the FLAW with Ultimate crosscut sleds
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 พ.ย. 2022
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To be a little more exact with the five-cut method simplification:
1. The test board needs to be square.
2. The size of the test board needs to be the same as the distance between the two screws (one screw is the pivot, one screw is likely near the end of the fence)
3. The pivot point needs to be as close to the blade as possible (1" should do).
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Welp I am new to wood working and bought myself a nice but smaller tablel saw yesterday and I have been watching video's to educate myself on how to make a sled. after watching three other video's my heart sank becauseeee my table saw only has one track. I understand the five cut method and was trying to write down the math form for adjusting the cuts. LET ME TELL YOU, your video replenished my heart and your sled is exactly what I need to make for my table. Now I just have to buy me a router and a band saw and that should be good to last me a lifetime since I will be 66 next month. Thanks for giving this old lady hope!
I demo-ed a 1950's kitchen for a remodel and found that the old cabinet doors are perfect for saw sleds. High quality 3/4 birch veneer plywood and very dimensionally stable after all this time. Best of all, they were free! I've also cut up the smaller doors for a number of one time and multi-use jigs.
15:04 My method to attach the fence:
1) Drill two holes to attach the fence. The hole nearest the blade is permanent. With a small round file elongate the hole closest to the outer edge so that the fence can pivot about a mm forward and back.
2) Use a good square to attach the fence as close to 90° as possible.📐
3) Make your cuts to find square.
4) When you're ready to permanently secure the fence, loosen the outer screw slightly to move the fence forward or backward as required, then tighten it down.
6) Install your remaining screws.
Good video, thanks for the 5 cut explanation. I've also seen cross cut sleds with holes drilled in them which makes them even lighter. I'm with you! Light and nimble and accurate is the way to go.
Love the simplicity of what you are doing and your explanations are great
I used a piece of 1/4 mdf for the base of my sled. All the strength comes from the front and back pieces which I connected with a couple longitudinal bars which make for nice handles. Whole thing is light and sits nice and flat. I like your detail with the chamfer for the sawdust.
1st content of yours I'm seeing - Love the Ab version. I have yet to build one because of the reasons you mentioned wanting a new one. Thanks brother! Looking forward to seeing more of your work. I appreciate your in a small shop and able to manage it all. I'm in similar situation but with 2 car garage and a lot of kids/home things in there.
I have watched a number of sleds being built and yours makes the best idea for me. Thanks
Fence on the far side in place of the near
I made Norm's panel sled about 15 years ago and have used it countless times since. Glad you borrowed from his simple yet effective design. Yours came out great and I hope it lasts you many years too.
I was a big fan of the New Yankee Workshop, watched with my grandson every week. Missed or don't remember the panel sled. Thanks for bringing it back to all of us who have been struggling with wide panels and narrow "ultimate sleds" or miter gauges with the miter bar being far too short to set up an accurate cut. I just relied on my table saw fence, but knew there was a better way. This is another jig in my future projects.
Ha - the irony here is that the only jig I always remembered Norm for was his panel cutter! :)
ETA: It was a great show, wasn't it? You always felt like at the end of each episode "Yep - I could make that now!" because everything was so clearly explained and calmly demonstrated. And yet 20 years later I've never managed to build anything Norm did because he was just so brilliant at everything he put together.
This is great! Love the chamfer on the bottom of the fence. Heard about that somewhere after I had built my first sled. Not sure how I feel about the fence in the back, but I might try this out. Pretty sure that roller on the miter bar is to go out back so when the front of the sled is heavy, it won't tip off the front of the table. About the blade side... If the sled goes on the right side of the blade, you can't use it with a dado stack. From the left side you could do whatever width dado stack you want.
I like your delivery and dry humor. This is a great video with excellent examples!
Really enjoyed your pleasant presentation, humor and general thinking. Learning while enjoying is the key.
Love this video. Many woodworking channels don't analyze the needs versus end results. This video is perfect for all weekend woodworking enthusiasts.
Totally feel your 95% vs 100% issue. I think this happens in a lot of creative/maker things. I'm a professional software developer for decades, and this happens ALL THE TIME. Just remember, "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good". Great vid Scott.
