# Looking for plans for a small crosscut sled.



## slicksqueegie (Feb 9, 2011)

I am going to try and make a large segmented salad bowl for a gift for my Fathers Nurse (she is amazing!)
I have done one segmented bowl but this was very simple in design and smaller.
I want to make a cross-cut sled for smaller pieces. I have seen a couple designs out there but I havent settled on anything in particular. are there any good designs out there that any of you veterans use?


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

I'm sure there are plans out there,I'll look later. They aren't any problem to build. to be really accurate I like to make them fit in both miter slots. that reduces the twisting which leads to inaccuracies. 
I simply cut two boards out of material that doesn't move, plastic, mdf, plywood, etc. I cut these as close to the miter slot width as I can and even hand plane them to fit. I make them very slightly less thick than my slots are deep. 
then I cut a board the size I want for my cross sled. I put a quick drying glue on my slot sticks. I install them in the miter slots and put pennies under them to lift them up just barely above the table. Then I lay the cross feed board on top and let the glue set. After it's dry I put screws in from the bottom.
then I screw a board across the top front and back to stiffen the sled and to act as a blade guard. then I just raise the blade and cut a slot from the front most of the way back.
Then it's just a matter of putting a board on there for your miter angle. I screw one side down and put a slot in the other side. Then through trial and error make adjustments and cuts until the angle is perfect. Then I put a few more screws in so it won't move. 
You can get a lot more complicated of course but this is pretty simple and works perfectly.


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## slicksqueegie (Feb 9, 2011)

john lucas said:


> I'm sure there are plans out there,


yeah, there are quite a few different designs. I have a couple that seem like they would do the trick but was wondering what you experienced segmented turners have used/use/suggest.


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

slicksqueegie said:


> wondering what you experienced segmented turners have used/use/suggest.


RAS ! :icon_smile:


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## dmh (Sep 18, 2010)

I am definitely not a veteran but they are not hard to make at all. Get the sled setup as close as you can to 15 degrees (if you want a 12 piece ring) and cut out six test segments (enough to make a half ring). Lay them together to make a half circle and check for flatness where the two half rings would glue together. If it's off, fine tune and your good to go.:thumbsup:


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## slicksqueegie (Feb 9, 2011)

dmh said:


> I am definitely not a veteran but they are not hard to make at all. Get the sled setup as close as you can to 15 degrees (if you want a 12 piece ring) and cut out six test segments (enough to make a half ring). Lay them together to make a half circle and check for flatness where the two half rings would glue together. If it's off, fine tune and your good to go.:thumbsup:
> 
> View attachment 33397



I like the simple design of this one and the way the sheet is only half cut.


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

For safety's sake, add something to prevent you putting your hands near the blade. A tall fence, two handles, a blade guard ... whatever, just don't leave a wide-open gap between your arms and the teeth.


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## dmh (Sep 18, 2010)

slicksqueegie said:


> I like the simple design of this one and the way the sheet is only half cut.


Yea, I like simple.:yes: I originally got the idea from edwardsx (btw; thank you!). He has a video on his site showing how he makes his sleds. I don't have the patience for the math he uses so I just winged it after i got the basics.

If you've never been there, check out his site. He's got a lot of great video's and information.


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## dmh (Sep 18, 2010)

duncsuss said:


> For safety's sake, add something to prevent you putting your hands near the blade. A tall fence, two handles, a blade guard ... whatever, just don't leave a wide-open gap between your arms and the teeth.


Yes! I agree. My hand never goes to the right of the blade and no one elses should either. Just for safety sake I plan on making something to hold the cutoff piece down the next time I use the sled. As there should be.:yes:


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

For small segments I just use a pencil with an eraser to hold the segments. that keeps my hand away from the blade and I can use the pencil to kick the segment out after I'm pulled the sled back. 
I also use a disc sander to make or true up segments. For that I use sort of a homemade ice pick to hold the segments. I don't do that on the table saw because there is always the remote possibility I could touch the blade with it. 
I use destaco clamps on my jigs for larger pieces of wood. The work extremely well but are too slow for doing small segmented rings of 16 to 32 segments.


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## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

I have some great plans on DVD!!!

PM me your address, and I will send them to you. :santa:


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