I needed to build a 45 degree crosscut sled and was looking at different ideas and figured I'd check in with Kenny and found this 2 year old video. I loved the concept of a single runner sled for both straight cuts and 45 degree cuts, so I modified my plans an gave it a shot. However, I had doubts that referencing the rear fence to the edge of the sled or fence would produce an accurate 90 degree cut. So, after following directions, I tested the squareness of the fence via the 5-cut method. Initial error was .0001. Close enough for woodworking!! Thanks Kenny - even the old stuff helps!
Glad that you were able to get a working sled from this video Mike. There are well over 650 episodes of the show on the channel and there's bound to be something helpful in all of that. Glad to know that this show is one of them. Thanks for tuning in to the show.
I made this just like you said and then did the five cut method. Did not need that, it was within .003 of an inch over a foot. I’m good with that. I also bought the 52 boxes book. I’m always leery of buying another book I won’t read but I love this book. Just the right level of design advice/ideas. Thanks again, I’m excited to use the sled.
I'm glad that you were successful in your sled build and that you enjoy the book. There will be a box series starting soon with boxes that are inspired by the book. Not copies of them but designs inspired by them. I hope that you will tune in when that series is aired. Thanks again for tuning in to the show Bill and good luck with your box building.
I have been doing woodworking for a number of years and I just got a table saw I need to make some boxes and have been looking to make a table saw sled and your small sled for boxes fits the bill thanks again
Hey Kenny, as always, love your work. I have one just like this sled, and it works a treat for box making. Couple of minor comments: When gluing up the lengths of plywood for the main fence (closest to you) it’s a good idea to clamp the plywood lengths to a known perfectly flat surface (jointer bed, router table, or table saw) or to a rigid carpenter’s level, to ensure the fence dries perfectly flat, which is important. Also, at 7:24 you said “THEY have to be perfectly square to the blade”. Some viewers might think they need to ensure that the rear fence (furthest from you) needs to a perfect 90 degrees to the blade, but as I’m sure you know that’s not the case, as it’s only there to keep the sled stable after you make the initial cross cut-only the front fence (closest to you) needs to be a perfect t 90 degrees because that’s what we defence our work piece on. Just a slip of the tongue, I’m sure. Also, when checking that the blade is at exactly 90 or 45 degrees, it’s a good idea to put your electronic bevel gauge on the bed of your sled (rather than the table saw top) because the surface of your sled is the vital reference surface, especially as inexpensive plywood can vary in thickness or consistency over even small distances; even though bevel gauges have magnets, they work perfectly well on non-magnetic surfaces. Finally (thank goddess, I hear you say) I’ve found that it’s helpful to screw a length of MDF to the inside face of the main fence, so I can replace it if the kerfs becomes slightly daggy after a lot of cuts; this allows me to measure accurately from a nice crisp kerf for precise cuts from both the 90 degree and the 45 degree kerf. Sorry to waffle on mate! Best wishes from Australia 👍
No need to apologize for "waffling" on John. This channel is all about helping people with their woodworking and you have brought up some very valuable tips and suggestions that will help others that make this jig. You are 100% that only the fence closest to you needs to be square to the blade but with that being said, there's nothing wrong with someone squaring the far side fence as well so while it is not necessary, it also doesn't hurt anything to do it. You are also right that it would be best to clamp the plywood fence to a known flat surface to ensure its flatness. Good tip and your replaceable MDF fence face is another great idea which I may just have to incorporate into my sled. You've provided some good information here that other viewers will most definitely find to be useful. Thanks for tuning in to the show and for taking the time to chime in with your suggestions and advice on making and using this jig. I truly appreciate it.
Your excellent instruction without loads of unnecessary words makes this a classic piece that I saved immediately. One question/thought: A high percentage of DYI woodworkers own table top saws. I haven’t seen a sled designed for them. Am I wrong to think they would be useful? I’m 76 and setting up my shop. I enjoy learning something new each day. Thank you!
A sled for a table top saw would be just as useful as a sled for a full sized cabinet saw such as mine and the sled that I demonstrated on today's show would suit that task perfectly. It's smaller size would lend itself to some great support on the saw and would not risk making the saw top heavy. Thanks for the kind words on the show and for tuning in today. I'm glad to hear that you liked the episode.