I was just wanting to come to comment along the same lines as well - and it doesn't seem to matter what area one is creating in. If a person is trying to design tools and workflow for their own home based workshop, of whatever sort, it can really get stymying when it comes to balancing "what will work well most of the time" vs "what will absolutely work all of the time." Working in a home studio, there's always the opportunity to "solve" a "problem" by buying another little gadget. But realistically, it can often be just a reframing of whatever the "problem" is - a lot of the time it can be a small compromise in a workaround that lets things work nicely most of the time. For those rare other occasions, those can just get handled as they come. But mostly good is preferable to always adequate (or seldom perfect).
EDIT: Also, *subscribed*, Scott - I super dig what you're throwing out there!
For sure! Just curious, what are your current tools for software development?
Yes, really huge problem for us in software. Results in vastly over engineered and complicated monstrosities.
@@theyrecousins I actually think my background in framing houses helps me move through that thinking quicker. I was very accustomed to building saw horses in 5 minutes at each new job site but in software I would have to create a UniversalSuperLightUltraConfigurableSawHorse utility library that every single project relies on and and is broken by frequently :D
@@greglloyd2377 Make it work. Then make it better. Eventually it will become great... or you'll change what you need to work on 😉
Again Nice Job on your video shots. you can tell you spend time on shooting it. This sled is on my list to build for sure! Thanks for taking the time to do your videos
Thanks for explaining the 5-Cut-Method that well!
Excellent design. Thank you.
Seeing the new Yankee workshop made me tear up and remember my dad. He adored that show and had a bunch of their plans and books.
nice job, especially on figuring the deviation from the right angle
Wow! I finally got around to watching this video! I love your take on the "one size fits all" issue! NOTHING needs to do EVERYTHING! That's why you don't frame with a finish nailer or cope with a circular saw. That's why people like us have so many tools!😅 This is a great sled! Thanks for the video and the idea!
Great video! Informative and amusing! Tough combo to beat. Keep up the good work!
Oh, I like the cut of your jig. A most satisfactory testing and correction technique you have there.
Excellent video and process. Thank you for sharing.
I love it! Nice job. Thanks for sharing.
1. While the 5-cut method is really interesting and brilliant it's unwarranted. Just did it once it works but never used it again. I've been making cross cut sled just using a carpenter's square and never failed me. I just verify by simply flipping the sample piece and see if the cut still aligns.
2. Your take on the "Ultimate" cross cut sled - full of features and heavy - is spot on. My go to sled is now a very simple light one. My previous "ultimate and universal" sled is still there in a remote, less premium spot of my shop, waiting for the rare special-task moment when it would be called upon again.
3. One sided/one-runner sled is also what I prefer. However, if I were you I would have just use 1/2 ply for the base - a lot lighter yet does the job as well. Also, I would stick to the tried and tested back, rather than front, fence. Front fence would require more user effort to balance and secure the piece.
Well said, I agree on all points
Clearly, accuracy isn't a concern for you.
@@saltwaterrook4638 I’ve built beautiful furniture on my sled that was checked/built with a square. The term “accuracy” in woodworking is too often applied to the obscene degree.
@@5280Woodworking I have to agree. Most woodworkers are using a crosscut sled for a cut between 2 and 12 inches long. A variance of 1/500th over 24 inches becomes irrelevant at those shorter lengths, even with compound error, when using wood.
Depends on what your tolerances are for a given project. The 5 cut method takes minimal effort and time. To get a 24 inch crosscut edge that is a perfect reference for a long tenon on tight, gapless breadboard ends is worth the 10 or 15 minutes it usually takes. Better to have it and not need it.
Your instructions are very clear. Learned a few things…using the level as a flat reference when gluing the fence pieces together, and the feeler gauge approach to squaring the fence to the saw blade. I’ve been using those aluminum runners for awhile now. Thanks for the time and effort making this video.
Great sled and video Scott! I too have one of those big and heavy sleds, I will be making one like your here very soon! Love your videos and style of presenting your projects. Already looking forward to your next one. Thank you for sharing!
Loved the video. You have some good ideas, and your presentation is entertaining.
Love it !! Super smart design and the 5 way cut to make it sqare is SO !! much easier ti understand and explain to friends. Thank you very much , your french Canuk friend Jay-R .
Great video. My DIY "workshop" is also small, so a lot of my sawing goes outside, thus my DeWalt portable 10" table saw. Stability on dirt sux, a sled should help. I concur with your philosophy for design and build and cost compromises. Also noting your video backgrounds give clues how to build "space" in small confines for tools and maneuvering. Thanks for your help.
