Difference between a table saw sled and this rockler gadget

Rob Keeble

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Location
GTA Ontario Canada
Hi All

I got a flyer with Rockler advertising this gadget

http://www.rockler.com/gallery.cfm?Offerings_ID=18063&r=2&TabSelect=Details

and i was wondering is there any difference anyone can advise me between this and a normal table saw sled we would make for ourselves.

I dont get why one would want to have a have disc loose on the other side of the blade. :dunno:

Maybe i am having a blond day but would seem to me to have a sled with or without a variable angle cut and have the sled go back and forth would be better than their arrangement.
 
I have seen several shop made and commercial gadgets that use the "catcher" piece on the offcut side of the blade. I enjoy the sled design I am using as it supports the keeper and the spoil through the cut as these may be on opposite sides of the blade depending what I am cutting. Despite ZCI's and backer-boards there are still cuts I like to make with the material oriented in a certain position relative to the blade/cut-path. The full sled makes this easy but, the importance of this is certainly arguable. The Rockler gadget and its relatives do little more than a miter gauge for me. This too is certainly arguable as I know we have a large fan base of this format; if not here then at least in the online woodworking community at large.

The variable angle fence is a cool feature. In my woodworking I don't do enough stuff that involves angles in between 0*, 45* and 90* to warrant integrating a variable fence into my sleds. Others do a wide array of angles as a normal course of their work and I could certainly see the benefit for those folks. In the end a sled is so quick to make and has such a long life that I have been happy making them. I will mention that my "Next" outfeed table design will incorporate somewhere to PUT the sleds while not in use ;-)
 
I can see how it would be useful. A shop-built crosscut sled will have the single wide sheet for both sides of the cut, with a hardwood piece spanning the width on the front and back. This works great for 90 degree cuts, but it is less useful on making angled cuts. You need to angle the board, but depending on the size of the board and the angle, it might not fit on the sled any more (the front and rear hardwood spans limit the size).
This is where the Rockler sled or Incra's Miter 5000 would be handy. You can have most of the pluses of the sled, but also allow for angled cuts in any length of board.
 
rob that is a take off from the dubby system,, must a patent ran out or the guy died.. look up dubby sytem years ago it was listed as the best choice in one of the popular mags for angle cutting sleds
 
rob that is a take off from the dubby system,, must a patent ran out or the guy died.. look up dubby sytem years ago it was listed as the best choice in one of the popular mags for angle cutting sleds
It does require a table on the offcut side of the blade to catch the offcuts. I made my own since nothing of the sort was offered by Dubby at the time!

Just as an aside, I bought my Dubby Table in Jan. '92, still have the original bill. I paid 119.95 + shipping back then. It's still going strong and has many uses even for a penturning guy!
 
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