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cross-cut sled

SlickSqueegie

SlickSqueegie

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Warren, MI
First name
Matthew
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 haven't settled on anything in particular. Are there any good designs out there that any of you veterans use?
 
Yeah, for cutting the kind of small pieces I often use in my bowls, they're the best. I can't image doing it with a table saw, although with a good sled I guess it would be manageable.
 
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Why wouldn't my Dewalt 12" SCMS work?
Is it the safety factor? Or is it a precision problem?
 
For me, the issue is that cutting small pieces without a sled doesn't seem safe on a table saw the way it is on a RAS. And, I'm talking about cutting 1" off of a 1"x2" piece.

EDIT: for me, it's the difference between the wood moving and the blade moving. For little pieces, it seems MUCH more safe to me to have a piece tightly jammed up against the fence and move the blade through it than to have the piece moving into the blade, with only ANOTHER moving piece supporting it. Again, with a sled, it seems much more doable.
 
From a safety standpointe I wouldn't try to cut small pieces on a miter saw! The pieces will go flying and I don't want my fingers that close to the blade!
 
I have recently retired my dewalt miter saw in favor of an old Millers Falls Miter Box. Precision is much better, and it just feels better. With a sharp back saw it is a real pleasure to use. Handles small pieces with ease and safety. Typically a good one can be found for $150-$200. Makes less mess and is very quiet. Maybe I'm just getting old and nostalgic.
 
This is the sled I made with melanine. Cut to width after mounting the runner tract (leave the board just a little too long). It will match your blade and provide support to prevent chip-out. The clamp is for holding the wood. If making it again I would cut a semi-circle with the router and let the head of a bolt slide underneath rather than fitting tee-nuts from the underside.
[attachment=833]

Angle Sled.webp
 
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