Tablesaw Sled Adapted for an old 113. Saw

glenn bradley

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I was busy designing a new sled to go with my old saw. On one of the trips to the garage for measurements I saw part of a sled poking out from under the rubble (my garage is jammed with twice as many things as should fit while waiting on the new shop). I pulled it out and decided that I could adapt it and make it serviceable. One of the runners was in a great spot, the other had to be moved about 5/8".
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The UHMW runners also needed to be shaved down a bit. A shoulder plane makes quick, reliable work of this.
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I put double stick tape on the runner and trim it to fit.
113-sled (4).jpg . 113-sled (5).jpg
I put dimes in the slot to raise the runner slightly. I use clamps for reference stops for placing the sled and single runner onto the saw.
113-sled (6).jpg . 113-sled (7).jpg
The tape sticks to the sled bottom. I flip it over and add screws.
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I make ZCI's in batches. Even in my current disorganized state I was able to find some blanks to replace the used ones. I also added a nicer handle. I position the handle on the rear fence so that when I grip the dummy block on the front fence with one hand and the handle with the other the sled is balanced and lifts off smoothly.
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I use the 5-cut method to get to under a thou over the capacity of the sled which is about 22". That's not bragging . . . I was just plain lucky on one of the adjustments. :D
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I put in the ZCI for the fence.
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It's about as basic as it gets but, it's all set.
 
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For a 36" fence I use four holes that fit the t-bolts snug; I use 1/4". These four holes in the fence are also counterbored to recess the washers and nuts.
2009 bev-sled-how-to 004.jpg
The corresponding holes in the sled's base are slotted. These holes are also counterbored on the bottom but, shaped to follow the slot.
8 t-bolts.jpg . 2009 bev-sled-how-to 003.jpg
The BORG sells 2-packs of 'toilet bolts' that come with the washer and nut if you don't have a hoard of t-stuff hardware like I do.

The result is that the heads of the t-bolts fit flush on the bottom but have a small amount of forward and backward motion. The shaft of the t-bolts fit snuggly into the fence. I slide the fence (that's being generous as the total movement is about 1/8") to the extreme front or rear position and tighten one end. I can now use that end as the pivot point.

I use a square to get me pretty close, snug the three remaining bolts and do the 5-way cut test. I clamp a block of wood in front of the end of the fence opposite the pivot point. I loosen the three non-pivot bolt positions and can now adjust pretty delicately using paper shims between the block and the fence. Repeat 5-way cut test as required. I'm usually good for at least 3 runs, sometimes twice that many.

Similar to aligning any tool, I put myself in the state of mind that I have all the time in the world to do this. That way I don't feel pressured or stress out :). If I get a quick accomplishment of my goal I take that as a smile from the shop gods.

My newer fences have the fence set in from the base to allow me a little platform. I had planned to rig some sort of threaded-rod setup to help with aligning. I stole that idea from someone on the forum. I always seem to get the sled setup without much issue and have never followed through. If you find setup troublesome, I would bet that this can be a real help.
2009 bev-sled 004.jpg
 
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