I'm in my first year of woodwork and have watched hundreds of YT vids, all of which have been helpful, and I'm grateful to each and every content creator. Your posts though always have a way of encapsulating 'least effort=fantastic result', and you have a fab teaching manner. Thanks, and look forward to more! Cheers
Great video Jody. I think the melamine will hold up just fine, as long as it's not getting slammed around, yes baltic birch is stronger and stiffer, but this way you can run this one and make any improvements with a different substrate later. Great stuff, thank you, Jim.
Love the idea of not extending the grooves toward the cut side. Recently ripped a straight edge on about 50 rough cut scraps that were .75-2 inches wide and constantly had to make sure clamps weren’t hanging out
I've used shelving for other jigs too. One of my "tricks" is to smear some wood glue over the ends of the unfinished shelving. It helps seal them from moisture and they hold up longer. Thanks for this great video.
Another simple but great idea for a jig, and also just as importantly the thought processes behind the design which are mostly overlooked ... that information in itself is invaluable! I'd add a removable mitre slot rail to the underside (located in a slot and held in by screws) which provides a zero clearance mode of use for doing 'on the line' style cuts ... remove for when wider items are being cut :)
Lot's of great ideas here Jody, thanks very much. I like the way you explained all the reasons for decisions you made to design this sled, including what you think you would do differently if you started over. Consistently one of my favourite (yes, I am an Aussie, so I spell funny) channels.
I like this idea. When I can afford them, I do need those clamps, because my current taper sled uses the toggle clamps, which are great... to a point. Once you're into doing 3"+ thick table legs, well, they're useful, distilled ass pain. Thanks for the concept!
Thanks for sharing...I learn something every time you post! I intend to make one of these for myself from 3/4 MDF..I get the melamine surface provides less friction, so I'll surrender to the paste wax process...Thanks again!
Great looking sled! I can see how this sled would be very useful in table leg building or anything that will need to have repeatable cuts on your projects! Thanks for the great video!
Another nice one! Coincidentally I just built a very similar sled 2 wks ago, but I didn't think of your plan to avoid cutting the clamp tips. Time to rebuild...
The Matchfit system is fabulous. I made a sled in the same way than yours, but far more basic. Now I will make one like yours. A lateral note: I modified my fence and now is 50" long, this way I don't need the additional fence clamped to the saw original fence.
Awesome sled , thank you jody , i’ll be making one shortly isa , and awesome improvement over the years , i’ve been an avid follower for a long time now , really appreciate every single video , thank you , i learned a lot from you .
Great solution~! I've seen a lot of attempts at this jig, but I really like yours. Will have to order some Matchfit gear and make up one of my own. Thanks for sharing this video~!
Simple and effective, TY! I'll just use some t tracks I have lying around. And I'll keep about 4 inches on the side towards the fence open so my Jessum guides will engage. Taping a straight edge gets a little old after the first one! :)
I just started making a jig like this and was wondering how to work in some dovetail clamps/fences - this is perfect! I really like the small 2" spaced grid at the front to allow for all sorts of angle alignments.
Enjoyed that. Getting increasingly concerned about how you lean forward over your saw table! A little dampness underfoot and you may meet up with your blade?!? Bob England
I just found your channel and sub to it. I like the way you get to the point and use real world teaching ideas and say the heck with the way over safe safety police on YT. We do things the way we do them because we after time know how a tool works for us. I'm not saying be stupid at all but some times they drive me nuts. What you didn't have this on or that on. I like this sled and have been thinking about getting those clamps and bit. Thanks!!
I like the idea of being able to accommodate essentially any width, but at a certain point (probably roughly double the width of your sled, bit also dependant on stock thickness and mass) the stock being cut will weigh enough to tip the sled. I wonder if a 2 inch strip of the same material as the sled with a bunch of magnets recessed on the bottom could be used as a support out closer to the blade for wide cuts? It could even be extended longer than the table both front and back to serve as infeed and outfeed support for long rips. Alternatively, bottom mounted clamps of some type might hold it in place better if the saw setup allows for a place to clamp it to.
@Jason Still All good points/suggestions. In my experience, depending on how heavy the sled is, it does take a little more than double the sled width to introduce tipping. I don't have anything in the shop to try it out with this sled. If I do run into that situation though, I will probably just double-side tape a strip of the sled material to the table to support the weight. Technically it will alter the angle of the cut, but negligibly.
Nice setup. Appreciate the video. I personally use 3/4 inch Baltic Birch, and use T-tract for my slots. There are any number of makes/models/types of devices that make use of T-tracks. Some of my sleds are over 20 years old, and work just as good as the day I made them. In my experience, particle board isn't going to hold up to constant use over the long stretch. Thanks.