8:45 my last sled i built had a 6mm base, the thin board conforns to the cast iron bed so its always flat. The base is only really there to help thingsxslide and keep the fence perpendicular to the blade.
I'm planning to build my next one using 2mm phenolic sheet as it slides really well and is incredibly stable
I don't do much wood working anymore and don't even own a table saw any longer, but if I did, this would be the sled I would build and use. Heck I might even buy a new table saw just to build me a sled....not. I do find your videos to be very informative and you use techniques that just make sense and are easy to grasp. I also appreciate your focus on safety. Far to many other You Tubers do not show proper safety techniques...especially when using a table saw. So props for that sir.
Drill a bunch of holes with a hole saw in your massive sled and it will be much lighter without loosing much rigidity.
Yes, a lot lighter. Assuming a 1" hole every 2" in the field on the side left of the blade, I estimate you'd remove the weight of about 116 sq in. of that area.
It does make for some serious pinch points though.
But it does nothing to change the form factor or capacity of the sled, and little to change the balance.
02:19 he said he could, but it would be to much work for the later benefits.
@@Kahsimiah that's right 😅🫣
Really great video! I love your sled design.
I like the mentality of creating a few smaller, more purpose driven sleds, then one "ultimate all in one" sled. Aside from being more manageable it's also much easier to iterate on them based on how you ACTUALLY use them :)
My thing is...I don't really do much plain everyday crosscutting on my table saw. That's what my miter saw is for. A sled would be used to mount a box joint jig or something like that to.
Great explanation and naration! Keep up with good work. U deserved a subscription!👍
We are currently making a video on walnut slabs and could have used a good cross-cut sled. We tried to make a cross-cut sled recently. Did some quick work with scrap wood and CA glue. This is something one should really take some time and design. We would like to attempt it again. your video was inspirational.
I was just getting ready to make a table saw sled for squaring larger panels when I randomly came across your design. I have to say I like it because its light,easy to make and very functional for panel squaring, I'll will probably use this design. Thank you for sharing! Oh and the most common reason why most sleds should be on the left side of the blade is because most table saws are right tilting, which means the blade mounts against the arbor on the left and if the sled were on the right of the blade then the cut line will be off if you ever change blades that have a different kerf thickness.
Nice design, Scott. You'll probably want to add a support to the other side of the blade. It can be stationary and could be locked into the t-slot during use, but without it your cut-offs will want to pinch the blade and you'll also get tear-out as the blade exits. Scott
The sled doesn't reference the fence, it references the miter slots. So the reality is, the method of putting the piece against the fence doesn't actually do anything to make your sled square at all. You can set the base panel at any angle on the bar as long as there is material past the blade to be cut off. It really doesn't matter because once you run the piece through the saw, you have one edge that is parallel with the miter slot. From there its easy to square a fence anywhere you want to on the base. The 5 cut method is actually really brilliant, because you could, in fact square up a fence that is up to 11.25 degrees off.
Hi Scot, I am enjoying your videos.
re; loss of height when using 3/4 plywood base - whiners! Yes, if you are using a saw table with an 8' blade, but cutting with a 10 or 12" blade, depth of cut should not be a problem.
re; Mitre bars for the sled, I have used some plastic drawer glides and have not been worried about swelling or wear and tear needing adjusting. I have an old saw with a troublesome fence that needs measuring at both ends before cutting, each and every time. I do like the small version of a cut sled with the additional ideas.
¡Qué bueno el sistema de cinco cortes para comprobar la escuadra del trineo!
Desde España, ¡gracias por el vídeo Scott!
Nicely done.
Great video. Think that sled is in my future after winter
Very well explained and demonstrated!
Well done video Scott!
6:11 sled’s on the left, because (1) of how the arbor sticks out to the right, the kerf will be flush with the sled even if the blade changes; (2) right (dominant) hand closer to the middle of the sled; and (3) long boards don’t hit the fence.
Finally another vid 🙂. I have to make the sled just always been lazy ☺️
Depending on your general use case, greater reliability totally makes more sense than greater flexibility. Tailoring your workspace to your workflow is simply good practice, regardless of circumstance. I'm a fan of both multi-purpose and specialized tools and use them both in different situations for different purposes.
