Click "Read more" to see all of the tool links. Watch Next: 99% of Beginners Need These 5 Woodworking Jigs - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-U35Rl1VwUd4.htmlsi=4PvrDW7gDwz7lyrU Tools in this Video: PowerTec Cross Cut Sled (Amazon) - amzn.to/4bYYkPK PowerTec Cross Cut Sled (Home Depot) - go.magik.ly/ml/235nu/ PowerTec Cross Cut Sled (WalMart) - go.magik.ly/ml/22vzz/ Rockler Cross Cut Sled - amzn.to/3yJnWSi Table Saw Blade I'm Using - amzn.to/4bK1siS Safer Cross Cut Sled Plans - www.731woodworks.com/store/safesled Build Video for My Safer Cross Cut Sled - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YbMUc4wVjpE.htmlsi=53LCVARVPWctBtRE Save 20% on My Shop Projects Plan Bundle - www.731woodworks.com/store/shopplanbundle Woodpeckers Squares - amzn.to/4c4LFuL DoveTail Clamps - amzn.to/3x16Fnc DoveTail Router Bit - amzn.to/3R5h740 DoveTail Hardware - amzn.to/3R4vMMv PowerTec Stop Block - amzn.to/3R9855L T - Track - amzn.to/3VmqmiI Free Masterclass and Product Pricing Guiide on how I started and grew my woodworking business from scratch - site.731woodworks.com/masterclass The full list of tools and supplies I recommend can be found on my website: www.731woodworks.com/recommended-tools Greatest Free Gift I've Ever Received: story4.us/731Woodworks Join the TUBAFOUR NATION through Patreon to get access to exclusive member only behind the scenes videos, member only livestreams, exclusive discounts, and other cool member only perks! www.patreon.com/731woodworks If you use one of these Amazon and other affiliate links, I will receive a commission on qualifying purchases. Greatest Free Gift I've Ever Received: story4.us/731Woodworks Some other useful links: Daily Tool Deals on my website: www.731woodworks.com/tool-deals Subscribe to our email Newsletter to get new content alerts, sales, and more! mailchi.mp/7e44c16eefdc/731-woodworks-email-newsletter Easy to Follow Build Plans - www.731woodworks.com/store Outlaw's Board Butter - So Good it Should be Outlawed: www.731woodworks.com/store/boardbutter
what's your solution to clamping smaller projects. what I'm talking about are like laser cut projects. I've been using normal sized clamps and i have noticed it tends to either A break what I'm clamping due to being a thin material or B it clamps it at a slight angle. ive seen that their are the mini quick grip clamps but they tend to break quickly. i've also seen that lee valley sells Hatagane Clamps which are miniature bar clamps made of brass. could you do a video on making clamps or what scenarios you use a type of clamp. and maybe review some of the odd clamps that are out there such as the Cam clamps for guitar luthiers
Walmar should give you a commission!!! It's 12:15 AM Wednesday June 5th ~ 3 days afer you posted this and Walmart is sold of them and their web page says 'out of stock'. I'm sure it's all your fault!!
I bought the Rockler version of this sled about a year ago. Holy buckets! Love the simplicity and the accuracy. I hav a one car garage "shop" and have always struggled with space needed to store the sleds I have made. Have not had that issue with this one. Your videos never disappoint.
I also own and really like the Rockler set up with the additional cutoff side so that both tracks are used. I also picked up their small parts sled. All in all, pretty solid stuff.
Love your videos and value your opinion. I had looked at this before your recommendation. After washing I decided to purchase it only to be surprised that all of a sudden the 4 HD stores were all sold out and no longer offered them. I checked several other sites and the price had jumped right after your video came out from 119 to 159. The lowest price I found is Walmart at 149. This frankly upset me as that’s quite a jump overnight. Now I’m reconsidering. Thought you might want to know.
I wonder what the benefits are of a sled like this vs a traditional mitre gauge with a big fence. Is the base really adding anything here? I thought the point of a sled was to support the offcut side as well, but this doesn't do that
Very thorough review Matt. Not too long, but with an ample amount of relevant detail. Thanks for your commitment to woodworking and helping the woodworker community. 👍👍👍
Thanks for reviewing this crosscut sled. I’ve seen it for sale but wasn’t sure about the quality, but looks solid.. The price seems reasonable too. When talking about price to build tools, most videos say things like, “I built it out of scrap or left over wood”. Well, if you don’t have left over wood, you’re out of pocket for a, in this case, full sheet of nice plywood. Also, I understand the satisfaction of building your own tools/jigs, but my focus right now is on projects for around the house, not tools. Rant over. Thanks again for this review and all your videos. Im a big fan.