@Rta373 Not sure where you came up with $200. On the less expensive side this can be done for $50. Upgrading the clamps brings you up to $70. Maybe I'm missing something?
@@InspireWoodcraft Microgig dovetail starter kit is $90, 2 adjustable clamps is $40 and I just guessed that you had about another $50. I may have overstated the $, but it is a good $150.
@Rta373 Everything that I had in the shop totals $140 (and I do not have the starter set), but I just want to make sure that one very critical point doesn't get overlooked: You don't need everything that I had, which technically was only extra two clamps. I only had those things to show a few variables on what you could accomplish with this sled. For $50 or $70, someone could have enough hardware to make an inexpensive sled. Most folks have a dovetail bit already and as I said in the video, the Matchfit bit isn't necessary, just convenient. The only reason that I'm pushing the issue is because when other people read the comments, they get discouraged by seeing a price, and if that price is wrong, they won't benefit from what they saw in the video.
I don’t like working with melamine for a couple reasons, none of which are important to this build. 😂 What I do like about it for something like this is the weight and slipperiness make sliding in a controlled manner easier in my opinion. As always, thanks for sharing. 👍🏼👍🏼
How has the melamine held up? I plan on making this jig and had planned to use melamine since it's unlikely to bow over time and it slides so smoothly. Great video, as always.
Super idea but not sold on the use of particle board. Melamine yes but not a fan of particle board with clamps Is there some special higher density particle board used.
Hi Jody, enjoy your channel thanks for the creativity. Two questions please: what router bit did you use to do those plunges pls? Doing that for the first time myself soon. Also do you like your Delta drill press please? Thanks
@Gary Becker It has and thanks for adding this. At this point though, I personally cannot recommend reversing them. I ran tests for two whole days trying to use them reversed and could not come up with a single way to use them safely without modifying something. They simply would not hold the material down tight enough before they ripped apart the sled material. This was on particle board and phenolic ply.
I watched the video on how to use a measuring device. You noted using a fine line for your mark and other helpful tips. I still do not understand if I want to cut a piece exactly 2 inches in the middle of a board. I mark the two points for 2 inches. Where are the cuts made? The outside of both marks, the center of the marks or inside the marks.
Depends on which sides you measured from. If you measure from the left, the left side of the line is accurate, and vice versa. So, if you measure both lines from the left, you’d cut on the left side of both lines.
@Michael P I like it. I think for one or two jigs it may not be worth investing into, if you currently have another way of doing it. But if you find yourself making new jigs all the time, the cost of the system pays for itself very quickly. It's very easy to just route a dovetail and get to work.
Jody, love your videos, thus one not withstanding. I'm in the market for a new plunge router and noticed you using that Festool router. Would you recommend it and did you use it with a Festool vacuum as well?
@Jeffery Debs Thank you very much. So truthfully, I don't know that I have had the OF1400 for long enough to definitively recommend it, but I will say that I am not at all upset with the purchase. I really like how it plunges. For some reason being able to one-hand plunge (like "drilling" the starter holes in the sled) is one of the things that I've really appreciated. I also like that the on/off switch is a trigger style, and can be used either by squeezing it on or by locking it in the on position, similar to a circular saw. There are two things that I love about it the most so far. One is how quick and easy it is to change collets/bits. It uses a ratcheting mechanism, so you only need one wrench to change things out, and it works extremely well. The other thing is dust collection, which of course was your second question. Dust collection is superb! It does take a little bit to get into a rhythm as far as how to set everything up and what to do/not do, but that's like most tools. The extractor is the CT/48 and I am a huge fan of it as well, and of course it pairs perfectly to the router. I hope that helps!
@@InspireWoodcraft Jody, that helps a lot, thank you. I'll now look up pricing for both the router and dust extractor and will make sure to be sitting down upon learning of their cost!
great job. why dont you cut out a hole in each of the 3 squares in the middle. this would alleviate some weight and also give you a way to grab it by hand.
I'm not a fan of the Matchfit for the simple reason that they're slightly smaller than guide rail clamps. If I cut a t-slot groove which fits a guide rail clamp I can put nearly anything in it. If I cut to the width of the Matchfit bit, I can use Matchfit. The only thing I've used the Matchfit bit for recently was to run it twice a little more than 1mm off to create wider slots.
I completely agree! Because Matchfit clamps don't swivel 360 deg, you need more slots to cover all clamping possibilities and yet T track clamps, some auto adjusting, from Rockley, Bessey, Armor tool and Kreg all do and you only need a few tracks. I've made a similar jig with 2 T tracks to hold the fence and a slot in the fence for a few hold down clamps. They are handy for some tasks eg sacrificial fences but not sleds Did enjoy the video.