Great video, very interesting take on a crosscut sled. I like both of Scott's crosscut sled designs. I do want to point out though... I bought the recommended rail and it ended up not fitting in my old Craftsman table saw. No fault of Scott, and the product looks to be of excellent quality, it just won't fit in my table saw track with the wheels still on it (which is partly why you buy this type of rail in the first place.
Also, love the videos Scott, great job!
You could use a cut off piece, if you dont have feeler gauge.if you need to rotate fence counterclockwise then put closest end between block and fence. secure block, rotate lenghwise cut off piece and adjust fence
Great job, well thought out. I will make one for me!
The summer Scott looks chill af
😂
I heard Veritas and said, this guy is Canadian!
Great video. Just bought my first table saw and looking for a basic sled to start. Thanks for the great design
I made the most exact sled ever by using my CNC to cut a rectangle, with a miter gauge slot at 90 degrees to the long side. Inserted the rail, attached a fence against the long side of the sled, and ran the whole thing across the blade. Quick and accurate (if you have a CNC).
PS: there's an alternative, floating around TH-cam, to the redundant 5 cut method. Its 3 cuts, uses the same principles as the 5 cut, and there's no math at all. But you still need the feeler gauge.
Yes it made perfect sense , thank you
That sled design looks to be quite versatile. Not only as a cross cut sled, but could also use it as a tapering and straight cut sled as well.
I happily viewed/ listened twice to the entire video and explanations... I think it's a very exact and clever method, and results in precision... though I don't know much, I plan to construct one for myself...
Why in the world would the shop I go to have a tiny sled that wobbles within the slot of the Table Saw? But that's what is available, and I think it's dangerous (plus I had to throw away the worked wood. )
Fellow Nerd, I really appreciated your video. Thank you.
Very cool. Nice video. Might have to give this a try! Thanks.
I love this! Time to throw my janky version on the firewood pile.
Informative and entertaining! Bravo!
Liked the video a lot. Simple sled with excellent explanation. The "almost" triangle shape with the fence on the opposite side makes a lot of sense now that you demonstrated it on your video. I have the typical type of sled, it's not massive; however, I will make this style sled as my primary one. I am just a every other month wood warrior. Thank you for sharing.
Too true about perfection. Heck, even machinists can only really work to within the tolerance of their measuring gauges which will probably not be perfect. I appreciate the tip about feeler gauge to correct the error after the 5 cut method. This is simple and I never thought of it when I built my last sled. Cheers!
I work with perspex and need to have a repeatable accuracy of 0.01 mm. I manage this on a De Walt table saw with a homemade aluminium sled with an adjustable fence to accommodate the angles I need. That degree of accuracy I have never needed with any timber unless I am using really hard woods like Purple Heart or Ebony.
The sizes I work with are between 19mm down to 7mm square, out of 300x300 stock, so accuracy is essential.
It would be nice if you would use a riving knife in your table saw. It is of course your decision what safety measures you use while working and how close you come with your hands to the blade, but as a youtuber you are a role model and encourage others to work the same way.
Personally I never had to remove mine for any cut, especially if the knife is not higher than the blade.
You are so cool :D chill vibe this dude has... great video ofcourse, gave me new motivation with your 95% speech to make another CCS! thank you !
The point of about optimum solutions being specialized rather than generalized is really key. Every shop is unique. Every workflow is unique. Having a tool that does your most common jobs as efficiently as possible at the expense of jobs you never or rarely do is exactly right.
I gotta say, I have never and probably will never do anything related to Woodworking yet I find your Videos extremely interesting.
Never try, it's a trap. Once you cut your first board, you urge to get more wood and tools and you find yourself justifying spending a lot of money for your new hobby. :D
i really like the design and thinking of building a new sled too. because i have the same problem with wood runners at the moment. my workshop is "outside" and i the shrink so much in winter that the sled is unusable.
great little sled, I opted for the hdpe sled runners
I like your simplified 5 cut method!
I like your style, Scott. I subscribed.
This is perfect. Due to space, I've had to settle on a jobsite table saw, so not enough support on the left side of the blade (or the infeed, for that matter. I'm going to build this one, but I'm going to make my cut side on the right side of the blade. That'll give me all the lateral support I need. It never occurred to me, to put the sled's fence on the backside! :)
I will make mine to cut on the right side of the blade as I am Left handed and that is just more natural to me. Great video BTW.
i enjoy your comic relief. but most important I like your design better than other vids that I saw.
