Hello. I posted this question in the experts area and still have no takers so I’m also posting it here for the rest of you experts.
I purchased the materials to make a cross cut sled for my Craftsman small cheap table saw special. I don’t have any questions about constructing the box — it seems straight forward. I am wondering if any of you have a recommended way to construct the rails. I purchased some thin poplar and I thought I would wing it but if you have a suggestion I am all ears. (The craftsman rail slots are a sears custom design that are like a two size/level groove. What butts they are!)
Thanks everyone. David
Replies
I'm not familiar with the slot design you describe (my cheapo has "normal" slots -- just a few thou' narrower than standard), but you only need the guide rails to fit snugly enough to keep things moving straight. If I understand your description, the slots are wider on the top than on the bottom -- kinda like an upside down T slot. If so, just make the rails to fit the wide, shallow section and forget about the bottom, narrow section.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Craftsman small cheap table saw special
Can you post the Model # of the TS and/or pic with dimensions of the mitre slot? If Craftsman has machined miter slots that aren't industry standard then pooh pooh on them.
I use UHMW bars sold by Lee Valley that can easily be machined to close tolerances and are not subject to seasonal variances all that much. I'm in the process of making a new crosscut sled for my TS and it WILL have an adjustable fence.
To me, the thing about crosscut sleds is they're an appliance that can get you VERY close to spot on for a cut, be it 90° or an angled cut like a mitre @ 45°. I then fine tune the angle with a shooting board anyway if necessary.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I don't know about these particular slots, but Craftsman TSs have had miter slots that are just enough narrower that Delta or other miter guages or tenon jigs won't fit, for a very long time. Things like that, and motors that generate something like 12 hp on a 15 amp 110v circuit have certainly helped to damage that brand name. How they continue to have a stream of such short sighted marketing "geniuses" is pretty amazing.
Hello. To answer your question on model number, etc. here is a photo and the relevant info.Thank you everyone for your input so far.DavidCraftsman 10 in. Table Saw w/Storage Cabinet Sears item# 00924885000 Mfr. model# 24885 (photo from sears.com)
I don't think the UHMW slot will work. The sears miter is like an upside down T and I think (going from memory here) slightly rounded. Also, I measured the two parts of the T and found the measurements to be somewhat non-standard in a way that I figured sears must sell a proprietary rail for their saws (but then didn't find one.)I'll say the saw works pretty well and I had to do very little to true up the blade, fence, miter. I'm just need to build some jigs to make it work for some situations. So far, cross cutting longer boards has been impossible (forcing me to use my jig saw). Also, I'll need to build a ripping jig so that I can rip off square boards to square.It's all fun though. If I didn't run into the issues and have to build jigs I'd be able to use all my wood time to actually build projects. Oh wait, I want to only use my wood time to build projects...David
re the runners. Because you have two slots the jig will run true if only the outside edges of the wooden runners are bearing against the slot edges (or vice versa). So you can cut the runners slightly narrower than the slots. The jig should move more freely and you'll only have to sand down the outside edges of the runners to achieve a perfect fit.
Jim
Hi David,
cross cutting longer boards has been impossible
Whilst a crosscut sled may work for crosscutting as the name implies we all face the same issue when it comes to long boards. The crosscut sled is most likely not the tool of choice but rather a CMS, SCMS, RAS or handsaw. Don't get me wrong, it can be done but can be a balancing act at best.
As to the non standard mitre slots I can't for the life of me understand what is to be gained by the manufacturer in doing this. To me it's short sighted and in the long wun only serves to pi$$ off the user. In the infancy of computers this issue was annoying at best. Three sheers for Open Architecturer!
Like has been said before, "If the auto industry had progressed at the same rate as the Computer industry, we'd all be driving around in Rolls Royces for $2.58 each!"
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
As has also been said: If automobiles had progressed at the same rate as computers we would have to restart the engine 2 times in a trip across town.
I have a very similar "Craftsman small cheap table saw" and faced the same problem. I took the easy way out...
I looked up the Sears part number for the rail on the saw's miter gauge (gotta love those Sears owner's manuals) and ordered two aluminum rails from Sears on line.
I've also made rails by planing oak to thickness, cutting groves to create the tee shape, then ripping off the rail. Not a big deal.
Worse than the damned rails though is the insert. Cobbling up a zero clearance insert based on that odd ball piece of tin the saw comes with was a Rube Goldberg exercise. Fortunately, I do my dadoing and tennoning and what not with a radial arm saw and band saw. That's mainly how I justified spending so little on the table saw in the first place.
Rip cuts on a radial arm saw are, shall we say, exciting.
That's a smart and good solution.
If I were using hardwood I'd use something harder than poplar -- oak or maple? I used UMHW on mine. You have to screw that rather than glue it, which causes some swelling of the strip, but a shoulder plane takes care of that. You don't have to wax it as you do with wood. Same is true of aluminum t-slot extrusions, which are designed to fit into miter slots, and are perhaps the easiest to work with.
Standard procedure is to make the base first, place it over the runners in the slots, glue or screw them in place, and then add the fence.
Jim
Use a sturdy hardwood as suggested, and make sure that it's approximately quartersawn--looking at the end of the runner as it's sitting in the slot, the growth rings should be oriented vertically. That way, you'll minimize the chances of binding as the rail moves with humidity variations.
If you can find a couple of pieces of the right size, teak or cocobolo would be ideal for the runners, as they are both very hard, very stable with humidity changes, and naturally lubricous.
-Steve
lubricous?
Hmmmm, ya mean lubricious?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
According to the dictionary, either spelling is acceptable.
-Steve
I'm grinding down the extended portion of the table slots so a standard guide will slide thru.
What are you grinding the rails down with? I have a different Craftsman model but the same problem.
Wouldn't it be much easier to shape a guide to fit the existing slot?? Personally, I would rather screw up and (have to remake) a few guides than permanently screwing up a saw table. - lol
When I make sleds for my Craftsman TS, I plane, scrape, and sand them to just fit the width of the slots then I cut them so they're ~1/8" thinner than the depth of the slot. The small gap at the bottom of the guides lets me use the sled without worrying about a bit of sawdust in the slots.
I have a craftsmen bench top also. What i did was get 2 pieces of 1/4" oak and ripped them to size and that will fit under your 2 tabs on the miter slot. then you get 2 pieces of 1/8 inch hardboard( what i used) ripped them to size and they fit on top, glue them together and you have custom slides for your craftsmen benchtop.
Mark
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