Miter Guides

[Albertt62]

Hi All!,

I want to make a cross cut sled for my 510 (like the stumpy nubs mega sled).

I’d like to take advantage of the t tracks in the main table, so I can make wider crosscuts keeping everything in line with the blade out worrying about tipping over the front or back.

I think the bars shopsmith sells may be shorter than I’d like.

Has anyone else used any bars from any other sources?

[dusty]

I suspect that you will look long and hard to find either miter tracks or miter bars that fit all of your Shopsmith accessories. They are not a standard width.
I use the miter tracks from Shopsmith along with their miter bars but because the miter bars were too short I augmented each of the bars with shop made hard wood extensions. My cross cut sled, assembled as just described, has served me well for several years. I will soon clone that sled because I have nearly cut through the rear rail with the table set too low (too deep a cut). Pure carelessness.

I also have an extension table that has been equipped with a miter track. Don't use it often but when I need it (along with a miter gauge) it comes in really handy. Sometimes I use two miler gauges and a long (temporary fence) as a cross cut sled.

[Albertt62]

What do you think about running 2 bars in one slot and one centered in the other slot to negate the chance of the sled hanging on the gap between the two bars.

[Gene Howe]

Making miter bars from UHMW would be my suggestion.
A 12X24 piece will only run you about $25.

[newportcycle]

I made a sled with Zeroplay Miter bars, works perfectly. They arent very long but I offset them by a few inches.

[algale]

Incra sells all their miter gauges and miter sleds in Shopsmith versions that are equipped with miter bars that fit the Shopsmith. Those miter bars are available for sale separately as replacement items. You can see the miter bar for the Shopsmith version of the Miter 5000 sled is listed as item 8B p/n PM5K-700200 for $39.95. Not cheap but excellent.

https://www.incra.com/info/Miter5000.pdf

[garys]

When I made my crosscut sled I simply made miter bars from a hardwood scrap. Oak, maple, or hickory are hard and well suited for the job. If you cut them slightly oversize and then sand them for a close fit, they fit and work as well as metal ones would work, and will be just as accurate. If done carefully, there will be no side to side movement once the sled is assembled, and you can't get closer than that.

[rjent]

Using some examples for the masters here on the forum, you can also make the miter bars (as I have) from the Nylon (?) cutting board material from Sams club. Making them from that material has worked very well for me.

[Albertt62]

I could cut my bars from hardwood or plastic, however, I wanted to take advantage of the t-slots to hold the sled up when it is too far forward (ie: cabinet sides) or too far back.

Otherwise, I'd be at Walmart looking at plastic cutting boards...

[thunderbirdbat]

Could you use a washer that was inset to the runner so it is not below the bottom of the runner to catch the t-slot?