For the algorithm! Awesome vid! I love the size. It looks like it’s the maximum for the size of functionality. Not much you can’t cut on it. Matt Kenney’s Instagram is fantastic. Always drooling over his work. It sparks creativity every time. Proportions so good. I’d probably never open Instagram if it weren’t for him and a friend or two.
I like your design. Great explanation. I am thinking that I will make a little modification. I will make sure both fences are perpendicular to the blade. Instead of having a 90 in the middle, I will construct the sled with over hang on the left on one fence and the left on the other fence when you turn it 180 degrees around. This way I can use it either way and have 45 on one side and 30 on the other. I will be set up to make both rectangular and hexagonal boxes. I already made a 90 degree cross cut sled.
Sounds like your modification will be perfect for your needs. That's what woodworking is all about. Taking a project idea and modifying it to suit the needs and capabilities of your shop. Good for you for thinking outside the box. Good luck with your project and thanks for tuning in.
Definitely nothing wrong with a little paste wax to lubricate the slide for smoother movement sir. Great idea. Thanks for tuning in to the show and for chiming in with your thoughts. It's very much appreciated.
I am glad that you liked the project and the show Peter. Thank you for tuning in to the video and for taking the time to leave the kind words. I really appreciate it.
I figured someone at some point in time was going to say something about those. If you look around the shop during the shows, you might even see socks lying around. I find that worn out underwear or socks make great cotton rags in the shop and while they aren't exactly ideal for presenting a show that millions of people have access to, they really are fantastic in the shop. LOL. Thanks for tuning in and giving me a laugh.
@@acutabove_woodworkings Just beware! That stain might not be Minwax! Ha! Great sled KW! I’ve been using a Makita “bench top” (job site?) table saw for over 20 years, and I think this would be a great addition! Wish I had room for a much bigger TS, but ol’ blue has always gotten me by! Thanks Kenny!
Great video: nice and slow explanation of every single step. Thanks very much for this tutorial, I will also make one of these (needed to have had one yesterday when I had to cut 32 repeating bevel corner box slats and 16 repeating 2x2 legs). But I have a question: your "forward" wall (nearest the blade), why did you stop at 2in high and allow for a blade cut of only 1-1/2" high (see roughly 11:51 into the video)? In my case, with the 2x2 legs, I would prefer at least 1-3/4" cut if not the full 2in.. so why not make that component 4in high? Just wondering...
First off, thanks for the kind words on the show. It's appreciated. The size of the front or rear fence can be as high or as short as you wish and if a 4" high support would work better for you, then by all means, that's how you should make it. This project is extremely adaptable to any situation and I fully encourage you to modify measurements to make it your own. As for me, I know my work flow and I also know what type of projects I will be making on this sled and the 1-1/2" blade height will more than likely meet all of m project needs as this sled was made strictly for making smaller boxes out of thinner stock. It's all a matter of personal preference on the fence height and you are definitely not limited to how high or low you make it. The only limitation here is the maximum height of your blade. I hope this helps. Thanks for tuning in to the show and for taking the time to ask your question. I truly appreciate it. Good luck with your sled build.
Confident now to make a smaller sled for boxes! I’ve been wondering so thank you. Curious about adding a chamfer to where you had that pesky piece of wood that didn’t let you go flush. I can’t tell if it’s worth doing that because I’m always checking it anyway and maybe it would be a problem for thin stock?
Nothing wrong at all with a chamfer for dust clearance Bill. I'm glad that you found the show to be useful. Thanks for tuning in to the show and for taking the time to leave a comment.
I put a dado/chamferm along the bottom edge of my "panel" sled - given the square devices I had available ( framing square, Woodpeckers 1281, and others ) I had some trouble getting a good tool for the squaring across the sled which was about 15" deep; and 1/8" stock ( for trimming a scroll project backer ) would just slip in that groove; the groove seemed like a good idea at the time, but I'm not sure I would put one in next time.
This is great I have been needing to build a sled for my saw. I was scrolling through your video list and was wondering if you have a video for the miter/fence setup for your tablesaw?
I have never filmed a video of the Incra mitre fence setup Kevin. There's really not much to it but I wish I did film it now. LOL. Thanks for tuning in and for the kind words on the show.
