A simple design crosscut sled can be found at FWW #128 by Lon Shilling.
No need for t track for hold downs…keep your first sled simple.
Of coarse you need front and rear fences, because the first cut on your newly built sled, will separate the plywood base in 2. The fences kept together.
As a newbie, always start off with a drawing wether you drew it yourself or as below, you use someone elses design.

https://www.finewoodworking.com/membership/pdf/39401/011128066.pdf

 

1. All you need for the front is enough to hold the two parts of the base together. For the back, it's a fence, and needs more rigidity. There is no rule, or even a rule of thumb.

2. As John said, the front fence holds the base together after you cut it. There are designs that, for example, have the front fence very short on the ends, and higher in the middle, so that the blade height won't cut it in half.

3. I would say that a t-track on the top with a flip down stop is the most useful, but YMMV. Of course, if it's on the front, then it has to be high enough to not have the blade hit it. But add T-track after you have used your sled for a while, even if that means you are rebuilding the back fence.

Observation on this is that you have to decide what the max thickness you want to be able to cut on the sled, which determines things like the height of the fences, at least at the cut point, and where the T-Track goes.

Also agree with John about KISS (Keep it Simple, S…). I made my first sled too big, and as a result I don't use it as often as I should because it's a PITA to get it out of it's storage area and on the saw.

 

Most 10" TS's max cut depth is ~3". Fence height should clear that with room to spare.

Front and back keep geometry more accurate/rigid than front alone, esp. with dual runners.

I use Incra M1000 instead of sled. ZCI prevents small cutoffs from falling into saw.

 

Also on the back fence, make the part around the blade extra big, thick tall, with red paint and road flares etc. Whatever it takes so you don't stick your hand there while running it through. Have seen some bad stuff happen there.

 

Fence should be 2-1/4" tall x 3/4" thick.

You need a front and rear fence if the blade cuts somewhere down the middle of the sled.

There is another style sled that's only on the right side of the blade. For that style sled, you only need the front fence, and only one miter bar.

Here's another option that I came up with. It's called the X-Cut sled on YouTube…

Good luck with it!

 

Check the one on my Projects page. It has a solid box on the fence with a cutout so you can also see where the blade is in it. Mel

 

1. I prefer 2 layers of laminated baltic birch ply for my fence. It eliminates any bow in the plywood if laminated with opposing faces and it gives me room run a groove and embed a piece of t-track for a stop block. For stop blocks I prefer the Katz Moses over a flip stop.

2. Same thing as others…it keeps the sled from falling apart

3. My first sled I didn't do any t-track slots and followed the KISS principle others have mentioned. On the first sled I was more concerned with the accuracy and learning the 5 cut method.

If you are interested in some design ideas for t-tracks and hold downs my project for my current 2 sleds can be found here. Be warned my big sled is HEAVY…probably in the 40-50 lb range but I love it anyway. I actually use it more than my small one.

 

Those are some good-looking sleds, Sansoo!

Can I ask how you decided the number of t-tracks to embed in the body of your sleds and where to position them?

I mean, how many is enough? Here are four intersecting t-tracks on one of Johnathan Katz-Moses' sleds (featured in this YouTube video with free plans on his website):

 

As said above make something awkward where the blade exits the sled to serve a a reminder not to rest your fingers there.

 

Those are some good-looking sleds, Sansoo!

Can I ask how you decided the number of t-tracks to embed in the body of your sleds and where to position them?

I mean, how many is enough? Here are four intersecting t-tracks on one of Johnathan Katz-Moses sleds (featured in this YouTube video with free plans on his website):

- Nashvillian

The large sled I wanted 2 around the blade and placed them 3-3/4" on each side. The idea was to place them far enough from the blade the hold downs could be perpendicular to the blade and not get hit. I should have placed them 4" from the blade for that to work….live and learn. The third track was added just because I thought I might need one for some reason someday…still haven't used it.

The small sled I went with 4 total tracks and they are 2-1/2" from blade with 2-1/2" between the additional tracks as well. I have used most of these tracks as the small sled is my "small and/or awkward parts" sled.

I like the design of the Katz Moses sled in the image but I wouldn't want that to be my only sled. I like how you can set it up for just about any angle you want but getting it back to a "true" 90 seems a tad difficult. That true 90 is one reason we spend so much time with the 5 cut method and adjusting the back fence.

 

I ve got some newbie questions about crosscut sleds.


1. Is there a minimum of how thick the fences should be? If so, what is that dimension and why should it be that thick?

2. What would be the reason for having fences on the front and back of a crosscut sled? Isn t it enough to have only the fence that you use to push the sled?

3. If embedding t-track in the body of the sled in order to be able to clamp down the wood that s being cut, do you have, from your experience, any guidance on the best placement of the t-track (e.g. "x inches from and parallel to the blade" or "perpendicular to the blade and all the way to the outer edge of the sled," etc., etc.?

- Nashvillian

1. No absolute minimum, as long as it's stable enough for your work and provides the backing and or clamping surface you need.
2. For single sided sleds, one fence is enough. For two sided sleds the rear fence keeps the sled stable.
3. No single answer here. It really depends on what you prefer. A slot parallel to the blade is great for clamping down the front edge of you work regardless of width. Placement depends on what clamps you use so you can secure the material as close to the blade as you're comfortable with.
A slot perpendicular to the blade is an added help but if not in the correct position (distance from the fence) to far or too close to easily clamp, it can be a waste.
JMO