Tablesaw Sled Support

glenn bradley

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11,514
Location
SoCal
I have been jealous when I see others who have made these. Not a must-have but, certainly a convenience and a safety feature. I am on a mission to knock things off of my "jigs to make" list while whittling down my scrap bin contents.

I cut a piece of 3/4" ply that fits between the miter slots by length and between the front fence tube and the table top by thickness. I size it to set flush with the table top.

TS Sled Support (1).jpg . TS Sled Support (2).jpg

I choose another piece of scrap and carefully calculate the exact geometry required to avoid hipbone bruising on sharp corners during use. I also add a scrap of pegboard to let the supporting surface rest firmly on the fence tube.

TS Sled Support (3).jpg . TS Sled Support (4).jpg

I tape a bit of pegboard scrap to cause a slight angle while I sand to create an easement so that the sled won't catch if the support jig should shift a bit. The support sets fine as it is but, I am not one to trust to gravity and friction where power tools are concerned so, being a wimp I added a little push clamp to keep things put while in use.

TS Sled Support (5).jpg . TS Sled Support (6).jpg

And it goes on here:

TS Sled Support (7).jpg . TS Sled Support (8).jpg

And looks like so in use:

TS Sled Support (9).jpg . TS Sled Support (10).jpg

This is not something I have needed often but, when you want one is not the time to stop and make one (usually, although I do have those moments :eek:). It is particularly useful when using a sled at its capacity.
 
I like this.

My sled doesn't have the block on the back side of the fence for the blade to bury itself into. I made the sled a little longer than the table-saw top which has a router table as the left wing. There is a small stop block on the bottom of the sled & another stop block screwed to the edge of the router table that stops the sled at the right time that allows for a completed cut but stops the sled before the blade can come through the back side of the fence.
 
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