• Step by Step constructioninstruction.

• A complete bill of materials.

• Exploded view and elevationdrawings.

• How-to photos with instructivecaptions.

• Tips to help you complete theproject and become a betterwoodworker.

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WJ118

Published in Woodworker’s Journal “From Shop to Home:Essential Projects, Tips and Techniques”

“America’s leading woodworking authority”™

Crosscut Sled

WOODWORKER'S JOURNAL ©2007 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

We all need a little help inthe shop now and then.

Sometimes it’s just an extra pairof hands, but often what weneed is a device of one sort oranother that helps improve theaccuracy of our work. That’swhen jigs come to the rescue,and the best of them tend to bethe ones that are easy to build.

Even if you love your tablesaw, chances are the standardmiter gauge that came with itsometimes disappoints. Mostmiter gauges just can’t supportworkpieces longer than a cou-ple feet for making accuratecrosscuts. In these situations, acrosscut sled is the perfectsolution. It cradles long work-pieces and slides over the sawtable along the saw’s miterslots. A fence in back holdsworkpieces securely for dead-on crosscuts every time.

You’ll run across many differentcrosscut sled designs in booksand magazines, but this sledfulfills three importantfunctions: It rides in both mitergauge slots instead of just oneto keep it tracking accuratelywithout slop. Second, itimmobilizes the workpiece on aplatform mounted to thoseslides, against a sturdy fence.And third, this sled isn’tadjustable, so it won’t get out ofsquare. Here’s how to build it.

Getting StartedYour first order of business is

to rough out the two slides(pieces 1). They must bestraight and made of stablestock. Quartersawn oak or hardmaple make excellent slides,but be sure to use hardwood ifyou don’t have either of theseoptions in your scrap bin. You’ll

want to cut the slides to roughsize, then let them acclimate fora day or two. Now rejoint andthickness them to final dimen-sions so the slides move alongyour saw’s miter slots easilybut without excess play.

While the slides settle, com-plete the machining of the baseand fence parts (pieces 2through 6). The back fence andits extension are straightforward,but the front subassembly ismore involved; see the ElevationDrawings, next page. The exten-sions, which are glued into placelater, reinforce the fences wherethe blade cuts through so they’llremain strong even when you cutthrough them with your blade atfull height.

Next, drill four or five coun-terbores and pilot holes in eachslide and install the slides onthe base as shown in the first

40 Essential Projects, Tips and Techniques

Table saws andcrosscut sleds area marriage madein heaven. Acrosscut sled willadd accuracy,ease of operationand safety to yourwork. Here’s agreat sled designyou can build in acouple hours.

Crosscut Sled

two photos below. You need to do thiswith the slides fitted in the miter slots.

Before mounting the fences, switchon the saw and raise the blade upthrough the base about midway acrossits width. Don’t split the base yet; theblade is needed to square the frontfence, as shown in the right photo,below. Drive a mounting screw upthrough the base into the end of thefence closest to the blade. Use this as apivot while you align the fence to theblade with a square. Drill an oversizedpilot for a screw at the far end of thefence and secure the fence. Now make atest crosscut with the sled on a piece ofscrap and check the scrap for square.Tweak the fence position as needed andmake additional test cuts until the sled

fence is perfectly square to the blade. Thensecure the fence to the base with additionalcountersunk screws.

The rear fence doesn’t need to be exactlysquare. Just screw it to the base along theopposite edge. Use glue and clamps to installthe extensions. Apply some paste wax to theslides, and you are ready to let that puny mitergauge gather some dust for awhile.

Crosscut Sled 41

Exploded View

Rear FenceFront Fence

3/4"7/16"

3/4"

1

10

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Front FenceExtension

(Front & End Views)

1

2

3

4

5

6

T x W x L1 Slides (2) 3⁄4" x 3⁄8" x 18"

2 Base (1) 3⁄4" x 18" x 28"

3 Front Fence (2) 3⁄4" x 3" x 28"

4 Front Fence Extension (1) 11⁄2" x 2" x 21⁄2"

5 Rear Fence (1) 1" x 21⁄4" x 28"

6 Rear Fence Extension (1) 1" x 21⁄2" x 83⁄8"

MATERIAL LIST Crosscut Sled

1. After tackingthe slides fromabove (inset),slide theassembly partwayoff the saw tableto drive screws up through theslides into the base. Do a couple ofscrews at the back of the saw, thenrepeat the process at the front.

2. Carefully raise the blade through thesled’s base. This provides a referencewith which to square the front fence.An absolutely 90˚ relationship betweenthe blade and fence is essential, or thejig will never yield accurate cuts.

3. When you’re ready to attach thefence, start with a single screw (on thefence end closest to the saw blade).This provides a pivot point as youadjust the other end of the fence to aperfect 90˚.