Panel Sled

[poolhound]

I have spent the last few weeks doing some shop re-org and finally getting around to a number of things that I have been meaning to do.

One of these was building a panel sled. It took me all of about an hour and OH MY GOSH why didnt I do this ages ago?

I needed to sq up a board for my benchtop DP and that got me to make the sled as I was fed up with never quite getting panels square.

It was drop dead easy to make, easy to use and now I can cut panel and sheet goods with nice square sides.

If any of you, like me, have been meaning to do this, then take an hour and get it done you wont regret it.

[Popeye]

Sounds good. I've been meaning to make one for years. Let's see a picture. Pat

[poolhound]

Sounds good. I've been meaning to make one for years. Let's see a picture. Pat

Pat - If I said it looks like a panel sled would you throw rocks at me

I am just waiting for some glue to dry but will take some pics along with my new DP setup later.

Construction is really simple.

1 piece of good ply, I used some 7/16" I had lying around.
1 HW, I used some oak, (or metal) runner planed for a snug fit in the miter slot. The thickness should leave some clearance at the bottom of the slot.
1 fence/stop with a sq face.

The key is to make sure the fence is exactly 90degrees to the base.

Joint and size the runner. Cut the base to the length (depth) you want. Cut the width to rough size (approx 1 inch over). Measure from the blade to the center of the miter slot. mark a line on the base this measurement + 1inch from the cutting edge. Fix the runner to the base, counter sinking the screws. Place the runner in the miter slot and run it through the saw to trim the excess. The base is now cut to size. Take your fence and using a good framing square attach it to the head of the base again leaving a little extra over the cut line. trim the fence as before and thats it.

I will have some pics later.

[poolhound]

As promised here are some photos.

I built the sled to sq up the base for the DP to sit on. More on that in this thread.

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?p=349077#post349077

As you can see the sled is very simple. I have just given the underside a few coats of wipe on poly and I will wax it when its dry.

Having done this I guess I should build the crosscut and miter sleds also

[Bill in Buena Park]

Jon,
I like that design, allows the blade guard to be left in place. Do you secure the panels to the sled, with clamps for instance, or is manual pressure enough to keep them stable? Also - the surface under the sled in the photos - is that the SMT locked in place, or a second accessory table?

[bfrikken]

a good short How to from Norm on youtube here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5ZFOX9kUKm4

[poolhound]

Jon,
I like that design, allows the blade guard to be left in place. Do you secure the panels to the sled, with clamps for instance, or is manual pressure enough to keep them stable? Also - the surface under the sled in the photos - is that the SMT locked in place, or a second accessory table?

I have only cut a few things with it and manual pressure has been fine and yes that is the SMT table. Yet another job is to make up some shop made accessory tables - one day :-)

[Popeye]

Pat - If I said it looks like a panel sled would you throw rocks at me
Of course not. But what's old saw about a picture being worth a thousand words, or something along those lines.
That's what I had in mind but pics are still good. Nice job. Now I need to get off my duff and make one.
bfrikken, thanks for the link to old Norm. Good video. Pat

[drunkcat]

So...I was getting ready to build a cross cut sled. What are the +/- of a panel sled opposed to a cross cut sled. Do I need both?

Thanks!
Scott

[leehljp]

Cross cut sleds really are handy tools! And they don't have to be complicated either. Nice job. I know you are going to enjoy it.

[just started]

Guess I'm kind of thick, why do I need a cross-cut sled and a panel sled? Can't I cut a panel on the cross-cut sled just as well as on a panel sled?

[poolhound]

Guess I'm kind of thick, why do I need a cross-cut sled and a panel sled? Can't I cut a panel on the cross-cut sled just as well as on a panel sled?

I guess it depends on how big your panel is and how big your xcut sled is? A xcut sled is usually more elaborate and sits both sides of the blade. technically you could do both cuts with either but.......

panel sled is a simple design intended only for trimming and squaring panels, it doesnt offer any support past the blade and is usually open at one end so depth isnt an issue (within reason). yes you could use it to trim anything but not a good idea if there is much of an offcut.

Xcut sled has a fence at both ends and usually a guard where the blade exits. This limits the depth although some folks do make multiple sizes. As stated before it supports the stock on both sides of the blade. It can be used to make very small xcuts safely with stop blocks and clamps. You can make it with a replaceable insert for different blade angles and also dadoes. Again some folks make multiple sleds if the do certain cuts frequently eg. one straight and one at 45 degrees.

[goslin23]

I built a cross cut sled and used it quite a lot until I wanted to cut an angle on something and decided I needed something better than my stock mitre guage, I ended up getting the Crosscut Sled from Rockler. I love the thing, square 90's and perfect angles. The only thing I wish it had was an extension for the stop block for longer pieces. I'm sure there's a way to fix that issue but I haven't thought much about how to do it yet.

[billwheaton]

Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks! Me? I'm making a miter saw table with wings. No Red Bull though. (that stuff smells bad).

[milanuk]

I realize this is an old thread... but I'll pile on anyways

So... if y'all are building panel sleds and x-cut sleds and miter sleds... I take it that means the SMT is *NOT* working to your expectations?

Just curious if I'm the only one who can never get the blasted thing adjusted right and to stay that way?