instructables

How to Make a Table Saw Crosscut Sled

by LTDWoodworks

High everyone! A table saw sled or cross cut sled hasgot to be one of the most useful tools to use in yourshop. It allows for more accurate and safe cuts aswell as being able to repeat those cuts with anintegrated stop block.

Supplies:

One 4' x 4' sheet of 3/4" Plywood

Hardwood to make the runners. I used oak with astraight grain pattern.

Kreg Mini Track

Table saw with regular blade

Will also need - Freud 8" Stacked Dado Set for AllSaws

Rok Hardware #6 x 5/8" Flat Head Phillips DeepThread Wood Screws

Snug Fastener 100 Qty #8 x 3/4" Flat 304 StainlessPhillips Head Wood Screws

Bench grinder

I used Woodpeckers knob kit but this knob kit fromAmazon will work just as well.

Band saw or hack saw

Wood glue

Clamps

Optional trim router and optional 3/8" round over bit

Carpenters Framing Square

Paste wax

Orbital sander with 120 grit sandpaper

Drill bits and counter sink bits

The above links are affiliate links which means if youpurchase anything through the links I will receive asmall commission but there is NO extra charge toyou. Just a small way to support my woodworking:)

https://youtu.be/SXjvwGlGN2w

How to Make a Table Saw Crosscut Sled: Page 1

Step 1: Cut Plywood to Size.

For my sled I used 3/4" thick plywood as I wantedenough room in the wood to add the Kreg Mini Trackin the base. The base itself measures 36" wide x 24"deep. The fences will comprise of two pieces each at

3.5" tall x 36" wide. These will be laminated togetherin the next step. A Kreg Mini Track will also beinserted into the back fence in a later step.

Step 2: Assemble the Fences.

Apply a generous amount of Titebond wood glue to the fence pieces and put them together to be clamped. A littletrick is to use a level to clamp the pieces together. Any bow in the wood will be cancelled out as the pieces dryclamped to the straight level.

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Step 3: Make the Sled Runners.

As the fences were drying I went on to making therunners for the base of the sled. I first dialed in thewidth of the runners using a scrap piece of plywood.This way if you happen to go to far you are not out anice piece of hardwood. Once it is dialed in on thewidth go on to using a nice piece of hardwood. Domake sure that the hardwood you get has grain thatruns from one side to the other. You will want thisgrain running horizontally to the surface of the tablesaw. This way any expansion will be up and downand NOT side to side. If it expanded sideways itwould bind against the slots in the table saw.

Make your first cut for the width that was already setby cutting to scrap plywood. Again, make sure thegrain is oriented correctly.

Next take note of the depth of your miter slots. Setthat distance on your saw minus 1/8". This way therunners will not be touching the bottom of the slots asthey're sliding and allow for any expansion. Now goahead and make that cut on the runners making sureto rotate the runners 90 degrees from the first cut.

For the overall length I cut them to 24" which is thedepth of the sled base.

Once done they should slide without much resistancedown the miter slots with no side to side movement.And they should be just below the main surface of thetable surface.

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Step 4: Attach the Runners to the Base.

I started off by placing three stacks of dimes twodimes high per miter slot. Then I placed each runneron top of the dimes with the runners lined up on theback edge of the table saw surface.

At this time it's time to glue the runners to the base ofthe sled. I had to use regular wood glue as I was outof CA glue. Quick setting CA glue would definitelymake this step quicker as you would not have to waitfor regular wood glue to dry.

Once the glue has been applied it's time to set thebase on top of the runners. Have the fence set at adistance away from the saw blade that you would

like. I personally offset where the blade will be cuttinga few inches off center. But this is up to you.

Using the fence as a guide press the base up againstthe fence and lay the base down on the runners. Ifyou used regular wood glue set something heavy ontop and wait to dry. Again quick setting CA glueshould be ready in about a minute, if that long.

Once the glue has dried flip the base over. Mark outat least five hole locations per runner. Pre-drill andcounter sink each hole. The finally drill in some inchlong #8 wood screws.

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Step 5: Prepare the Fences

For both the front and back fences I ran them throughthe jointer to give them a nice smooth surface on boththe top and bottom.

On the back fence or the one closest to you while inuse I inserted a Kreg Mini Track. To prepare for this Ifirst inserted my dado stack into my table saw makingsure the width was set just right. In this case the T-Track is 3/4" wide so that's what the dado stack is setto. Then laying the track on top of the table surfaceset the height for the dado stack to cut. In this casethe track is 3/8" tall.

Set the table saw fence to make the cut centered onthe back fence and go ahead and make that cut downthe length of the back fence.

