can't give you anything like 1/64" over 18" from square, or a percentage of degrees, etc... It just works.

Barry

[B a r r y]

An 4/4 ash front and 8/4 ash rear fence. If the wood starts to lift the sled, I put a paint can or a weight plate, as in barbell, to offset things.

Barry

[B a r r y]

I meant PLUMB!

I don't know what I was thinking while I was typing.

Barry

[Chris Richmond - MD6-FDC ~]

Yeah, sure.

I bet I do.... :^)

[Jim Wilson]

So, your talking about square in two directions: the angle between the face of the board and the end that was crosscut, and the angle between the edge and the end. Do I understand you correctly?

You say that when you check a board that you cut on the table saw against your square, you get no light between the square and the end of the board. When you make the same cut on the SCMS, light peeks through. Is this because the cut is out of square, or because the cut edge is not planar?

Neither can I. My SCMS can make a 13" crosscut, max. (DW708)

Thanks,

Jim

[mttt]

BBW. Itz OK, it happens.

[Larry Blanchard]

I don't either, but does she have a sister?

[B a r r y]

Exactly.

A little bit of both, sometimes with a tiny bit of variance. Don't get me wrong the SCMS is plenty accurate for typical trim jobs, baseboard, flooring, and of course, anything that requires less accuracy, like rough shortening or framing work.

For furniture or cabinet work, the table saw is the rig of choice. I know pro finish guys who drag Unisaws from job to job.

Of course dados and rabbets are a whole 'nuther story. While they can be routed, my own personal preference is the sled and table saw for dadoing, rabbets get cut as rips with a dado set.

Barry

[Michael Houghton]

I've used some leftover laminate flooring, shiny-side down.

It's stiff and flat and has served me well for my purposes...

yours, Michael