choosing what is right for you #5: Cross Cut Sled

I never had a need for a cross cut sled, and not really sure if I ever will have a need for one to be honest with you, I say this because 90% of any thing I need to make a cross cut on, My Radial arm saw does the job, and anything that I can’t do on the radial arm saw, well that is what my circular saw is for. How ever a friend of mine who is just getting started asked me how to go about making one. His table saw is the same as mine so making a sled using my table as the basis was simple enough. Making the the rails was simple enough, well at least for the method that I used. now my miter slots are 3/4. So I took some 3/4 stock (it was a little tight) and placed them in the slot. Drew a line to get the thickness for the rail. then using my thin strip jig along with a feather board and made sever strips. they were a little tight, but that is what sand paper is for. Once I had that done. I placed the rails back in the slots and made sure they slid all the way smoothly, then I took 1/2 plywood and laid that on top used 3/4 wood screw and secured the ply to the rails. after that i took some scrap and made some cuts using the sled. Yes it’s a nice little tool to have I supposed if you don’t have a radial arm saw to make cross cuts. My self I can’t see a need to having one in my shop.