crosscut table saw sled

[Michael Ginsberg]

I was about to make a crosscut table saw sled for my Sawstop table saw.
Then I realized I have the TS55 REQ and the MFT/3 table... IS THERE ANY REASON TO MAKE A SLED??
Thanks from a novice.

 

[Birdhunter]

Congratulations on making some great tool choices.

I have the Sawstop Industrial and the TS55/MFT as well as the Kapex. Each tool has a "sweet spot" as to what it does especially well.

I have several jigs and sleds that I've built that make the Sawstop even more useful. A sled is an extremely useful adjunct to a table saw. A sled can also make certain cuts safer.

I suggest you research table saw sleds and build one that works for you.

I really like the Incra products and they sell a really neat sliding sled with a superior miter gauge.

 

[Michael Ginsberg]

I was going to make the basic sled with front and rear supports. The main use was for shelves for cabinets I am about to make from maple veneer plywood. Would the Festool combination do just as well for splinterfree crosscuts on the plywood?

 

[rljatl]

[member=24982]Michael Ginsberg[/member] - I just finished cutting out the parts from a sheet of prefinished maple ply for two planned sysports.  Used my TS75 with a Festool plywood blade.  (The TS75 comes with a universal blade.)  All cuts came out very smooth and splinter free.  I'm happy.

 

[DrD]

RJL-Atl, did you use the splinter guard on the TS75?  If not, did you have much splintering on the off-cut?

DrD

 

[Birdhunter]

I would use my Sawstop because I would expect better cuts than with my TS55.

 

[rljatl]

RJL-Atl, did you use the splinter guard on the TS75?  If not, did you have much splintering on the off-cut?

DrD

Yes, I used the splinter guard, although it has limited value on the TS75.  The splinter guard was designed for the TS55 and actually needs to be longer for less than full depth cuts with the TS75.  Paul Marcel describes how to fix this if you have a TS75.

Little to no splintering that I can see.  I was using the Festool plywood blade which is excellent in my experience.  Festool 495381 Fine Tooth

 

[ear3]

The sled comes in handy when you have smaller pieces that for whatever reason you don't want or don't feel comfortable using the miter saw on.  But yeah, the TS duplicates a lot of what the cross cut sled does.  There is a tremendous feeling of personal satisfaction, though, making a jig that cuts to within a few thousands of an inch square.

 

[jacko9]

I prefer using a cross cutting sled on my table saw.

 

[Ajax]

I have an Incra Mitre Express sled with an Incra 3000HD.  The best money I spent.  I can do very accurate and repeatable cross cuts on my so-so Craftsman table saw.  I am a hobbyist, but I like to build furniture.

 

[Holmz]

I prefer using a cross cutting sled on my table saw.

I thought you've only had your track saw a week or two  [wink].
Have you done both sled and TS, and still prefer the table saw?  [wink]

It is actually a serious question for me, as I do not have enough room for the table saw without disposing of a car.

 

[Nick C]

Sawstop has a sliding table accessory that makes a crosscut sled unnecessary. In fairness, I don't have a Sawstop, but I saw this at the last woodworking show, and it seems to be rock solid. Smooth, with no perceptible slop in the travel. I have a European combo machine with a sliding table, and I will never go back to a miter gage, or a crosscut sled.

 

[Bob Wolfe]

If you own a table saw you should have a sled, you won't believe the advantages it brings.
watch the William Ng videos on youtube. They are super.  Sure tuned mine in.

 

[SittingElf]

Let me add my +1 to the Incra sleds and miter gauges!  They are simply flawless.

As for the SawStop Slider.... I got to demo one at Highland Woodworking in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. MAN...smooth as silk! The problem is that I would only find it REALLY useful for breaking down large panels, and I can do that just as easily with my 55's or 75.  The SS Slider is a $1000 accessory purchase, and while I think it would be pretty neat to have that on my saw, I think my $$ would be better spent on a large Disc Sander, and/or Oscillating Spindle Sander, which would be more frequently used. The Incra Sleds I own do all the other things I need on my Table Saw.

Cheers,
Frank

 

[Birdhunter]

I also played with the Sawstop sliding table at Highland. I didn't want to give up my left extension on the Sawstop and I just don't see using the sliding table very much.

I prefer using my TS55 with the long track to break down sheet goods. I feel it is far safer than trying to wrestle a large sheet onto a table saw.

 

[Df1k1]

There are quite a few times when I use the sled vs the Festool. Build one you won't regret it.  I would suggest going to the wood whisperer site and building his. Great video good step-by-step instructions

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Meh. Thats why I have to TS with rolling/sliding tables.  My Whitney 77 is on the, left side and I just got a E and T Fairbanks from 1889 with a large sliding table on the right and a left tilting arbor (first tilting arbor TS made).

 

[Billedis]

I purchased the "Double Dubby" a couple years ago, and now use it as my crosscut table saw sled.  I love the angle set-up on it also.  Bill

 

[Michael Ginsberg]

Thanks all. I am going to make the sled for the smaller pieces.  Going to use the TS55 for  anything  larger. Should take care of no tear out for both situations.

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Right now I'm using a crosscut sled quite a bit.  I have a dresser project with lots of drawers and hand-cut dovetails (which I'm not greatly skilled at).  Its important that drawers are square, which means that parallel parts have to be dead on equal in length.  If I goof up on a dovetail joint, I am tempted just to accept it because making more parts would be a big time sink.

So, for critical cuts, I make a quick auxiliary fence with a stop attached to the end - all from scrap.  The first cut makes a saw kerf through the aux fence.  Weeks later I can reattach that aux fence using the kerf and the saw blade as registration points and make the same cut spot on with only a few seconds of setup time.

I also have a sled for miter cuts.  Sleds also excel when cutting small pieces.