@Kyle Olson Yeah there seems to be a lot of discussion of dovetail vs track clamps. I was hesitant for years on the Matchfit because it almost seemed gimicky, but when I built my outfeed table I decided to try them out, as well as the Bessey track clamps. In my table legs, I routed the dovetail slot as well as a well-placed t-slot, and now I can use either clamp in the one groove, which is kind of nice. I will say though that the more I use them, the more I'm sold on them simply because there are so many different profiles of track, t-slots and track clamps, and there's only one 14-degree, 1/2-inch dovetail. So they just work. Getting the right combination of track or t-slot with the right clamp isn't as easy.
@Diane Takis Not in this case. When reversed, the clamps will not tighten down with enough pressure to safely hold the material without tearing the sled apart. This is the case with particular board, plywood and solid wood.
Thomas Slate I wondered if someone was going to bring this up. At this point I personally cannot recommend reversing them. I ran tests for two whole days trying to use them reversed and could not come up with a single way to use them safely without modifying something. They simply would not hold the material down tight enough before they ripped apart the sled material. This was on particle board and phenolic ply. I actually had footage of the tests, just in case folks asked, and I cut it from the final edit because I didn't think anyone would care. Haha
Been said, but to help your stats... I think melamine is a great "practice" material, and sometimes it does last for quite a while. If at some point you modify/improve the jig, then you can think about a longer lasting material. Great video as usual
I don't know why you made this although it is a very nice project but when you can do the same thing using your table saw fence you would gain an extra three quarters of an inch thickness in cutting depth
@Rick Gledura Because the only other safe and successful way to straight-line rip or taper without a sled is to have something secured to the workpiece via double-sided tape or screws. Then that something (like a long piece of straight plywood, for example) would ride along the fence. The result would be a nice, clean, straight cut. It's quite a pain to do it that way when you have multiple pieces to cut, especially when you want them all to be to the exact same taper.
@Rick Gledura Oh I see what you're saying. I thought you meant just the fence. So I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not, but this IS a tapering jig. Just a bit of an upgrade from the traditional style tapering jig since it gives me more options. Thanks for watching!
Ugh. I need to get more comfortable plunging like that on the router table… last time I did this, about halfway through the slot cut all hell broke loose. And the sound and shake of the piece of plywood was so ungodly.
I’ve been using a straight line boards for 30 years and they are the most over engineered jigs I see on RU-vid. All you need is a straight board with something as a stop or hook attached to the end of the board and that’s it. Making sleds with clamps, t-tracks, flat screen tv’s, microwaves and what ever bling you can put on them is absolutely silly to me.
After thought: the melamine is crap, looks even worse! Change it so it all looks as successful as your Festools!! Image is always a winner except when it’s a loser Bob England
Not really.. they just go in a track created with a 14° dovetail bit. You can use any bit, theirs just has a roundover so the clamps and jig hardware slides better. The cost savings comes from the fact that you don't have to buy t-track ever again and the jigs, tables and sleds you can create are far more versatile. This system has saved me $100s
@@G0F15H You can buy a T slot router bit instead of T track and use inexpensive hold down clamps, I've even made my own, that swivel at 360 degrees. I've saved even more
@John Barr has answered the question perfectly.... t-slot bit instead of a dovetail, lets you use the chinese knockoff bessey/festard clamps that fit intp T-Slot groves.... I just know I have other stuff to waste money on other than proprietary tools (remember microjig, magswitch, kreg.... all hand out tools to these dudes like candy... ) not that is happening here, just another point
@@CementRoots Sure, you can do the same thing for T-slot stuff. The point is, the MatchFit system isn't proprietary. It's not the industry standard, but that doesn't mean you have to buy MicroJig products in order to use the system, or that no one else can introduce products that utilize a 14° dovetail track
To avoid the blade running into the clamp, you can easily swap the direction of the clamp as shown by the clamp resting on its flank in the center of this photo: global-uploads.webflow.com/5cfd83cf1c26ab7392063e1f/5deb207ef88fbc48862a4bcb_dovetail-clamps-workbench.jpg
@Julien Phalip I was going to originally, but the clamps don’t clamp down tight enough before the material starts ripping apart. I ran a bunch of tests on particle board, phenolic ply and hardwood, and the materials always start breaking apart long before the clamps provide enough clamping pressure. At this point, I personally don’t recommend switching the clamp heads around in this application. Too much room for something to go wrong.
@Julien Phalip Interestingly enough, if you actually look at the details in the photo that you linked, the clamps that are reversed are supported with extra material on top of them to prevent them from lifting apart the material that they’re in. This is exactly what my tests revealed as well. The only way to not have them rip apart the material is to have something fastened above them. I used a strip of hardwood superglued to the top. It worked fine then, but not at all convenient for this application.