I really like the 45 degree cut in the sled. Any reason why you wouldn’t just use your incra miter fence for your 90 degree cuts? Or is this a stay tuned and you will find out? Lol. So the Beall tilt box must be incredibly reliable. Looking to pick one up when my new saw comes in.
Nothing wrong at all with using the INCRA fence to cut the 90 degree cuts. It's just nice to be able to do both the 90 degree and the mitres with one sled without having to change devices, that's all. As for the tilt box....I love that thing. Makes setting the blade to any angle easy and accurate. I've even used it to set the drill press table. It's pretty awesome. Thanks for tuning in to the show Randy. It's very much appreciated.
I find this one works just perfectly for my applications and having a smaller shop, it's nice not to have to store 2 sleds when I can get the functionality out of one. I hope this helps Bill. Thanks again for tuning in to the show.
Hello Kenny I have a Clarke 10” table saw Model CTS14. The table top is 25” x. 23” with three guide slots only one slot however is open at both ends. This is left of the blade. I think your mini sled is brilliant but I cannot understand how I could make proper use of this with only one runner that can only operate left side of the blade. Do you have any advise or suggestion. Kind regards Alan
The process of making the sled is the same. The difference is where the mitre slot will sit on the lower half of the jig. Depending on which way your blade tilts, you may just have to cut the pieces upside down on the jig to get the mitres the correct way. The mitre bar would be offset on your sled so that when the jig is oriented one way, the table saw will cut the straight cuts and when you rotate the jig 180 degrees, it will cut the mitres. I hope this makes sense. Thanks for tuning in.
Great build Kenny, i never really thought of putting a 45 on one end like that. Have you considered putting a slight chamfer on the front fence, (the one nearest to you) to stop any dust build up behind the cut piece? I also like a good useful jig video as well. Stay Safe. Barry (ENG)
After yourself and another viewer mentioning the chamfer on the front fence, I have thought about for sure. I think it's a great idea and although I never thought about it at the time of making the jig, I am pretty sure that I will be modifying this one to accommodate that chamfer. Thanks for tuning in Barry and for taking the time to chime in with your suggestion.
Hey Kenny, would it be a good idea to square up the front fence using the 5 cut method before cutting the 45-degree sled cut... any error here would affect the tightness of the miters. Keep up the vids mate much appreciated.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with double checking Rob. In fact, the 5 cut method here would be a great way to double check and make sure that things are square as they should be. Great suggestion. Thanks for tuning in to the show and for taking the time to leave the kind words and your suggestion. It's very much appreciated.
Hey Ken, it's a good sled, just 1 thing I would of made a chamfer so the saw dust could be blown from the bottom of the forward fence as you shown, you had a piece of saw dust that kept the wood from sitting flat against the fence, that's just me no insult intended
No insult take Alan. In fact, it's a great suggestion and I may look into modifying my fence to accommodate that chamfer. Thanks for tuning in sir and for taking the time to chime in with your suggestion.
Hi Kenny, I think you checking both sides of the blade at 90* is a bit OCD. On the other side, if you did find a difference I would love to know how you would resolve the angle.
It's very OCD John and it is nothing more than my way of double checking the blade. If for some reason there ever is a difference in the angle, I have obviously read something wrong and it would force me to go back and check again. I don't know any other reason why I would do that because you are quite right, if the angles had different reading on opposite sides of the blade, I've got bigger problems than just a blade that's out of square. LOL. Thanks for tuning in sir.
I too have used UHMW runners and that would actually be my preferred method but I didn't have enough for this jig. That's okay, the plywood running serves it purpose and if it wears down, if the jig is still in good shape, I will replace the running with a UHMW one. Thanks for tuning in to the show Doug and for chiming in with your experience with the runners.
Unfortunately Alan, there are no plans for this one. The show was filmed in such a way as to give all the dimensions and instructions needed to be able to follow along and make your own. Sorry about that. Thanks for tuning in .
Not exactly sure what you mean by this comment Ernest. Are you not getting any sound at all? If that is the case, check your computer settings because the sound is definitely there. If you are saying that the sound quality is lacking, I have been playing with trying to improve sound quality and have yet to find wireless microphones that work well. This one was filmed with the microphones of the camera. I hope this helps. Thanks for tuning in.
