question for the cross cut sled users here

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262
I have a ryobi bt3000 which has been a very good saw and while I'd love to be able to upgrade, I can't afford to right now.

One thing that I have a love/hate relationship with is the sliding mitre table so as part of building a cabinet for the saw and extending the rails, I'm making some tabletops for it with a couple of t slots(the bt doesn't have mitre slots).
I'll get the t track and either aluminium or uhmw runners to use and this leads to my question.

On a regular table saw with mitre slots, do the sled runners just sit in the slot? I'm thinking that if I want say 12" of clearance from the sled fence to the blade, my sled is going to overhang the top by say 4-6 inches and I'm thinking is the sled is going to want to tip up towards me. Does this happen on any of your sleds?
 
Patric,
My sled just sit in the slots, The sled is fairly big 42,20 and if I am cutting wide boards It often will end up overhanging a few inches. I've never had a problem with it tipping. Hope this helps. Oh BTW I am using a Jet Contractor saw.
 
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I had a bt3000 for a while and I can definitely understand your issues.

Seemed like no matter what I did, I could not get the sliding miter table to give me truly square cuts. I did make a cross cut jig for it and that helped a lot.

Even with my G1023, I still use a crosscut jig for most of the square cuts I make. It's also really useful for cutting small pieces, as you can rig it up to have hold downs and such.

My just rides in the slots, and unless I'm trying to cut something really wide, falling off the front end of the saw is not a big deal.

crosscutjig.jpg
 
Don / Brent,

Thanks for the replies.

I was thinking of making the sled that they had in shopnotes(can't remember the issue but it was for right tilt saws and also had a box joint jig) a few issues back. I was just worried about ending up messing things up with the sled tipping back.
 
I have what I think of as a 'regular' sized sled at about 2' x 3' wide. If I am making a 20" cut then yes, the sled begins in a position towards me quite a bit and would fall if not supported. No more than any other long item I might saw; like when ripping long stock. I also have a large sled for cutting larger panels. This has the same issues only greater due to the greater size of the panels being cut.

Regardless of what sled you make, make your fence adjustable. It will remain usable longer and you will be happier with it in the event that seasonal changes cause things to move. I have used UHMW, straight grained oak and aluminum for runners in various sleds. None of the materials hold an advantage in practice for me. The UHWM and oak are easier to "tune" with a card scraper. The aluminum rail is adjustable but a bit of a pain. . . . on the other hand it has never needed any further adjustment even years after the initial setup.
 
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