TABLE SAW SLED LESSONS LEARNED, SO FAR

Jack-of-all-trades - JOAT · 2003-09-11T23:30:24+00:00

I've been wanting to do some boxes for awhile now, and wanted atable saw sled for repeatable cutting, well, in truth, several, forseveral different cuts. Looked at a lot of instructions, that left mewith more questions than answers. Then found this site. Haven't finished it yet, but already finding things those so-calledplans don't bother mentioning. No prob, as I usually consider anythinglike this I make, the first one is usually the Mark I version, thelearning version, and the serious one is the Mark II version, made withthe lessons learned from the first one. This answered what I wanted to know. So started my first table sawsled ever. I didn't have a piece of plywood available in the size Iwanted (do have, but it's earmarked for something else, and couldn'tspare it), but, did have a piece of the truss making plywood, about 2"thick, and 12"X14". The kid pulled it out of the trash at a job site,it was about the right size, and it was free - perfect. No hardwood orplastic for runners, no prob, slice some 1/2" plywood for runners. OK, cut the runners. Fine, except just a hair too wide, wouldn'tfit in the slot. No prob, I could sand them a bit, but decided to justturn them on edge instead. Hmm, bowed just a bit. No prob, gonna waxthe slots anyway, so if any glue dripped it wouldn't stick. A couple ofpopsicle sticks worked just fine as wedges. Waxed the popsicle sticks,and all of a sudden they looked beautiful. Not sure what wood they are,maybe birch, but lovely. Now thinking of cutting the ends off, gluingthem to a table top, and waxing. Should make a rather nice, anddifferent, table top. Glued the thick top, and put some weight on that, and let it set.Worked great. Just got a new carbide tip on the saw, and it cut thruthat stuff like a dream. However. Had already planned on putting asection of wood, probably 2X4 on the back. Should have done that first,as it separated just a fraction when sawed. On the front end, was...

Sep 11, 2003 27 Replies

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JackD 22 years ago

The feet are not there to prevent side to side movement. They are there to prevent the miter thingie from lifting out of the slot. You can use a washer or even a flat piece of 1/8" metal for this purpose.

To prevent side to side slop, drill two holes in the side of the runner. One near the front and one near the back. Put a short set screw (find one with a relatively flat top) into this hole and screw it down enough so that the runner barely fits into the slot. If it is too loose, back the screw out a bit. Too tight, screw it down.

-Jack

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Lawrence Rottersman 22 years ago

Maybe Jack D didn't either. Still, like the NY newsboy who was complained to because he sold the guy yesterday's newspaper: "So what! Had you read it.?"

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JackD 22 years ago

Oh, I indeed thought of it. I was not the first however. I've seen something like this before. Things like the lever, the screw and the wheel have also been invented before, but there is always a new application for them.

-Jack

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Lawrence Rottersman 22 years ago

Then you have my admiration, too, Jack; like the emailer who inspired the thread, I also thought the washers on the miter gauge were to make it travel tight.

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George 22 years ago

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Alan W 22 years ago

I would recommend changing to a plastic screw and perhaps a threaded insert in the body of the runner. A metal set screw will eventually widen the miter slot from abrasion.

Alan

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Lawrence A. Ramsey 22 years ago

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George 22 years ago

Support the bar solidly, and take a punch and dimple randomly along the length. The raised portion of the metal will grip the sides of the groove. You can do as many or as few as will do, and sometimes it's machining in the bar, so you only need them in the low spots.

It's like placing lots and lots of set screws on the length.

"G.E.R.R.Y." >

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