Crosscut Sled

[allsas]

Reccommend making a saw guidefor YOUR circular (SKIL)saw. Then lay the panel on saw horses or a sheet of foam insulation. That would allow you to break up the 4' x 8' panel.

I assume that you could make finish cuts for cabinet sized panels with practice. With an aluminum fence, you should cut a strip or block to offset the fence the right distance for your saw.

Good question, maybe post a new thread to get experts to say what they use.

Disclaimer: My guide is glued up, and laying under the car. I haven't trimmed the extra off so that I can lay it on the line, clamp it, and cut. The edge of the guide acts as a zero clearance giude for one side of the cut. The link in the first paragraph was the first one that DOGPILE.COM search engine found. There are a lot of free plans and videos for making saw and router guides!

[mickyd]

Stupid question.. If I wanted to make some cabinet carcasses for the garage or otherwise (kitchen,etc) and working with sheets of MDF or other cabinet grade plywood, is this the tool of choice for cutting those 4x8 sheets to size or would it be easier to use something like a worm-drive skil saw running up against an aluminum fence? I would agree that if you could fanagle the 4x8 sheet up and cut it (and keep it running straight) on the SS, that it would probably be straighter than using a hand tool.. I'm just thinking because I'd really like to build some cabinets in the house and am not sure what the best set of tools to do the job is with regards to the SS.. I've only got a 510 and it does have some sort of MDF like table I got from the previous owner (never used it yet) but don't have any sort of panel jig,etc.

This SawDust sessionis worth a million $$$.

Don't forget that we now have a great index that cowboyplus created that shows the content of the sawdust sessions. http://cowboyplus.net/video.html It comes off the thread https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=3575&highlight=sawdust+session

[osx-addict]

Thanks guys.. I'll look into both suggestions.

[wdelliott]

wdelliot,

If you are modifying a Shopsmith cross cut sled and you ever use it for miter cuts, think it through reall carefully. If you mount it too close to the blade, it may interfer with the cut line.

I don't move mine for miter cuts. The fence stays at 90 degrees all the time.

I wish that I had mounted my fence right on the kerf so that the end of the fence was 0.0" from the blade (almost).

If I had it to do over again, I would use two 510 fences instead.

Dusty,
I obtained, finally, two 510 fences and am starting on your design on the cross-cut sled. I wanted to ask a follow-up on the alignment of the fences. I'm understanding that you would move your fence right up to the cut line of the blade. Is there an issue about the blade movement so that I would need to keep a 1/4 or 1/2 inch distance from the kerf line? In other words, did you mean literally to set the fence as close as possible to the kerf line?

By the way, I'll keep my fence at 90 degrees, so there will not be an issue concerning moving the fence.

Thanks again.

[dkerfoot]

Reccommend making a saw guidefor YOUR circular (SKIL)saw. Then lay the panel on saw horses or a sheet of foam insulation. That would allow you to break up the 4' x 8' panel.

Ditto on the saw guide for large sheet goods.. I have mine set for my circular saw on one edge and my router with favorite dado bit on the other. The beauty of them is the edge of the guide is the exact edge of the cut line (since you create the edge using the same tool & blade/bit that you will be using it with).

I never use the SS tablesaw. I have a Craftsman 21829 (currently $100 of if you are a Craftsman Club member - free membership) which includes a built in crosscut sled. http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10155_ ... 921829000P
Works great on either side of the blade and for miters. The rails can be moved right or left, so it has tremendous cross-cut capacity for a portable saw.

The 21829 folds up and stows away in a tiny footprint. It really is a great compliment to the MK5. It is amazing how much I can do with these two tools in a 10' x 11' shop!

.

[dusty]

Dusty,
I obtained, finally, two 510 fences and am starting on your design on the cross-cut sled. I wanted to ask a follow-up on the alignment of the fences. I'm understanding that you would move your fence right up to the cut line of the blade. Is there an issue about the blade movement so that I would need to keep a 1/4 or 1/2 inch distance from the kerf line? In other words, did you mean literally to set the fence as close as possible to the kerf line?

By the way, I'll keep my fence at 90 degrees, so there will not be an issue concerning moving the fence.

Thanks again.

I must apologize for having never responded to this question regarding the cross cut sled. I do not recall having read your post.

Yes, I did mean to locate the cross cut sled right up against the blade (with the left edge on the kerf line). In this manner, the left end of the fence is the reference point for the cut. This makes positioning materials for a cut very simple and very accurate.

My eye sight is not what it once was (though better than before cataract surgery) and I need all the help I can get.

Notice in this thread that I show a tape measure mounted on my sled fence. This tape measure was graduated in 1/16" increments. That is no longer good enough. The Shopsmith deserves to be marked off in at least 1/32" increments]if you can read the markings[/I]. The machine will certainly hold to those tolerances.

[8iowa]

Dusty:

I've had the Shopsmith crosscut sled for many years and have gotten a lot of good use out of it. The sled is great for crosscutting long boards that exceed the miter gauge's rather limited capacity.

That said, I also have the Incra 5000 which is the ultimate precision crosscut sled. It can easily cut boards precisely square (or precisely mitered) and precisely the same length.

[burkhome]

I use a home made sled. Admittedly I don't really use the saw on my SS very often as I have a Delt Unisaw. I made my crosscut sled similer to the one Norm Abram uses. I use an adjustable stop via a t slot on top of the fence. I use it often and have found it to be very accurate. I guess I have built several over the years. Each one incorporates another feature that I need for a particular project.

Roger

[shipwright]

Quote:Aluminum is quite easy to work with. I am told it can be cut on the table saw with a carbide blade but I have not done that (yet).

Interesting thread. I have a big saw so I don't have trouble with large panels,but I do make up special purpose sleds occasionally.

Dusty, I have worked with lots of aluminium and it can be cut with any woodworking tool (pretty much) but there are tricks. First of all, and the reason I am posting this, is that carbide is not only not necessary but can be dangerous. Because aluminum is harder than wood it can sometimes cause the carbide chips to become projectiles from a high speed saw blade.
Tricks:
1) When cutting aluminum use oil to prevent the metal from gumming up the teeth.
2) When sanding or grinding aluminium use bees wax on the disc to prevent gumming up the grinding medium. I refer to angle grinder type discs here, I've never tried bees wax on an expensive grinding wheel (and I wouldn't)

Paul M

[dusty]

Quote:Aluminum is quite easy to work with. I am told it can be cut on the table saw with a carbide blade but I have not done that (yet).

Interesting thread. I have a big saw so I don't have trouble with large panels,but I do make up special purpose sleds occasionally.

Dusty, I have worked with lots of aluminium and it can be cut with any woodworking tool (pretty much) but there are tricks. First of all, and the reason I am posting this, is that carbide is not only not necessary but can be dangerous. Because aluminum is harder than wood it can sometimes cause the carbide chips to become projectiles from a high speed saw blade.
Tricks:
1) When cutting aluminum use oil to prevent the metal from gumming up the teeth.
2) When sanding or grinding aluminium use bees wax on the disc to prevent gumming up the grinding medium. I refer to angle grinder type discs here, I've never tried bees wax on an expensive grinding wheel (and I wouldn't)

Paul M

Now I must be more careful. I had never been warned about losing a carbide tip while cutting aluminum and though I cut very little on the table saw, I do on occasion.

I usually use the bandsaw.

Do I read you right..shipwright..are you saying that I can safely cut aluminum using a steel blade is I use oil????