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Wedgie Sled/Small Parts Sled

2067 Views 3 Replies 2 Participants Last post by MrWolfe, Dec 9, 2020

MrWolfe

Discussion Starter · Dec 9, 2020

Wedgie Sled/Small Parts Sled

I've just bought a mini-lathe (Rikon 70-100). It is used but in excellent condition and it came with a lot of lathe tools, carbide tools, live centers and face plates and tackle box full of pen parts and barrels that I may not use (not sure yet). I've still managed to spend a lot more on other accessories to go with it.

I've just build a wedgie sled/small parts sled to go with it.

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I got the basic design from a youtube video by 3×3Custom - Tamar that someone else shared in another recent post.
Here is the video…

I already have a great miter gauge with an extension so I skipped that part of the sled build and just made a small parts sled with clamps and adjustable fences for making wedges. I'll skip the build part because the video is very well made and easy to follow.

I did use some cheap but well made hardware from ebay and aliexpress but I did not realize that they are not the same specs as the much more expensive hardware you can get from the US. So… I had to modify a lot of it. All the t-tracks were slightly different dimensions and the t-bolts did not work with all of them. I used 1/4 20 bolts and nuts to replace the oversized hardware on the t-track clamps and I had to file the stops a bit to get them to fit in the fence t-track.

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Anyway… a few mods later and it works great.

I will be using angle blocks along with some parallel blocks I already have to set up the angles on the sled.

These items can be found on Amazon.

Here is a site that describes using these blocks.
https://tracezero.net/2018/03/06/angle-setup-blocks-for-making-wedgie-setup-templates/

Anyway… my sled looks like Frankenstein's Monster compared to the one Tamar built but I can't wait to use it.
Jon

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HokieKen

· #2 · Dec 9, 2020

MrWolfe said:
Wedgie Sled/Small Parts Sled

I've just bought a mini-lathe (Rikon 70-100). It is used but in excellent condition and it came with a lot of lathe tools, carbide tools, live centers and face plates and tackle box full of pen parts and barrels that I may not use (not sure yet). I've still managed to spend a lot more on other accessories to go with it.

I've just build a wedgie sled/small parts sled to go with it.

I got the basic design from a youtube video by 3×3Custom - Tamar that someone else shared in another recent post.
Here is the video…

I already have a great miter gauge with an extension so I skipped that part of the sled build and just made a small parts sled with clamps and adjustable fences for making wedges. I'll skip the build part because the video is very well made and easy to follow.

I did use some cheap but well made hardware from ebay and aliexpress but I did not realize that they are not the same specs as the much more expensive hardware you can get from the US. So… I had to modify a lot of it. All the t-tracks were slightly different dimensions and the t-bolts did not work with all of them. I used 1/4 20 bolts and nuts to replace the oversized hardware on the t-track clamps and I had to file the stops a bit to get them to fit in the fence t-track.

Anyway… a few mods later and it works great.

I will be using angle blocks along with some parallel blocks I already have to set up the angles on the sled.

These items can be found on Amazon.

Here is a site that describes using these blocks.
https://tracezero.net/2018/03/06/angle-setup-blocks-for-making-wedgie-setup-templates/

Anyway… my sled looks like Frankenstein's Monster compared to the one Tamar built but I can't wait to use it.
Jon

Excellent build Jon! I've only done one segmented turning but I can say that if I had taken the time to build this first, it would have gone much faster in the end. I just used my miter gauge but spent lots of time tuning mating pieces with a block plane to get better fits. You can bet I'll be making one of these before I attempt another one! Thanks for the link to the video. And fortunately I already have parallels and angle blocks

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MrWolfe

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 9, 2020

MrWolfe said:
Wedgie Sled/Small Parts Sled

I've just bought a mini-lathe (Rikon 70-100). It is used but in excellent condition and it came with a lot of lathe tools, carbide tools, live centers and face plates and tackle box full of pen parts and barrels that I may not use (not sure yet). I've still managed to spend a lot more on other accessories to go with it.

I've just build a wedgie sled/small parts sled to go with it.

I got the basic design from a youtube video by 3×3Custom - Tamar that someone else shared in another recent post.
Here is the video…

I already have a great miter gauge with an extension so I skipped that part of the sled build and just made a small parts sled with clamps and adjustable fences for making wedges. I'll skip the build part because the video is very well made and easy to follow.

I did use some cheap but well made hardware from ebay and aliexpress but I did not realize that they are not the same specs as the much more expensive hardware you can get from the US. So… I had to modify a lot of it. All the t-tracks were slightly different dimensions and the t-bolts did not work with all of them. I used 1/4 20 bolts and nuts to replace the oversized hardware on the t-track clamps and I had to file the stops a bit to get them to fit in the fence t-track.

Anyway… a few mods later and it works great.

I will be using angle blocks along with some parallel blocks I already have to set up the angles on the sled.

These items can be found on Amazon.

Here is a site that describes using these blocks.
https://tracezero.net/2018/03/06/angle-setup-blocks-for-making-wedgie-setup-templates/

Anyway… my sled looks like Frankenstein's Monster compared to the one Tamar built but I can't wait to use it.
Jon

Thanks Kenny,
I think the parallel blocks and angle blocks will make the segments much more accurate.

Here is an update with some issues I've fixed and elements of the sled that were missing from the original post.

Here are the make shift 3/8 t-bolts that I rigged. I would definitely use the correct hardware if you have access to it. I was actually happy with myself and the solution I came up with.

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I used carriage bolts that I had on hand and ground them down with a disk sander and also a grinder.

The fences I created didn't have the angles cut on the ends to allow them to be placed very close to the blade. So I went back and added some length to them then cut some 60 degree angles. Then I used the jointer to make certain the fences are completely flat again.

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The last thing I've added is the safety block over the 45 degree cut line on the fence.

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Thanks for looking.
Jon

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MrWolfe

Discussion Starter · #4 · Dec 9, 2020

MrWolfe said:
Wedgie Sled/Small Parts Sled

I've just bought a mini-lathe (Rikon 70-100). It is used but in excellent condition and it came with a lot of lathe tools, carbide tools, live centers and face plates and tackle box full of pen parts and barrels that I may not use (not sure yet). I've still managed to spend a lot more on other accessories to go with it.

I've just build a wedgie sled/small parts sled to go with it.

I got the basic design from a youtube video by 3×3Custom - Tamar that someone else shared in another recent post.
Here is the video…

I already have a great miter gauge with an extension so I skipped that part of the sled build and just made a small parts sled with clamps and adjustable fences for making wedges. I'll skip the build part because the video is very well made and easy to follow.

I did use some cheap but well made hardware from ebay and aliexpress but I did not realize that they are not the same specs as the much more expensive hardware you can get from the US. So… I had to modify a lot of it. All the t-tracks were slightly different dimensions and the t-bolts did not work with all of them. I used 1/4 20 bolts and nuts to replace the oversized hardware on the t-track clamps and I had to file the stops a bit to get them to fit in the fence t-track.

Anyway… a few mods later and it works great.

I will be using angle blocks along with some parallel blocks I already have to set up the angles on the sled.

These items can be found on Amazon.

Here is a site that describes using these blocks.
https://tracezero.net/2018/03/06/angle-setup-blocks-for-making-wedgie-setup-templates/

Anyway… my sled looks like Frankenstein's Monster compared to the one Tamar built but I can't wait to use it.
Jon

I've just added a blog that goes into detail about the wedges I've cut on this sled and the first glue-up and turning from it.
Here is the link New To Me Rikon Lathe

and a couple of pics of the bowl turned from the wedges.