Miter Sled - Features Important to You?

[jteneyck]

What features are important to you for a miter sled?  I am contemplating offering one for sale later this year and want to know the features that folks value most, critical needs, nice to have, etc.  These could include size, materials, length stops, scales, whatever you value as key to its utility.  Since I bought a CNC I have the ability to cut nearly any shape, repeatably and reasonably quickly, and that offers the possibility to produce high quality fixtures at a reasonable cost.  I likely won't invent anything new or earth shaking, but I might be able to offer a very nice unit for a very competitive price.  

Thanks in advance for any input you care to offer.  

John

[KC]

What features are important to you for a miter sled?  I am contemplating offering one for sale later this year and want to know the features that folks value most, critical needs, nice to have, etc.  These could include size, materials, length stops, scales, whatever you value as key to its utility.  Since I bought a CNC I have the ability to cut nearly any shape, repeatably and reasonably quickly, and that offers the possibility to produce high quality fixtures at a reasonable cost.  I likely won't invent anything new or earth shaking, but I might be able to offer a very nice unit for a very competitive price.  

Thanks in advance for any input you care to offer.  

John

I've done whatever I need to do with the Jointech sled.  The fence is good, detent stop are accurate, and the hold-down is good.  But the miter bar could be longer.  I use the saw fence for crosscutting cabinet sides after cutting to rough length, but there are times when I'd really like make sure I've got a good sqaure end at the fence.   Which I think would be easily accomplished with a longer miter bar.

Edit to add I could certainly be in the market.

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

I own an Incra Miter 5000 and love every aspect of it except one:  The hold down is a bit tricky to tighten down and not have it shift while doing so.  But this may by my error because I don't use it often enough.

The features it has are what I would look for in a sled.

[iclark]

For me, one of the important features on a good sled is the safety enclosure that makes sure that your fingers cannot touch the blade when it extends beyond the fence. I am not sure if there needs to be different versions for 10" saws and 12" saws. There probably needs to be some sort of stop to prevent an exhausted woodworker from cutting through that safety guard and their fingers.

Beyond that,
- an adjustable fence (with hold down) for cutting segments for segmented bowls/vessels
   - some presets for common segment angles would be good
- a donkey's ear (if I remember the right term) for cutting compound angles for segmented pieces (although it might be easier for me to do these on a RAS)

There used to be someone who made "Appalachian" sleds. I remember that I really liked the design, but I do not remember the deals and didn't keep any pics from their website. Mentioning this in case anyone here has one and wants to chime in.

[Woodenfish]

I don’t know if you have seen it but there is a YouTuber named “Paoson Woodworking” who made a very unique miter sled with adjustable saw kerf filler panels His sled has many great ideas that might inspire you.

[mound]

I don’t know if you have seen it but there is a YouTuber named “Paoson Woodworking” who made a very unique miter sled with adjustable saw kerf filler panels  His sled has many great ideas that might inspire you.

I just looked him up. Very cool stuff. I wonder about guys like this, seems all the woodworking they do is building tools and fixtures and jigs and such.. I wonder if he actually makes anything outside of tools and fixtures.

[jteneyck]

I just looked him up. Very cool stuff. I wonder about guys like this, seems all the woodworking they do is building tools and fixtures and jigs and such.. I wonder if he actually makes anything outside of tools and fixtures.

Here's a link to the Crosscut sled at Paoson Woodworking.  This is not what I'm contemplating designing.  What I'm thinking about is more along the lines of the Jointech SmartMiter sled, which is no longer available.  

[lift mechanic]

Long runners, replaceable zero clear insert for 90 and 45. A 45 deg bolt in fence for like doing picture frames. Runners that are adjustable to fit the miter slot.

[jteneyck]

Thanks everyone for the input so far.  Let me clarify that I'm thinking about a miter sled, not a crosscut sled.  I've never seen a safety guard of any kind on one, so that's an interesting idea though likely doable only with designs where the fence pivots only in one direction.  I can't say I've seen ZCI on one either; easy enough on a crosscut sled but I'm not so sure about having one on a miter sled nor how it would be possible to have one if the blade is tipped.  All good ideas, though, and things I need to look into further. Thanks.

John

[iclark]

Here is a link to a review of the Appalachia Tool Works crosscut sled with lots of pictures. Ed in Tampa did some good reviews.

I agree that I have not seen a safety block on a miter sled. It might be interesting to consider how to add one.