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Making mitre slot table runners

2K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  kimballd 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I am making William Ng's crosscut And mitre sleds. Videos below incase you wondered what they are. I am just hung up so far on the runners for under my sled. I need to make about 6 runners and the stipulation is I want the grain to be running strait up and down, so if there is wood movement it expands upwards and not punchy sideways. I went to the lumber store to get this magical piece of wood and brought home a dud. The lumber workers couldn't help my find a piece of wood the would be suitable. Hardwood with a grain like that. All the wood was painted on the ends and I could not see the grain at the end. Also to find a nice chunk like he does in the video wasn't possible. Most things were 5/4" that I was shown. Any advice. Thanks.

 
#2 ·
If you turn the wood a different direction, can you get the grain to be quartersawn?

In other words, if you look at the board as you brought it home, say it is 6" wide, by 4 feet long, by 5/4 thick. Instead of trying to cut a 3/4" wide piece (give or take the appropriate thousandths to make it the. right fit) out of the 6" face, cut a strip off the depth you need. Then, turn it clockwise or counterclockwise to make the grain go in a different direction.

Instead of this:

Rectangle Slope Font Ceiling Art


try this:

Rectangle Slope Font Art Drawing
 

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#3 ·
@Axis39

Thanks perhaps I am being too greedy with just hoping one piece could cut all 6 runners in a row like his video. He sized his to width than just cut off six from it. Your right I will perhaps have to go this route. Thanks. I feel like a bozo but am planning on putting a lot of work into this with fancy calibrating tools and all. I really don't wanna have to do them twice. Thanks!
 
#4 ·
I made a sled a while back out of Baltic birch. I saw a suggestion to use the BB plywood for making th runners and gave it a try. They have worked out well. My previous sled had hardwood runners which could be tight at different times of the year. The plywood runners have stayed consistent. I have yet to see how they wear but so far they are doing well.
 
#6 ·
I made a sled a while back out of Baltic birch. I saw a suggestion to use the BB plywood for making th runners and gave it a try. They have worked out well. My previous sled had hardwood runners which could be tight at different times of the year. The plywood runners have stayed consistent. I have yet to see how they wear but so far they are doing well.

- gtrgeo
I made mine out of plywood and they did great until I kept setting the sled down on edge which cause the plywood to separate. So if you use you may want to chamfer the leading edge a bit.
 
#7 ·
I have used 1/4" or 3/8" plywood on a number of projects … just chamfer the edges. I usually give mine a coat of water-based polyurethane. In either case, wax the runners and should be fine.
 
#9 · (Edited by Moderator)
I just wander over to the metal suppliers (scrappers-sellers) and buy a piece 3/8" thick, about four or 5' long and, say, 6" wide, then run it through my table saw.

Putting a bit of canning wax on the cut line makes a big difference in the noise and smoothness of the cut. With the piece described, I get several runners that last me years for everything from circle cutting jigs for the bandsaw, table saw sleds and so on.

Obviously, expansion and contraction is never a problem. I get them for a fraction of the price it would cost me to buy them (probably about twenty bucks for eight.

DO wear ear protection and eye protection. A face shield is nice because cutting them is a chip throwing affair.

A feather board is a must.

I broke down and bought a dedicated blade, but have used my 60 tooth carbide blades to cut them with great success.
 
#10 ·
Thanks everybody. You gave me some good food for thought.
@kelly You buy a piece of metal that's about 3/8" thick and cut it down on your table saw? I remember you can cut tin with the blade backwards but haven't heard of cutting metal that thick before.
 
#11 ·
The first time I saw aluminum being cut on a woodworking saw was at Keyport, Washington, at the Naval Torpedo Station, where the aluminum shop (yeah, they had one) had a Unisaw set up for just that purpose.

I hear about the backward blade approach and always have to wonder, WTH? Hammer the carbide tips from the back to see if you can knock them off? The Torpedo Station knew better than I, how it should be done, so I follow suit and run a blade ONLY the way it was designed to be ran.

Of course, nonferrous blades are available, and cheap. Especially since you are only cutting thin stock, so do not have to buy anything more than a circular saw blade [with a 5/8 arbor] as your dedicated aluminum blade.

I haven't cut a lot, but I've done a hundred or so feet of 3/8 aluminum with zero problems.

I added the canning wax because my Twin Cutter requires it for aluminum, or the aluminum will clog the two, opposite turning blades, so I figured it would help for regular cuts too. You can see the wax melting just in front of the cut and, as I mentioned, hear the difference in the cuts with the little bit of lubrication.
 
#12 ·
Straight up and down is Quarter Sawn.

Left to right you have Plain sawn, Rift sawn, and Quarter sawn approximation.

Rectangle Wood Font Beige Art


I like QS Hard Maple, you won't have too loose or too tight miter bars no matter what time of year. I believe William shows, and says this in the video. That is an awesome build video, and it does have a TON of info, so much so, before starting if you have ANY questions you should watch it again.

You should also watch Marc The Wood Whisperer Spagnuolo's video



Also Jonathan Katz Moses's video



Watch them all a few times, and triangulate the info, you'll find it vastly the same. Often said a different way it resonates better with you. William and Spago are almost the same video, just different guys saying the words. Jonathan does a great job of communicating what is most important.
 

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#13 ·
Thanks everybody. You gave me some good food for thought.
@kelly You buy a piece of metal that s about 3/8" thick and cut it down on your table saw? I remember you can cut tin with the blade backwards but haven t heard of cutting metal that thick before.

- BoomerBuilt
It would be a spledid idea if you didn't find out Metal needs a metal cutting blade on a bandsaw, not ANY blade on a TS. You will be MILES ahead if you DO NOT try to fabricate a metal bar, and instead buy one.
 
#14 · (Edited by Moderator)
thereaalSteveN, note we are talking about cutting aluminum and not steel and such. And, as noted, it is quite common to use table saws for that purpose and it is for that reason one can buy blades for such operations.

As to "miles ahead," many of us make many jigs that require guides over the years. As such, cutting your own can save you a bundle.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DIABLO-7-1-4-in-x-56-Teeth-Laminate-Non-Ferrous-Metal-Cutting-Blade-D0756N/202035231

Wheel Font Circle Auto part Graphics


Here is one page discussing the matter: https://www.circlesaw.com/blog/how-do-i-cut-aluminum/
 

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#15 ·
Thanks again all
@therealSteveN I totally agree that Williams video is intense. I have watched it lots and will be watching it every step of the way as well when i build it. I will actually be checking out those other videos now! I really actually wanted to make a mitre sled but to do that i need to make a crosscut sled first…. oh well i needed one of those too!
Janessa
 
#16 ·
Janessa, you can build sleds to be smaller in size, obviously smaller parts capacity too, but I've found the smaller ones seem to be easier to get right.

Kelly I'll stick with my statement that metals are best cut on a BS, rather than a TS. If for no other reason than those chips are heading straight down on the BS, rather than flying at my eyes on the TS. Eyewear, space suits, and whatnot notwithstanding.
 
#17 ·
Go to a lumber yard and buy a piece of Ipe decking. That stuff is rock hard and stable. cut and sand to size and wax it and your done. 1×4 is about $3.50-4.00 a foot. The usually have random lengths and you could probably buy one 6 footer. I have 20 year old sled that still works great.

Good luck, Kimball
 
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