Good Sledges “miter gauge slot aliment”
I need your advice. <!—-><!—-> <!—->
I have recently been fixated on making good box joints with my table saw. I have made a few jigs to accomplish this on small scale, but i am having issues in making a good grooved miter slot sledge. I am able to fit the miter slot fine, with a few straight grain purple heart pieces, it has a good grain and its hard dense wood. With that said I have ordered some HDMP strips for my next sledge. <!—-> <!—->
I am having difficulty cutting 2 perfect slots with my dado to into the ½” MDF to go set the sledge a perfect 90 degree. Obviously, without a good fit in the beginning I am in trouble. I am working on 5/8″ maple box joints for 4 trunks about 30” long, so I think I need both slots to hold the load. I need precision to the 1/4 degree or so perhaps that is to close enough My table fence is in perfect alignment. What I need is to cut the second grove in the MDF perfectly so I do not need to adjust or fudge it etc.., I once read of a cheat for this but I can not remember it.<!—-> <!—->
How do you make your sledge’s mitered slots? I need balls on accuracy for this…<!—-><!—->
Replies
This article explains one way to set it up:
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=27684
The trick is to do the fine-tuning on the fence, after the rails have been installed.
Hope this helps....
-Tom Henderson, Ventura, CA
Thank You hendo,
I appreciate your response. It makes sence i guess i would of read the artical in FFW
Rich
After many years using all kinds of things for my slot runners, wood, steel, plastic, I now use Incra miter sliders. They cost a few dollars but much less than an hour of my time. You simply place the slider in the groove. It has a couple set screws that adjust the fit. Place a few pieces of double stick tape on them and drop your sled bottom on. The slides are where you want them and the are held in place by some countersunk screws you add. You can re-use the sliders for other sleds and jigs, I think I have a half dozen now.
When I made my own sliders, I never dadoed them into the sled bottom, just used screws or glue. In my area, we have large humidity swings over the seasons. Wood runners are effected by the humidity and sometimes they would work, other times they wouldn't. Getting other materials to fit precisely was a lot of work, especially the steel ones. With the Incra sliders, I can build a sled or jig in about 20 minutes. It will fit the same five years from now.
The big issue on accuracy is with the saw. Tuning it so the blade is in line with the slots. Box joints are a repetition type of cut. If you are off, even a little, that little bit accumulates with each finger cut. Box joints can be frustrating since an imperceptible mistake doubles with each cut. You don't know how bad you are off until you have finished cutting and try your fit. There is enough margin for error in the width of the dadoes and the position of the key. No sense adding sled problems to the equation.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Thank you for your advice on the miter slots. I ordered a pair. The box joints are a pain, that’s why I am fixated on them... and I like the look and strength. I have had some luck in the past with smaller joints. <!----><!----><!---->
Again ty<!----><!---->
Rich<!----><!---->
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