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Short Summary
Main recommendation: build a crosscut sled, a jig with two runners that slides in the table saw's miter slots, to make accurate, square crosscuts and repeated cuts that a miter gauge handles poorly. Steve Ramsey shows how he builds one from 3/4" plywood, including narrow fence strips reinforced by steel angle iron, and explains the squaring and safety steps needed to make it accurate.
Key Points
- A crosscut sled uses two runners instead of one, which keeps the board square and stops it from racking side to side.
- The front fence must be square to the blade. Ramsey adds a pivot screw first to make squaring easier, then checks it with a framing square, and attaches the fence with screws instead of glue so it can be adjusted later.
- Repeated cuts of the same length are a common use, since the sled holds a clamped scrap as a stop for quick, identical pieces.
- A wider sled lets you clamp longer boards and add stop blocks, which is why he wanted his new sled to be wider than his old one.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions: Cut the base and fence from 3/4" (19mm) plywood, and cut the runners from 1/4" (6mm) plywood by trial and error until they slide in the miter slots with no side-to-side play. To mount the runners, stack coins, washers, or nuts in the slots, raise the runners on them, glue them to the base, then reinforce with screws. Make a partial cut through the base to install the rear fence, align it square to the blade with the blade raised, and screw it in. Drill a pivot screw in the front fence, square it to the blade using a framing square, screw (not glue) it so it can be adjusted later, and clamp it back to test squareness. Wax the runner sides and sled bottom with paste wax for smooth sliding.
- Steel angle iron, drilled and screwed in, helps keep the long fence straight; Ramsey checks straightness with a steel level before clamping.
- Safety: a glued-on block marks where the blade is buried behind the fence, reminding the user to push from the sides of the block rather than the middle.
- The sled is useful with narrower boards in his original build, but a wider version makes long boards easier to clamp.
Bottom Line
A crosscut sled is a worthwhile shop jig for accurate, repeatable crosscuts, and its accuracy depends mainly on squaring the front fence to the blade and keeping the runners free of play.