Great video as always. However, I must say that I, personally, prefer your own crosscut sled better. Two main reasons: 1) the cut piece is supported on both sides of the cut, and 2) zero-clearance cut on the nearside fence. Two very important aspects for accuracy. YOUR sled is better. Keep doing such great work, please.
I'm still a very new woodworker and it's definitely just a weekend hobby, so even something as simple as a crosscut sled can be somewhat let's say annoying to have to build and be accurate. My first iteration was horrible. So if I can find an affordable solution, I frankly don't want to mess with building my own. I'd rather spend that effort building a table saw outfeed/support so i can actually fit this sled since i bought it last week. That's why I appreciate what rockler does for having so many jigs (although too expensive a lot of the time).
Oops. Better off buying a sled than making one. I've had to start too many projects over again. Perhaps this would help me up my game. Thanks again Matt! I really appreciate it. 😊😊😊😊😊❤❤❤❤❤
The price of this jig has been adjusted by approximately 50% since the release of this video. I had intended to purchase one for $120, but I will no longer be making that purchase due to the price increase. This company's decision to raise the price is concerning and may impact customer loyalty.
I was able to just sneak in on the $120 deal. The price is now just over $175. Mine arrived damaged and they sent another sled base which also had slight damage but not enough to make an issue out of it. Quality control seems to need some attention.
I purchased the Rockler version and I really like it. I bought the optional piece for the right side to hold the cutoffs from dropping which is very nice.
Great review. I just built my first sled last weekend. I used scrap wood in the shop, which made the cost much lower. Plus the time was spent working the wood, which was satisfying. I still need to do the t-track, but I have been using a clamp and wood block for a stop. So, for me, building was better.... but that is a sweet sled.
I have also purchased the Rockler version. I can't begin to say what difference thus has made in my shop. Keep the video's coming. They are always informative.
Great video showing options!! I have a Rockler which is similar to the Powetec which I use minimally!! Have two different MicroJig Sleds that I made... Which I absolutely love and use 99% of the time!! For $119, the Powertec is a helluva buy!!
Thank you for your introduction to this product and your review, Matt. I think for my current skill level and what I might call lack of confidence in my skill I'd be better off buying a 😢sl
Great video. I like the portability of that sled compared to one I made. I also like that it has the miter function I do not currrently have. I have a a couple powertech items including my router table fence and I have been impressed by the quality and pricing.
I made my sled from scraps laying around the garage, and dialed it in with the five cut method. I just added that same powertec flip stop for $14. I kind of think a nice miter gauge and a sled is better than a two in one sled. But I could be wrong.
Did they discontinue it? Everywhere I look it says sold out and the Amazon link in this video sends you to another sled that is much, much smaller. Do a search. Everything on Google says it's sold out and they're are minimal links to them, yet the Rockler is available for more money.
@@731Woodworks Is your Amazon link correct? Both of them link to another sled that is a lot smaller. If Amazon changes the part number and the model on a link, this typically means it's discontinued by the manufacturer, otherwise Amazon typically just states that the product is out of stock if it's still available from the manufacturer. Thx.
@@RoadRacingAustin I bought mine from link to Amazon for $119.99 on the same day of the video. I just today set it up. Love it. It is sold out as of today on amazon.
Nice sled. The biggest issue I have is it only operates on one side of the blade. Whereas a full-sized crosscut sled supports the workpiece on both sides. This makes a big difference if you wanted to make cuts to a board standing on end.......like if you were cutting out box joints.
Just built a CCS & have been having no end of trouble getting the fence secured at a perfect 90’. I’m going to make my own stop block with screw adjustment to fine tune the fence. Thanks Matt & Powertec.
Nice review. I made my own sled, and like you said, making your own allows you to customize the sled for your needs. It wasn't that hard, and I've already got more ideas to add in the next one I make.
The five jigs video was not available up in the corner. I really like the new sled and will probably buy one but there’s something special about building your own sled and jigs.
Thanks for walking us through the comparison with your sled! Very helpful video. Always thought I would build one, but seems like a lot of time and effort now 😂
I've been thinking about making a sled want the flexibility of changing the angle. This Powertech meets the other ideas I have too and there is no rule that it can't be modified to make it more personalized and more useful.
Great review! I agree with your opinion on the adjustable nylon buttons for miter bar. I bought the Rockler version for $159 on sale. It looks exactly like the one you are reviewing. I have s woodpecker stealth stop miter gauge and it has a curved spring metal protruding from the edge of the bar. No adjustment necessary. Love your videos!