This is also a good time to cut the T-Track to length.After marking where to cut I used my band saw tomake the cut. I was going to go ahead and install theT-Track into the fence but I had purchased the wrongsize screws so I installed it later. Ultimately it turnsout #6 by 1/2" wood screws are needed but we'll getto that later.

To finished preparing the back fence at this time I cuta small chamfer at the bottom of the fence. It'spurpose is to allow any small amounts of saw dust tobe collected in that space. As opposed to if there wasno space there it would push the cut piece out andskew the cut..

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Step 6: Cut Dados Fot T-Track

Using the same dado set up from the previous step I cut two dados in the base. These will accept two more piecesof the Kreg Mini Track that will be installed later. The locations were planned out to be about 5.25" on each side ofthe future kerf line.

Again I will install these later as I didn't have the correct screws at this time.

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Step 7: Install the Front Fence.

At this point the front fence or the one farthest away from you can be installed. Since it doesn't matter how squareit is you can simply mark out screw locations and insert 2" long wood screws through the sled base into the fence.

Step 8: Prepare for the Back Fence to Be Installed.

The back fence is what you will want to be as close tosquare as possible. The is achieved by first cutting akerf line with the table saw blade starting from thefront of the sled to about three quarters of the waydown to the back of the sled. Do not cut all the way!

From here clamp the back fence down firmly on oneside where it's even with the back of the sled base.With a carpenters square that you know is square

spend some time getting the back fence square to thekerf line. I probably spent a good three minutes doingthis. Once you are happy with it's location clamp theother side down firmly. Now flip the sled over andinstall two screws after pre-drilling and countersinking. One on each end about and inch from theends.

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Step 9: Calibrate the Back Fence.

To get the back fence as close to 90 degrees to theblade I used the 5 cut method. This is best explainedin my video. But in general it starts off by taking alarge square piece of wood, start by making the firstcut which is labeled one. Rotate the piece 90 degreesand make another cut. Keep going till your back at cutone. Move the piece over about an inch and cutagain. This last cut now becomes the 5th cut. Nowmeasure each side of the off cut and start doing somemath. Again better explained in my video.

I ended up being .0010 of an inch out of square over32". I'm happy with that!

If you do end up needing to make adjustments it isagain better explained in the video.

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Step 10: Secure the Back Fence

After you are happy with how the back fence is square to the blade it's time to pre-drill, counter sink and insert 2"long wood screws to secure the back fence in place.

Step 11: Insert the T-Tracks

After finally purchasing the correct #6 sized woodscrews I went ahead and installed the Kreg MiniTracks into place. For the back fence simply pre drilland screw in the screws.

For the base of the sled you will have to grind downthe length of the screws so that they will no protrudethrough the base of the sled. Note 3rd picture. In the4th picture take note to leave spacing to allow accessfor any future T-bolt clamps. I cut these tracks to a

length of 18" to allow for this spacing.

Once that is done pre-drill and insert the screws.Take care not to over tighten these as there is notmuch wood for the screws to adhere to. I finished byhand tightening with a screw driver. Another optionwhich I did not do at this time would be to add someepoxy between the tracks and the wood.

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Step 12: Sand and Apply Wax.

I decided to add a 3/8" round over to most of the edges to give the sled a better feel in my hands. This is totallyoptional.

I then sanded the base both top and bottom with 120 grit sandpaper. On the bottom of the base I applied a liberalamount of paste wax. This will help insure that the base slides freely while in use.

Step 13: Build the Stop Block

To build the stop block there are many little stepswhich again is better explained in the video.

In general...

Cut a square piece of 3/4" plywood at 3.25" square.

Cut a separate small piece of wood 3.25" long by .25"wide by .5" deep. This is what will slide in the T-Track.

Cut a dado in the square piece of plywood to accept

the previously made piece of wood.

Glue the piece of wood into the dado.

Mark where the screw will have to be drill through andchisel out that section on the back.

Drill a 1/4" hole through the block.

Insert the bolts and knobs and your all set!

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Short video of working sled would be nice finishing touch...

Step 14: Safety First!

To help in keeping all of my fingers in place I built a block for the blade to cut into at the back of the sled. This wasmade by laminating three pieces of 3/4" plywood cut at 4.25" square. Once dry I glued it to the back of the sledcentered where the blade cuts.

Step 15: Future Plans

In the near future I plan on adding a tape measure ontop of the back fence. This way with an attachedpointer of some kind on the stop block I can makequicker and accurate adjustments.

And of course I still need to make hold down clamps

for the base of the sled. These will offer far moresafety while cutting small pieces close to the blade.

Well, hope you all enjoyed this post. If you have anyquestions please feel free to ask.

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