Kev Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 Something I learned from the urn build is that I really want a dedicated sled for small boxes with mitered corners! The Harvey miter gauge did its job for this build but, if I were going to be building a bunch of these small boxes, a dedicated sled is in order! Thinking about starting this build this week! Interested to see if any of you have one and what features you'd like to have and what features don't you use?? I'm thinking a dual purpose small part sled with a 90 and a 45 degree use with some hold downs and stop blocks. My miter slots are equal distance to the blade so, I should have no issues with the dual use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 This is mine - it is totally dedicated to small parts and 45°, nothing else. Because when you are dealing the blade at 45° it is more exposed no matter what height I put a boxed blade guard on the back and a plexiglass piece across the business end on top, this way you can see your work but there is something there to keep your fingers from the blade. There is a tee track and stop block with a hold down. 3 1 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 Chet, the ply piece to the left of the blade that catches the off cuts, is there a rail under it that sits in the miter bar slot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 56 minutes ago, Coop said: is there a rail under it that sits in the miter bar slot? Yes. Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 19, 2021 Author Share Posted April 19, 2021 2 hours ago, Chet said: This is mine - it is totally dedicated to small parts and 45°, nothing else. Because when you are dealing the blade at 45° it is more exposed no matter what height I put a boxed blade guard on the back and a plexiglass piece across the business end on top, this way you can see your work but there is something there to keep your fingers from the blade. There is a tee track and stop block with a hold down. I really like the off cut support and hadn't thought about that. Makes perfect sense though! What do you do to hold it in place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Kev said: What do you do to hold it in place? Its just a snug fit in the miter slot. 1 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 Well, here's my version.. I may still make an off cut sled as well, I'm not sure yet. This middle section (Spline jig) comes out when doing the miters for the corners and then pops back in for doing the splines. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 A video of it in use would be nice. Will there be a second one for 45* miter cuts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 18 minutes ago, Coop said: A video of it in use would be nice. Will there be a second one for 45* miter cuts? I show it in use in the project video and it works awesome. This sled does the 45s as well Coop. Notice the angle on the side of the sled? You just have to switch which miter slot it's in and tilt the blade to 45. This is kind of a crappy picture and I actually burned this box last night as I only did it for the video but, this was 1/2" ply wood glued up right off of the sled. It came out dead square and then I did the splines in it by adding the spline jig back to the sled. You notice that I didn't toss a FBG blade in the saw to do the splines. Also, the only sanding I did was on the splines, I didn't touch the mitered corners. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Where is the project video? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 1 minute ago, Coop said: Where is the project video? lol.. It's not out yet.. I'll grab a couple stills from the video to show you.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 Here's the use pics from the video.. Hope this explains it a little better for you.. Initial Cut Second cut against the stop block The glue up Spline jig back on and cutting the splines 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 13 hours ago, Kev said: Second cut against the stop block I set my stop block for both cuts, this way they are both absolutely the same. I set my stop block, cut both miters of the front and back pieces, then reset the stop block and cut the miters of both end pieces. Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 1 hour ago, Chet said: I set my stop block for both cuts, this way they are both absolutely the same. I set my stop block, cut both miters of the front and back pieces, then reset the stop block and cut the miters of both end pieces. I wasn't much concerned with grain continuity for the test but, in a real project, that's probably a really good idea. However, with the kerf in the fence to align the cut and the work piece clamped into place, I could make the argument for "overkill" as well.. Not wrong either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 I see the 45* to your left now. At first I only saw the vertical kerf. It is good that your slots are equal distance from your blade! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 19 minutes ago, Coop said: I see the 45* to your left now. At first I only saw the vertical kerf. It is good that your slots are equal distance from your blade! Yes.. And I talk about that in the video as well. If your slots aren't equal distance, you can still do this sled. You just have to give a little more thought to screw locations and T-track locations and how they land on the center kerf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 4 hours ago, Kev said: I wasn't much concerned with grain continuity for the test but, in a real project, that's probably a really good idea. However, with the kerf in the fence to align the cut and the work piece clamped into place, I could make the argument for "overkill" as well.. Not wrong either way. This isn't for the grain continuity, that is something that I lay out right after I re-saw my piece for the box sides and ends. That way I don't have to worry about getting them mixed up and then trying to figure out the right order and which side goes out all over again. Using the stop block for every miter cut is more about the best possible accuracy of your four pieces in relation to each other. Being off by the thickness of a heavy pencil line on a big project like cabinets or furniture pieces won't even show up, but on a small box with sides 3/8 of an inch or less in thickness that difference of a pencil line is going to show up almost immediately. 1 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 26, 2021 Author Share Posted April 26, 2021 9 minutes ago, Chet said: This isn't for the grain continuity, that is something that I lay out right after I re-saw my piece for the box sides and ends. That way I don't have to worry about getting them mixed up and then trying to figure out the right order and which side goes out all over again. Using the stop block for every miter cut is more about the best possible accuracy of your four pieces in relation to each other. Being off by the thickness of a heavy pencil line on a big project like cabinets or furniture pieces won't even show up, but on a small box with sides 3/8 of an inch or less in thickness that difference of a pencil line is going to show up almost immediately. You are correct that those small errors add up and make a difference in the final piece. However, you have to line it up to set the stop block and clamp it in place. If your reference point is good then the stop block is irrelevant. As I said, I could make the argument but, setting the stop block is probably the better/easiest way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted April 26, 2021 Share Posted April 26, 2021 What is you reference point and how do you line it up and make sure it is identical? To me the stop block is the reference and it is static so it has little chance of moving even a hair from cut to cut. Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 26, 2021 Author Share Posted April 26, 2021 11 minutes ago, Chet said: What is you reference point and how do you line it up and make sure it is identical? To me the stop block is the reference and it is static so it has little chance of moving even a hair from cut to cut. The actual kerf cut in the extended fence. It's every bit as accurate as the stop block, just takes an extra second or 2 to set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted April 26, 2021 Share Posted April 26, 2021 I guess really, having your miter bar slots being equidistant is insignificant as you still only have one runner under the sled and when you move it over for the 45* cut, it is where it is. Just have to size the width of the sled accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 26, 2021 Author Share Posted April 26, 2021 8 hours ago, Coop said: I guess really, having your miter bar slots being equidistant is insignificant as you still only have one runner under the sled and when you move it over for the 45* cut, it is where it is. Just have to size the width of the sled accordingly. Exactly.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted April 26, 2021 Share Posted April 26, 2021 Great jig! Wish I had this a last month. How is the spline jig attached to the main base? I can see there is a 3rd t-track but can't tell its purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 26, 2021 Author Share Posted April 26, 2021 27 minutes ago, Bob said: Great jig! Wish I had this a last month. How is the spline jig attached to the main base? I can see there is a 3rd t-track but can't tell its purpose. There's a 1/4" bottom on the spline jig so, it's just held in place with hold down clamps. The third T-Track is there just in case I need to hold something down there.. I'll go out to the shop and grab a couple pics for you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 26, 2021 Author Share Posted April 26, 2021 This picture is without the spline jig looking down on the sled. And this is how that spline jig attaches. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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