# Need advice about table saw sled build



## trojan62 (13 Apr 2012)

hi everyone,
just need a bit of advice from those a bit cleverer than me.
ive been trying to build myself a table sled for my new table saw, had i about a month, an erbauer, a really good saw.
my problem is making the wooden runners, the rest of the sled is no problem.
i cannot seem to make the runners a perfect fit, its usually way too tight, youll see in the pics why its a bit of a pipper to make them fit well.
as in the pics, the table saw slots are not straight open slots, they have a few metal ridges that come out along the track, this for me, makes it very difficult to get precise fittings for the runner. obviously, without these little edge bits it would be a piece of cake.
anyway, does someone have any good tricks i could use to sort this out.
ive thought of cutting the ridges off, but as its a new tools, im a bit loath to do this.

any help welcome.

thanks.


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## MickCheese (13 Apr 2012)

Could you make the runners a good fit in the slot but the top of the runners (The bit where they attach to the sled) the same width as the nibs. You would have to slide the sled into the slots and it would be captured by the T shaped runners but it would allow you to micro fit the runners.

Mick


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## knappers (13 Apr 2012)

It looks as though the nibs don't go to the bottom of the slot... Could you make runners shaped like an inverted T in cross section?

Si.


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## Rob Platt (5 May 2012)

i dont have slots in my table saw so i used the outside of the table and made certain that the blade was parallel with the sides.
hth
all the best
rob


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## TheTiddles (19 May 2012)

Rob Platt":34vz907z said:


> i dont have slots in my table saw so i used the outside of the table and made certain that the blade was parallel with the sides.
> hth
> all the best
> rob



This is what I did with my old Charnwood, the slots were the same as yours

Aidan


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## caretaker (13 Jun 2012)

I two am making a sledge but the kerf, the bit of metal that sits behind the blade seems to be to high as I have fitted a smaller blade.
What I would like to do is cut the kerf down about an inch in keeping with the blade, would this work ok?
My machine is a home made one, (not by me) but works a treat and i only use it for small jobs (toys).
Reg


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## Steve Maskery (15 Jun 2012)

Reg,
What you call the "kerf" is either a riving knife or a splitter, depending on its shape. The kerf is not an item, it is the width of the saw cut. On a TS this is usually 1/8", unless it is a thin-kerf blade, when it may be a 2.2,, kerf or even a 1.8mm kerf.

A riving knife (RK) should be the same curvature as the blade, near enough, on its inside edge and should hug the blade to within 3 - 8mm. A splitter is a poor substitute for a RK and is not recommended as it doesn't do the job anywhere near as well.

S


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## redmoorphil (2 Jul 2012)

How about using some plastic drawer runners and space them off the bottom of the sled by using small washers. That way they would slide underneath the problem parts. I remember reading somewhere that if you use plastic runners you can slightly alter their width to get a good fit by either tightening or loosening the screws/bolts holding them to the bottom of the sled as tightening them will slightly compress the plastic making it wider.


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## andersonec (10 Jul 2012)

If you have a router table then all you need to do is cut your strips to fit the channel full size, make a very small rebate both edges of one side of your strip so that it will slide, drill some holes in the strip and countersink , fit it into the channel with some double sided tape on the top side, place the sled and firm down onto double sided tape, slide out, turn it over and screw the strips to the sled.

Andy


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