Bevel Sled - Revisted

glenn bradley

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When folks post reminders or mention things in passing that I have seen here in the past, I always appreciate it. There is so much stuff on this forum I sometimes forget things even though I plan to remember (what am I typing this for again . . . ? Oh Yeah).

Stu has gotten distracted in his Christmas is only XX days away posts but I for one have vowed to be ready this time :rolleyes:. I wanted to churn out a few small box ideas to get LOML's input on which styles to make a batch of for real.

I realized I hadn't seen the bevel sled for over a year and it took me awhile to remember where it was (it was hiding behind some panels next to the freezer). A quick 5-way test showed that it was still true so I started in. Its quick, repeatable and dead-on for this kind of thing.

I just thought I'd post a reminder for folks who (like I often do) intend to get around to something for so long they forget all about it. If you make small boxes with mitered corners, one of these makes it safe and easy to handle those small pieces. It is also apparently small enough to lose, even in a small shop :doh:.
 

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Bart. you task-master :rolleyes:. This is my (now) pretty much standard sled build. 3/4" BB ply base, 1-1/2" thick rear fence and a 2" thick front fence. The fences on this guy are a bit thinner since that is what I had on hand when I slapped him together. I keep all my front fence heights close to the same (3-1/2") to allow better use of stops and such.

I didn't put ZCI's on this one as it is just for 45*. The way I build my sleds, ZCI's can be added later if I decide to expand the sled's use. Here's an overall view with a couple other sleds in the background to show the family resemblance. The middle sized one has a sacrificial fence clamped on with a key installed for some box joints I was doing last. As you can see, I am a big fan of a large dummy-block to bury the blade into. For reference, I call the fence that is closest to me when using the sled the "front" fence. Maybe that's backwards(?).

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Here's a shot of the bottom. The runners happen to be red oak but I have used UHMW and aluminum as well. You can see the four fence adjustment t-bolts. This is a key element in my choice of sled design as it assures adjustability and a long life.

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Close up of the t-bolt pocket. I drill the two extreme ends with a Forstner and use a chisel to make the two round holes into a connected oval. The t-bolts are 1/4" shaft and the through hole in the base is 3/8". The through holes in the fence are a real tight fit to the bolt shaft. All the adjustment is in the 3/8" hole in the base and the oval pocket.

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The bolts and their associated washers and locking nuts are recessed into the top of the front fence to allow holddowns and stops to be placed without restriction.

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The track is positioned right over the runners and screwed to them through the base. The Forstner hole at the rear fence end of the track dado allows access to get the t-bolt head into the track.

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An overall side view

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Thanks for the reminder Glenn. You hit the nail on the head with the memory thing and the finding things after they were posted. I find when I go do a search I get waylaid and end up forgetting what it was I was looking for. See to go round in a few circles sometimes.

Its the one thing I think a forum could do with is a sort of filing cabinet where a good post as Bart calls it pictorials are then filed in some sort of logical structure.

I find my memory shocking me these days. Guess just too many things on the mind.:(


Added immediately after posting

Gee Wiz in the time it took me to write my post you completed a pictorial. Thanks Glenn youre a star.
 
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Its the one thing I think a forum could do with is a sort of filing cabinet where a good post as Bart calls it pictorials are then filed in some sort of logical structure.

Rob, I use the "Subscribe to this Thread" menu choice under the "Thread Tools" located at the top of the posts.

Under your "User CP" you can list all your subscriptions and even check a box to get an E-mail notification if the post is changed.
 
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