Another crosscut sled question

[Salty]

I have the stuff to build one now and found a link to a simple design.
From Woodcraft: www.woodcraft.com/articles.aspx?articleid=343
I hope that is OK to link to that article.
Anyway, it looks as though the fence face is on the side farthest away from the operator.
That is contrary to most examples I have seen. Would this give a better sled in that it would be easier to get the cut started and be more stable sice you would be holding the piece down at the center of the saw instead of trying to push it through from 2 feet away.
It may also make cutting 24" wide stock easier because you can have the outfeed table catching the board through the 2nd half of the cut.
Has anyone build one like this?

Thanks.

Salty

[drumpriest]

It's a good quote Salty, I was first thinking that it shouldn't make any difference, but then I realized that the action of the saw blade is going to want to push the piece it is cutting back and down. A traditional sled has the fence where it can support the work in the direction that the blade would push it. I think I'd just feel better having a rear fence, and maybe some clamps built onto it. Mine has a rear fence and I've not had any issues with it.

Mine does run in both miter slots, I think that's a bit better than the rockler style sleds that run in 1 slot and have something on the other side to catch the cut off.

[LCHIEN]

i have seen instances where the fence was positioned as you saw in the article. In fact the BT3 FAQ lists that as a way to increase the cross-cut capacity of the standard BT3 sled, by reversing it and using hte fence away from you to pull the work through.

[Pappy]

I like the idea of a sacrificial fence with a zero clearance kerf cut but, like Kieth, I would worry about the stock being pushed back by the blade. A solution might be to add a T slot for a moveable stop block to hold the stock against the fence.

[eezlock]

another crosscut sled question

Salty, I haven't built the one that you linked to at Woodcraft but, mine is of the same design (my own design as it is). I have had both types in the past
and the reason I now use the fence forward design is, it is smaller, lighter in weight, easier to handle on and off the saw, easier to store when not being used, takes less room to store it, and overall easier to build and still does the job with less overall handling!

Someone else eluded to the fact that a fence forward design, would be harder to control because of the blade trying to lift the stock from the sled.
I installed a piece of T-track in my sled and made a clamping feature with a toggle clamp holddown that can be moved to any position needed to provide extra holding capability when needed....works pretty good too! The T-track is in the middle of the sled, running parallel with saw blade, and is useful when needed. Hope this is what you were thinking about....eezlock

[drumpriest]

Pappy, you can still have a sacrificial zero clearance fence, it's just behind the cut, where it matters most anyway. That's another good point, you are more likely to get chip out at the end of the cut with a sled whose fence is at the front, especially in veneers.

[poolhound]

Sleds with this type of design are really panel cutting sleds, I think thats even what woodcraft calls it. They are primarily for trimming & trueing up the edges of panels although they could be used for general x cutting. They are easy to build, here is a link to a post showing the dropdead simple one I made.

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=38787&highlight=sled

A traditional x-cut sled has supports for the workpiece on both sides of the blade and has fences at both ends to support the base otherwise it would fall in half. In this form the front fence is usually used to register the workpiece.

[messmaker]

I had one with my old saw. It worked just fine. I built a double runner for my new saw. I guess it is sturdier but it is also about 4x as heavy.

[LarryG]

What Jon said ... that's a panel-cutting sled, and its intended purpose is different from a crosscut sled.

I use my panel cutting sled facing both ways, i.e. fence closest to me or fence farthest from me, by swapping it to the miter slot on the other side of the blade. The determining factor is the size of the panel being cut: positioning the fence farthest away from me allows a wider (front-to-back) panel to be cut. When used this way, I've not found the blade trying to push the stock toward me to be an issue.

[radhak]

Salty, I haven't built the one that you linked to at Woodcraft but, mine is of the same design (my own design as it is)...

Pictures please...!

Can never tire of seeing pictures - full-bodied, shapely or naked, pics of shop-built jigs are always something to look forward to...

[scmhogg]

This is my crosscut sled.



This is the stop that prvents the blade from coming out of the protection block.



Steve

[Salty]

Sleds with this type of design are really panel cutting sleds, I think thats even what woodcraft calls it. They are primarily for trimming & trueing up the edges of panels although they could be used for general x cutting. They are easy to build, here is a link to a post showing the dropdead simple one I made.

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=38787&highlight=sled

A traditional x-cut sled has supports for the workpiece on both sides of the blade and has fences at both ends to support the base otherwise it would fall in half. In this form the front fence is usually used to register the workpiece.

Jon;
That is basically the same kind of jig. I was not considering the term 'crosscut sled' as being different than a panel cutting sled. My mistake.
The other one I had made used a fence at the back and was difficult to get started straight. I figured this was because most of the sled was hanging out over the table and I was holding onto the edge furthest away from the table. With this design you would be pressing the panel against the table at the beginning of the cut and the bulk of the jig would be sliding onto the outfeed table during the last part of the cut.
As for chipout, going slow at the last bit usually helps this or a small backup piece can be used as well.
I really don't see the difference as far as the blade cutting into the piece is concerned. The teeth will still begin by cutting on a downward angle and will always have a tendency to push back, same as any other cut.

[poolhound]

Jon;
That is basically the same kind of jig. I was not considering the term 'crosscut sled' as being different than a panel cutting sled. My mistake.
The other one I had made used a fence at the back and was difficult to get started straight. I figured this was because most of the sled was hanging out over the table and I was holding onto the edge furthest away from the table. With this design you would be pressing the panel against the table at the beginning of the cut and the bulk of the jig would be sliding onto the outfeed table during the last part of the cut.
As for chipout, going slow at the last bit usually helps this or a small backup piece can be used as well.
I really don't see the difference as far as the blade cutting into the piece is concerned. The teeth will still begin by cutting on a downward angle and will always have a tendency to push back, same as any other cut.

I think thats why most panel cutting sleds have the fence at the leading edge (front). With a true X-cut sled such as the one shown by scmhogg it straddles both sides of the blade and the majority of the weight stays on the table or outfeed so wont (or shouldnt) tip.

I agree with you on the teeth issue. Support for the underside of the cut is inherenet in both sled types. Adding a backer piece as necessary should eliminate tearout.