Build a Better Crosscut Sled

摘要

Soon after I began teaching woodworking at Palomar College in southern California, I knew we needed a more reliable method for clean, accurate crosscuts. Our miter gauges and beat-up crosscut sleds just weren't cutting it. I considered the traditional crosscut sled design and thought we could do better. Standard sleds start out with a clean slot in the base and fence, which fits perfectly around the blade that cut it, preventing splintery blowout on the back and bottom edges of cuts. The zero-clearance blade slot also shows you exactly where the blade will cut, making it easy to hit your pencil mark perfectly. But that clean kerf doesn't last long. The moment you change the blade, angle it, or worse yet, use a stack of dado blades, the slot gets blown out-and its zero-clearance benefits along with it.