I’ve been wanting to do a miter sled for a long time. I have a cross cut sled and I use it constantly and in fact, my Ryobi table saw is almost exclusively for cross cuts after I got the Craftsman from my father. However, I’ve always struggled with 45s on the table saw and miter saw; usually because the board is to wide or too long for a true cut. There are a lot of products out there for cross cut jigs and rails, but I prefer to do a custom jig that will fit the machine perfectly.
I had a nice off cut of oak leaned up against the wall that I have been eyeing for this. I got out the bench top band saw and cut it to the size of the miter gauge slot (I had to look that up). After sanding the rails so they slide easy in the slots, I squared up the birch plywood sheet with the rails on the table saw and marked where I need to glue the rails.
They are long pieces to clamp, so I clamped the edges and put my Schwarzenegger weights in the middle. I ended up putting some finishing nails in the middle to help set the glue over night. I might pry them out or grind them off.
I need to pick up some 2x4s for the ends I think. I’ll do a better job of showing the actual table saw as the project progresses.
Leave a Reply