Goodbye Sleddy. Hello, Sledwick

by Miss Violet DeVille August 30 Maker

Working on a new piece of organizational furniture, I had the realization that the first crosscut sled I made wasn't cutting it anymore. My table saw is built from a Ryobi job site table saw bolted to a custom-built wheeled stand with locking casters. It makes it easy to move it around my small workspace. Being a job site table saw, the table surface is not a big surface. 

Sleddy, the first crosscut sled I builtSleddy, the first crosscut sled I builtSleddy, my first crosscut sled had a few design issues that made it less than useful for me. First was the screw heads. This was was before I invested in some countersink bits and the screw heads would catch in the table saw's track if I wasn't careful. This sucked by itself, but it wasn't a deal-breaker. Perhaps the biggest flaw is the combination of how short it was combined with having a back fence too.

Working on this new organizational project for my workout space, I realized I need to make a new crosscut sled. It had to have a bigger area and with only one fence, so it accommodates even larger payloads. Add in two rails, rather than a single rail, and made from MDF for a much smoother finish. Finish with some sanding and paint job with a directional arrow.

Sledwick, crosscut sled 2.0Copyright

Already, I've seen improvements in the ease of use, the slide action. In the above photos you can see the stop block I use with my miter saw that I had positioned for making drawer faces, which all had to be the same length.

Some improvements I've been thinking about include adding a ruler or gauge to the top of the fence for easy reference and installing a T-track the fence so I can add other clamping accessories.

What have you been working on?


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