Miter Sled - Features Important to You?

[jteneyck]

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.

Thanks for that link.  It looks quaintly old, and how about those straight slot screws.  Some nice features, though, for sure.  

I can see it being possible to add a safety block to a miter sled that only pivots one way.  

John

[CARYinWA]

I have the Incra miter express and love everything about it.  It is small and easy to store.  I have all the accuracy and convivences the Incra 1000HD miter gauge has to offer.

[jteneyck]

I have the Incra miter express and love everything about it.  It is small and easy to store.  I have all the accuracy and convivences the Incra 1000HD miter gauge has to offer.

That's a nice unit, but you have to add a miter gauge to the price, right?  That puts the price up to around $400.  I'm not saying it's money wasted, only that it's out of range for some folks.  

John

[CARYinWA]

That's a nice unit, but you have to add a miter gauge to the price, right?  That puts the price up to around $400.  I'm not saying it's money wasted, only that it's out of range for some folks.  

John

 I see your point but I figure most people have already have an after market gauge already.  The sled is still a little spendy but I mentioned it for the features that it offers.

[jteneyck]

 I see your point but I figure most people have already have an after market gauge already.  The sled is still a little spendy but I mentioned it for the features that it offers.

I'm one of those people who does not have an aftermarket miter gage, so my perspective on designing a miter sled is likely biased towards one not being required.  Incra certainly has done a good job with how their system works together.  Other than no blade guard system it has most all the bases covered.  

John

[Rob Young]

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

Thinking about working with slightly wider stock.

Sometimes I flip my miter bar around and feed it such that it leads and the material trails. This puts more of the bar into the table slot at the start, especially if the material is wide. This is the way I have my panel-cutter ("boat") built.  In the case of the panel sled (fixed 90*) the fence is at the edge closest to me (trailing edge) instead of the leading edge.

Not sure if such an option would be useful for your design. But I think all you'd have to do is copy the design to the other edge. Or if you wanted to give the option to move the miter bar, you could just flip the whole sled 180* and still be on the left of the blade.


I can draw a picture if it would help.

[jteneyck]

Thinking about working with slightly wider stock.

Sometimes I flip my miter bar around and feed it such that it leads and the material trails. This puts more of the bar into the table slot at the start, especially if the material is wide. This is the way I have my panel-cutter ("boat") built.  In the case of the panel sled (fixed 90*) the fence is at the edge closest to me (trailing edge) instead of the leading edge.

Not sure if such an option would be useful for your design. But I think all you'd have to do is copy the design to the other edge. Or if you wanted to give the option to move the miter bar, you could just flip the whole sled 180* and still be on the left of the blade.


I can draw a picture if it would help.

Sure, a drawing would be much appreciated. Thanks. John

[AHill]

I own a Dubby. Love that thing. Very simple to operate. One thing I like about it that I'd include in any future sled is the ability to adjust to maintain accurate angles. For my homemade crosscut sled, I used playing cards to dial in square, but I don't think that's ideal.

One other thing that I think is useful is some sort of grippy or abrasive surface that can hold the workpiece stationary without needing to clamp it to the fence. Like a strip of sandpaper along the base of the fence - either on the base or along the vertical part of the fence.

[KC]

... One other thing that I think is useful is some sort of grippy or abrasive surface that can hold the workpiece stationary without needing to clamp it to the fence.  Like a strip of sandpaper along the base of the fence - either on the base or along the vertical part of the fence.

That's a good idea.  

[jteneyck]

I own a Dubby.  Love that thing.  Very simple to operate.  One thing I like about it that I'd include in any future sled is the ability to adjust to maintain accurate angles.  For my homemade crosscut sled, I used playing cards to dial in square, but I don't think that's ideal.

One other thing that I think is useful is some sort of grippy or abrasive surface that can hold the workpiece stationary without needing to clamp it to the fence.  Like a strip of sandpaper along the base of the fence - either on the base or along the vertical part of the fence.

The ability to adjust things to maintain accuracy is high on the list of design features.  

I've seen some anti-slip tapes that might work well on the front of the fence to keep parts from slipping and make clamping less important.  

The Dubby is a nice sled.  It's often unavailable though.  

John