# Do you use your miter slot for sleds, etc?



## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Howdy...
While surfing through Peachtree, I found almost* exactly what I was hoping someone would make: Miter slot tee-bar with the retainers for the miter slot's tee bottom. Looks like a big step up in safety, and for only $12.99 per 32" piece or $15.99 per 48" piece. For that price and the safety it provides, it seems like a no-brainer for me.

T-Track and T-Track Accessories

It's towards the bottom, under "Standard Miter T-bar".


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Jim:

What would you be using this for? My brain isn't registering. Sorry.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Ron,

I would use it in a crosscut sled. IT would not only give me guides in both miter slots, but they'd be held down to the table. Then, if I chose to affix the wood to the sled, it couldn't raise on the blade. That should help prevent kickback.

I'm thinking one day I may want to build a long (6'-8'), wide (30-36"), thick-topped (~3") workbench and when crosscutting the end for an end vise the last thing I ever want to see is how fast and how far my saw can fling that benchtop!

Binding on the blade would be bad news!



allthunbs said:


> Jim:
> 
> What would you be using this for? My brain isn't registering. Sorry.


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

BigJimAK said:


> Ron,
> 
> I would use it in a crosscut sled. IT would not only give me guides in both miter slots, but they'd be held down to the table. Then, if I chose to affix the wood to the sled, it couldn't raise on the blade. That should help prevent kickback.
> 
> ...


Some random thoughts on cutting the workbench top...

I'd rather use a circular saw and guide. But that would probably take two passes (topside and bottom side). To keep the saw aligned I'd make a guide for the saw plate to ride and also try to figure out a set of stops for the guide's back edge so that I could align the guide once, cut, then flip the guide to the other side and it would re-register against the stops. This is harder to describe than what I have visualized. I can try drawing a picture if you wish.

Now on the table saw, I'm not certain even a 5HP cabinet saw could throw an 8' long, 3' wide, 3" top. I'd be more inclined to believe the blade would get bent. Both events are pretty exciting!

You could have so much weight out to the side that the cross cut sled is going to want to lift out of its own accord. Having the little washer gizmos in the rails will stop it lifting out but they won't stop the sled from lifting UP whatever small amount of vertical slop is possible. You are going to be fighting the weight of the workpiece and the extra friction of a possibly wedged washer gizmo while trying to push the top through. Not to mention needing nearly 4" of exposed blade to cut a 3" top plus the probably 3/4" sled thickness.

All that said, using the washer-gizmo style runners on a sled for normal size stuff isn't too bad an idea. And if you are thinking about making a single runner style panel cutting jig, the anti-lift runners are really a good idea. I made one with a single oak runner and while it works (by the way, extend the runner on this style several inches in front of the sled's leading edge) I sometimes feel like I don't have as much control as I'd like when the panel sled is pulled way back and I'm trying to start a cut.


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

BigJimAK said:


> Ron,
> 
> I would use it in a crosscut sled. IT would not only give me guides in both miter slots, but they'd be held down to the table. Then, if I chose to affix the wood to the sled, it couldn't raise on the blade. That should help prevent kickback.
> 
> ...


Ah, through confusion comes understanding. Now I see what you're saying. For me, I made a crosscut sled like the one Norm Abrahams uses. I used a piece of oak in place of your UHMW. My sled will handle stuff up to 4' long without requiring additional support.


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## Swallow (Jan 13, 2010)

As for the bench cutting why not use a chain saw? No seriously and then clean it up with say a double flute 4" straight router bit, it's what I did with mine.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

You could always use a D9 with a ripper tooth on the tail end and then use a router to clean it up..if you can find it. 

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