I’m trying to increase the crosscut capacity of my SawStop job site saw. I have the first version, not the new Pro. With such limited space in front of the blade, a good miter gauge eats up a lot of the available space, so I’m experimenting with a crosscut sled.
Since I don’t want the sled to tip off of the front of the saw, I’m assuming the maximum I can pull back the sled is less than half of the depth of the sled. Any further it will tip off.
Since I’m concerned about the sled falling off, I’m making a symmetrical sled with equal front and back fences. I’ve seen sled designs with a beefy back fence and a minimal front fence to save weight, but this means that the tipping point of the sled would be moved up, limiting the crosscut dimensions.
Do any of you have suggestions or guidance for how to think about this – improving crosscut capacity on a small saw? Naively, I could add a two pound weight to the front fence to alter the sled balance, but that seems wrong.
Replies
It's more about technique than anything. And everyone I know really dislikes large and heavy sleds. A lot of us made big sleds to start with, and they end up gathering dust, and we make smaller and lighter versions. The sled I use 98 percent of the time can just fit a 12 inch wide board between the front and back fences.
I saw a YT video not too long ago where a guy made a small extension table that was on the front fo the saw. It helped give him a more stable place to rest his sled.
Ahhh, it was Izzy Swan - https://youtu.be/RZmbZLZLrb8
I have a sled that is a 1/2" plywood panel with one runner and a single fence at the far end (front?) of the sled. This allows you to cut the largest panels. You are only limited by how far you can push it past the blade. It was one of Norm's jigs on New Yankee Workshop.
yes, put the fence on the other side. Need longer arms tho for a real wide piece
While, yes reversing how you think of the fence would theoretically allow you to cut pieces limited only by the length of your arms, it is not without drawbacks. For one you would have no protection against tearout as the blade leaves the work piece and along a similar line you wouldn't have protection against bottom tearout if the work piece was wider than the sled. I would also be concerned about stability, it just seems it would be very difficult to keep a steady pressure against a leading fence resulting in, at best an uneven cut, at worst an unsafe operation.
I'm not familiar with the saw in question but if it has a t-slot miter track like my Unisaw you can use an ordinary washer screwed to an extended runner to provide tip resistance, a trick I've used successfully in the past.
Barring that, try fabricating a anti-tip block from a piece of hardwood the thickness of you table top plus maybe an ⅛" that has a piece of Aluminum or steel screwed to it that would extend about ¾" under the top. Mount this at the leading edge of your sled so that it engages the table as you slide the sled on. I could see this buying you at least another 6-8" of viable cutting width. Though it would probably only work if your fence rails don't extend past the left edge of the table. If you only have a front rail that extends past the table edge you could either slot the sled base or mount a short t+track to the bottom of the sled to let you slide it left to right, engaging the table top after passing the fence rails.
That's a long worded explanation of a simple device that few will understand, but it's clear in my mind anyway.
I'm the sane one, everyone else is crazy.
For my larger sled on my cab saw I cobbled together this support about a decade ago. It was designed for an old saw with a Biesemeyer but, works on my Saw Stop as well. It sees regular use and despite the simplicity, it has served me well.
Let me add to your dilemma. I have three: 1.) A panel sled with one runner that is made out of 1/2" ply per Norm Abrams. I use it for panel inserts, does not have to be that accurate. 2.) A heavier one with two runners that I use for repeat things like chair legs and aprons. 3.) The last one is has a capacity about 6" and I use it to cut the shoulders on table aprons. I spent a lot of time adjusting it so that I can stick in a board, cut one shoulder, rotate it 90 degrees, cut another, rotate, cut last one. All cuts line up exactly no need to adjust tenon shoulders. I can add pics if you would like to see them.
Tom
GeeDubBee, nice. Is the little DeStaco a plunger to hold it against the front of the SS?
The clamp traps the fence tube between the tongue and the clamp plunger. The tongue fits snugly between the tube and the angle rail that bolts to the front of the saw and supports the tube.
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