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Hi all,

I built a cross cut sled with 3/4 birch ply, some oak for the runners, and some scrap I had from some old shelving. This is my second sled I have built in the last 2 weeks. The first was for my glorified tabletop craftsman direct drive saw which caught fire. It went in the trash with the saw.

This one was built for my new Ridgid saw which I bought with some trepidation based on the reviews. I did get a good one without issues it seems so After much checking and rechecking I'm excited to saw I have a new saw

The only issue with the sled: I didn't intend to attach the safety cross bars until I finished a project that was going to need that height. And of course I glued them. Did a real good job making sure I got the finish off the scrap so it would hold well too… Live and learn I guess…

Next I will make a ripping sled maybe 4' long. Not sure how to make this rails straight though over that distance.

Thanks for looking.

Gallery

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27 Posts
I like that addition of the part in the back! What a great way to keep your fingers intact. As for the saw - I've had the same one for over a year and I love it! I've had very few issues with it, and they have all been really minor.
 

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Help me understand the safety bars. Seems like wide boards would e awkward, but maybe I don't quite understand.
 

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Charles, The bars were added to keep fingers away from the blade. "Don't grip in here!" Similar to the extension at the back.

They are high enough that you can fit anything you can cross cut. But if you want to notch something… wider than 4"... you can't. Which sucks because I need to do that to 8" boards… maybe I'll just use the miter gauge as it is pretty good.
 

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Looks like a Steve Ramsey design. Nice job! I am going to be working on my first cross cut sled this week hopefully.
 

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Looks good. I have be in the learning stage for years and never used a crosscut sled but I finally made one and it gets more use than I ever expected. When its true and square its the best jig any shop could have.
 

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Mates02gt, I think that I did get the idea for the bars and bump on the back from Steve Ramsey. I've looked at so many I've lost track.
 

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Nice sled. It's good to see that included the guard at the back. When usingmy sled I too was concerned about fingers getting too close to the blade. Since I ha some plexglass left over from another project I added a plexiglass guard that is connected with 1/4 - 20 knobs.
 

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Nice sled, very handy
 

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I have the same R4512 and I think I got a good one, too. I really love mine. I too had a cheap Craftsman direct drive saw that had funky non-standard width miter slots. They were narrow T-slots, so I had to mill down a strip of oak to fit and then make my sled with that.

The first week I had my R4512, I built a cross-cut sled like this one. Having standard miter slots made all the difference! Also made a panel sled. I highly recommend making one!:

 

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