Your shop built sled is still better. I guess if the extra 10" width and 4" depth is a deal breaker for folks with small shops (like me), then the Powertec may be good. I prefer a sled that covers both sides of the blade. Also, the dovetail clamps are overkill unless you're using them in other areas of the shop. For angle cuts, I made simple angled inserts from 3/4" plywood that clamp onto the top of my sled. Then the cut piece butts against the insert. Also, I made sacrificial inserts from 1/4" (3" wide) hardboard that run along the path of the blade. I can easily replace them when the zero clearance gap gets too wide and/or for for angling the blade. Thx for another great video.
There are a couple of other similar sleds, although remember if you only want 90 degree cuts you should probably just build a crosscut sled yourself, or use a kit. Most of these are available in left and right, and most have a matching drop off, although you can probably build a drop off yourself. One I used extensively is the Incra Miter 5000. This is an Incra Miter Gauge attached to a sled. Before I had a full size table saw, this allowed me to use my job site saw in a safer fashion because it added more surface area safely. The biggest issue I had was Incra's tightening design. To get the drop off on or off or tighten the fit you had to use an hex wrench - but these fasteners were not made of good material. I had one of them which reach the point of being unusable. You can replace these. Another (and this applies to all the Incra Gauges) is that the back bolt is in a place where you have remove parts and spin the gauge around to tighten it. All of these issues encouraged me to look for another sled when I got a full size table saw, although I've ended up using a regular Miter Gauge instead mostly (Jessem). There are instances when I wish I want to get a Miter sled working again, but not enough of them. I have the Powertec sled, but the MDF was destroyed in a move before I ever used it so I can't say anything about it. I also have a Dubby Sled from Peachtree. I had trouble getting the parts together because of the same move. I really just need to figure out which parts I'm missing and get it fixed. On the premium end, there's Woodpecker's Autoscale. I haven't tried this, it's $530 per side and $130 for the drop off. I'm sure it's great.
I have the Dewalt 7491 table saw. I plan to build your Safer Crosscut sled because I follow your plans, with the exception of sizing down the sled to fit my saw. When I build it, I'll create a way that i can store it vertically on the wall of my new shed.
great video wuth the right kind of info I have built a small sled and i use it a lot but i will be buying this sled its accurate and easy to use and the angle set up is awesome
I built mine from scraps around the shop works amazing just need to redo the miter slot rails out of the cutting board I recently bought so I can use it when the shop gets really humid.
@@myhoneyshandmade1077 Yes. It did say it was the last one in stock but I usually take that with a grain of salt. However the router table/router deal he posted was sold out by the time I tried to put it in my cart.
WAX the miter bar after you get it adjusted to you liking and reapply regularly. Wax the surface of your table saw, router table, jointer, drill press etc. Paste wax is your friend and a must have in any shop.
Yours is a valuable review. I like the comparison of features and price. One feature I really liked is your shop built blade guard and handles. I save all my old mop and broom handles for any shop jigs I build. (The price is right!)
Great stuff I was injured almost 2 years ago now and have recently started building small projects. I built a crosscut sled and now sounds like my arbor bearings are going out again. So tossing around fixing or upgrading saw. I think for the price the pre-built might be a better option. And use that one to build a custom sled down the road.
I think most woodworkers would have enough scraps laying around to build a suitable crosscut sled. This way the components are already paid for and possibly the profits from sold projects would offset the cost.
I have the Rockler cross-cut sled that looks very similar to the PowerTec one you are showing. I've had the Rockler version at least ten years and it has been dead solid accurate from the initial calibration. Never been sorry I purchased the Rockler.
My first crosscut sled was for making box joints and it was also complete garbage. I think I’ll wait until this is on sale, but this seems to be a fantastic product 😊
Cool sled and makes me think of building a more simple one. Kind of a combo of that and yours. Because I love the idea of the blade hard and handle! Can you add a Champer to the power tech sled for sawdust to not throw off your cuts when batching things out?
As always, thanks for letting us know about new products. I’ve been very satisfied with Powertec products. They’re well made, and generally less expensive than the version of the product offered by other companies. The Powertec Crosscut Sled follows this trend. It’s ~$80 cheaper (& nicer, IMHO) than the Rockler version. At this price, I’d have to think for a bit on whether it makes sense to spend ~2 hours building something, or just giving $120 to Amazon for the ready to assemble Powertec fence.
you said the best thing that most do not. My crosscut vs this one, this one might be better for you than mine, if..... this is something most do not say. most always say mine is better than this item, etc, etc, this is okay. I am impressed with the honesty statement. This actually means a lot. great review.
I found mine for about $100. I protected the edges with iron-on melamine strips. Plus you can add a melamine sheet on the right side of the blade to hold the cut-offs up -- then, no functional difference from the large crosscut sled. And you can use the blade guard with the PowerTec sled.