Loved your Brilliant Ad - really funny
Putting the fence on the far end never occurred to me, but that makes a lot of sense, and would have made my crosscut sled much more useful. I'm glad you made this, and thanks for sharing!
Love your delivery...I even watched the whole Brilliant pitch w/o fast forward. :)
BTW, I I took 12 stabs w/ the 5-cut method (=60 cuts!) on my recently made sled before just giving up and calling it good enough. Actually seems like it's plenty good enough now that I've used it on a project.
The old sled is now the penultimate sled
Interesting, and well done. Thanks!
Great video!!!! I just don't know how you can handle that little tear out in the fence!!! Would drive me crazy
I like yours style!!!... Hello from Ottawa/Gatineau.
The ending was excellent 😂
Thanks for cool insights!!
As a short person that’s tamping on the counter, I feel too short to get leverage that feels comfortable on my wrist and shoulder to push down the tamper unless I am on my toes. Maybe I’m doing it wrong.
Sliding miter saw: Am I a joke to you?!
Nice idea. Fit for purpose and not over-engineered. And you're right, trigonometry is not necessary at these small angles. The difference is too small to bother with.
UHMW also makes a good runner choice.
I need to redo my cross cut sled, and I do like the idea of specialized sleds. I have thought of using the 3, 4, 5 method for getting square, but I would do it in feet. Actually, if you wanted to use inches, any multiple of that would work, like 6, 8, and 10..... Should be close enough....
My jigs all have Ultra High molecular weight polyethylene , it doesn't swell, is very stable, resists wear unbelievably well & its slippery. drills, cuts with regular wood working blades & drills ...awesome product for sleds & jigs ....did i mention glue doesn't stick to it
I have the same sled as your old one and it is heavy. I reduced the weight by cutting handing into each end of the sled, but its still heavy. I love the idea and the weight reduction. My question for you is you end up with tear out when crosscutting because the piece isn't supported from behind? I debate on this sled but mostly use sled for cross cutting.
Nice design! Thanks.
Just found your channel. I’m digging it.
I made the Norm Abram panel sled 20 years ago and still use it today. I have never felt the need to make any other sled for my table saw. It's my go-to sled. Really enjoyed your Volg. Cheers From Western Australia.
Yeah, I called you out on the 3/4" thick sled on your last video. Still standing by that. I find 1/2" multi-ply is more than stable enough - so why go thicker?
In fact, as I do more projects, I keep trying to go thinner. I built cabinets in my van/RV conversion with 3/8" multi-ply. Considering 1/4" now.
Going to make your sled though (but, you know, with 1/2" Baltic birch). Very cool.
Agreed. Think about it. Of all the sled components, the base is in principle the least likely to introduce referencing errors, and the most likely to be stable in shear, which is its critical function. A thinner base doesn't change these factors at all.
The only problem with a thinner base is its potential to deform out of plane, and in so doing to carry the fence out of square - not out of miter, at least not directly, but only that the fence may no longer be perfectly vertical. Imagine a base made out of thin sheet steel. The fence would wobble fore and aft, very slightly affecting depth of cut, but it would not rotate out of miter unless you twisted one end of the fence forwards and the other end backwards.
That deformation out of plane is the effect to guard against in the choice of base material and thickness. And this is a further argument for making the sled the full width of the table. Half again wider means half again stiffer overall.
Loved that look when you pointed to the Kreg flip stop 😳 🤣 Another great build and video. And an homage to Norm!!
Great sled. Also your video and editing skills are top notch. PS, your sister is really cute too!
Lovely video!
Personally, I would add 2 things to this sled, or maybe 3;
1- A fixed hold down clamp about 1/2" to 1" away from the blade
2- A bolt that would be through the jig and the runner, held in place by a nut, with an epoxied piece of metal stock (slim enough on one side to fit in the slot of your tablesaw and long enough so that when rotated 90 degrees, it fits the width of the slot. That way, you can just take a screwdriver or something like this and do a quick 90 degree turn of the screw to make it so that the jig cannot get out of the slot and kickback in your face if anything were to happen (most likely it wouldn't happen, but its a nice safety feature)
3 (and lastly)- I would've liked to see a fixed fence and an adjustable pivoting fence, so you can make quick miters on there (its sometimes useful as the other type of jigs aren't really optimized for that... this one is)