Hello.
I am new to wood working and joinery in general, and I’m even newer to Fine Woodworking and this community.
What a terrific experience so far, and a fantastic wealth of information…!! My first do-it-yourself fixture project is going to be a cross cut sled for my table saw.
All of the cross cut sled projects I have found and studied here at Fine Woodworking so far have been set up for a single blade operation. I am wondering if there is a reason for that?
I have a lot of work to do that will involve the use of a Dado blade set. I will be undercutting close out to each end of 60″, perhaps up to 96″ long, 2 x 4 Knotty Pine, to create lap joints for window frames.
I have had very little experience with the use of Dado blades and cutting. And so I am approaching their use with some degree of caution!
My question is this: Are there any reasons, or any cautions at all, why a cross cut sled could not, or should not be built to use with a Dado set? Any advice and/or how-to’s would be much appreciated
My table saw is a 10″ Bosch 4000, and has an 8″ x 13/16″ Dado capability.
THANK YOU!
Replies
I just destroyed my crosscut sled by cutting with the dado. It is easily fixed by installing a new top of 1/4" plywood over the cut out section. Indeed there was an article on just how to do this in FWW. Many of us find it necessary to rebuild the sled often they do not last forever. You may also find it necessary to have more than one. Do a search on cross cut sled.
I also have the Bosch 4000 and set up a sled for it. My sled straddles the blade so I can utilize both mitre slots and extends about a foot past the right support wing. Many of my cross cuts involve long pieces (up to 96" long to) and find it difficult to support the workpiece on the right. Since you are cutting at the end and can't allow the workpice to raise up at all, support may be even more of an issue. Perhaps a support of roller balls would be the trick. Paste wax on the sled and table top help with friction and obviosly pull the wing all the way out.
As far as I can see, using a dado blade with a cross sled would be fine just be very carfull about where the blade exits the fence because you can't see the blade. Use a blade shield (block of wood screwed behind the fence and painted red) and clamp something to the back of the saw to prevent the sled from travelling too far and exposing the blade.
As for the wide gap in the sled; remember that the arbor is on the left side of the saw so the right side of any blade will always line up with the blade slot allowing for use of the sled to set up stop blocks. Only the lack of support directly to the left of the blade is not there to prevent tearout, if you are just doing a straight cross cut.
Clear as mud?
Maybe dado blades are not "intended" for "through cuts" but why not make one.
Well, Northernwood, I accepted your...prod! And...thanks! Probably in less time than I've taken to post my question, then follow-up, then reply, I put together a crude sled to experiment with, out of scrap pieces I had laying around! Sloppy miter slide rails, warped plywood panel, and 2 x 4's, on edge, as front and rear fences. I set my Dado stack at 3/4". I made several incrementally deeper cuts until the blades broke through the 3/4" ply. The front to rear dimension (length of cut) of sled is 17". It went smooth and beautifully! I at least expected some break up or splintering of the top ply, but the cut through was clean and edges sharp? I raised the blades several more times to deepen the tunnels in the fences, and that was it? It all went so well I wished I'd spent more time, and used better material to make the sled in the first place! Ha! I don' see any potential for any problems at all? Yes! The overall length of my pieces might still be a bit of a problem since I'll be cutting in the first 6 to 8 inches at each end, but I'll make the sled base as wide as my saw table, and perhaps the front fence even a bit wider ( see what works?), and clamp the work piece to the fence. If you can support and clamp about a two foot length of an 8 foot 2x4 board, that should be stable enough? And...great point...about putting some kind of shield piece or protection over the end of the fence tunnels where the Dado blades exit! Thanks again!
Go ahead and use this sled for a bit; see what you like and dislike about it and then make a "keeper". Most of my cross cuts are with 12" or 16" pine panels and if I need a six to eight foot piece I will clean up the factory end before cutting to length. The cantilever will lift the left end if I'm not careful; not critical for a through cut, but a different story for halves of a lap joint. If you use a support of some kind to the right, use the support under a longer sled rather than the workpiece. I'm curios to here how things turn out.
Or, simply hog off the wood with router and straight bit?
Be creative, there is no right or wrong way to do something. Enjoy the journey to finished product. Remember, if something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. Listen to your intuition. Have fun!
Edited 3/7/2008 11:27 pm ET by Northernwood
Edited 3/7/2008 11:35 pm ET by Northernwood
I made a cut with a dado blade causing a larger than desirable slice down the middle. I also made some cuts at 45 degrees. I then patched the sled with two pieces of 1/4" plywood as reccomended in the cited article in FWW. Your question baffles me. AS one uses a crosscut sled it eventually gets destroyed. Tooooo many cuts.
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