Seems like a nice sled especially with the angle function but having support for the piece being cut on both sides of the blade would be an advantage of the home built sled (or one like it).
This is a cool and convenient product. If you build your own cross cut sled you will gain experience and it does not have to cost $149. It may not be as nice as the one that he built or displaying for purchase, but if your starting off it doesn't have to be. Save your money, be patient and learn.
The answer to the big question is yes. Buy and make. I made my first one for my hitachi jobsite saw. When I got my rigid, I decided to buy a kreg miter gauge, then upgraded to the woodpecker exact 90° fence (when I could afford it) and later bought the stealthstop miter sled. Yes I do use both because they both have a specific purpose. But when you make your own sled, you put what YOU want on it. So that’s why my answer is yes. Wish I would have known about the powertec sled b4 buying the stealthstop. 🤷🏻♂️
When they come up with one for a job site saw (DeWalt) I’d get one. I don’t see myself being able to hold the sled down and I don’t have an extension for the saw. 😢😢
Great video. I built mine years ago (not as nice as yours, but just as dialed in). But, I was thinking, anyone who wants to get good at woodworking should consider building jigs themselves just for the practice. That being said, I would totally buy this for $120. Seems like an affordable easy way to go. Thanks for the comparison video. PS...it looks like it is out of stock at Walmart and HD.
I got this sled this past christmas after seeing rockler's version and not liking the price rockler charges. This one is exactly the same. The only gripe i have is the sacraficial fence, i wish it was longer so all three tnuts on the back maintain contact regardless of where it is adjusted. I highly recommend the powertec sled. Couple it with rockler's cutoff platform for thier sled and it performs perfectly with no splintering or tearout. At this time, the only reason i would build a crosscut sled, is if i jad a larger shop and a full cabinet saw in it, and then only if i can incorporate the miter fence system that powetec gives me, or something similar like micronig's sled design that has a free moving fence. I also personally see no reason to male a crosscut sled that moves across the blade. Have the sled fot to the left side is all you need. The right side is jist a cutoff platform to prevent splintering and blade pinching from large cutoffs. WARNING: USE A CUTOFF PLATFORM IF YOU WILL HABE LARHE CUTOFFS!! I didnt and the cutoff pinched the blade and went flying. Now i ALWAYS have a platform for my cutoffs.
It would have been interesting to see you try the five cut method to see how accurate you dialed it in. Looks like you could do some fine tuning fairly easy
Excellent information! Unfortunately, the timing did not work out very well for me. I'm just finishing up a new crosscut sled for my DeWalt contractor saw. Although, it may not have worked for me anyway, because I over sanded the left-side miter slot in a failed effort to get it consistent. As a result, I need to use the right side slot to keep jigs tight! I didn't realize how soft the top of that saw is. Now I'm wanting to get a saw with a cast iron top, but I built a substantial bench around the DeWalt, with a built-in miter saw AND router station! And I can't afford another saw just yet . . . :o(
OK, hobbyist woodworker here. Been making sawdust for well over 50 years (part time). I bought a higher quality Rockler miter gauge. What is the advantage of a crosscut sled versus a good miter gauge? Thanks.
Everyone is out of this product, the sled that is. The lowest price on Homedepot was $105 plus 10% off military and pro card...Powertech says they will be released July 24th. I want to buy lol
The "genius" of this sled is that it also eliminates the need for an expensive upgraded miter gauge. Factor in that additional cost and it's a no-brainer.
Some want to build tools. Some of us don't want to build tools but make furniture, cabinets, etc. It just depends on the person and what they prioritize. One thing to consider? I tend to think of dovetail slots as being easier to clean out than are T-tracks. Over time I've lost most of my "like" for T-tracks.
Quite honestly I was expecting this to be like $300. When I saw it was only $119, needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I already have my own cross cut sled but if comes down that I need to make another, I may resort to this. Thanks as always Matt!
You woodworkers are blessed in the US. The same sled is about 250,- € in Germany. It's very disappointing... So at the moment I can't afford this cool tool. It is a shame...😢
Let’s see the smaller one that comes with everything you need vs a bigger one that cost more… I think as a beginner the smaller cheaper one would be a good first Miter sled for the small projects a beginner usually starts out with. It’s not to say you can’t build the bigger one later when you find the need for a bigger one and you’ll then have some more skills to make the bigger one later on so it will probably go a little smoother.
It’s basically a copy of the Rockler and Woodpeckers versions, which are both copies of the “Dubby”. I’ve got a Dubby that my neighbor gave me when he got too old to woodwork anymore, and it’s one of the most used tools in the shop.
