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I recently bought a new table saw, Sawstop Jobsite. I had wanted a SS for a long time but never had a good place to put/use it until now. I also have a granddaughter who I hope to interest in woodworking. I wanted a cabinet saw but just don't have the room for it. The JS is quite perfect for my current space situation, which I see being the case well into the future. I've had it for a week and am thrilled with it.
But, to the point, or to the question(s)...
I've been looking at a number of different crosscut and miter sled designs. There are so many. Too many to sort out immediately. I think I'll build a basic crosscut sled just to get started and see what more I really want/need. But, I do want to get some feedback on some considerations and on some options of interest to me.
Primarily, which side of the blade for the off-cuts or drop-offs. Of course, I've seen sleds both ways. I used a RAS for decades and it was my only saw most of that time. As a result, my muscle memory is for my left hand to hold the workpiece and my first inclination is to build a sled with the workpiece on the left and the off-cuts come off on the right.
But, the SS JS is left-tilting which means the blades go on/come off on the right side. That could suggest having a sled where the workpiece is on the left and the off-cuts fall off the right and would suit my proclivities. I'm going to call that type of sled "left-handed" and visa versa.
The concern I have is that the left side of the table is the short side (edge 13" from the blade). On the right side, the edge of the table with the extension in, is 18" and 30" with the extension out. That, to me, suggests having a right-handed sled - due to the greater support. I realize that having a sled on the table can make the closeness of the edge a little bit moot, but I think it makes sense to take advantage of the support on the side where it is. I am sure I can retrain my muscle memory, with time, especially since I no longer have the RAS.
Which side the blades go on/come off may not matter much when using just saw blades, although for having a true zero clearance kerf slot, it might matter a little when different kerf width blades are used. It seems it matters a whole lot more when it comes to dado sets.
I saw one design, that I liked a lot, that had a moveable/replaceable section of the sled on the off-cut side that allowed for using dado stacks of differing widths and allowed for making zero clearance kerfs for those dado stacks. That design assumed the blades come off on that same side, so it was pretty straight-forward. That is not the case if the sled is right-handed and the blades come off on the right, which is what I think I'm looking at.
I think it would be fairly easy to make a right-handed sled that has a replaceable panel in the floor, on the right side, that would provide for making zero clearance kerfs for whatever blades are installed.
A bit of a long post, but I look forward to reading your thoughts.
Rick
But, to the point, or to the question(s)...
I've been looking at a number of different crosscut and miter sled designs. There are so many. Too many to sort out immediately. I think I'll build a basic crosscut sled just to get started and see what more I really want/need. But, I do want to get some feedback on some considerations and on some options of interest to me.
Primarily, which side of the blade for the off-cuts or drop-offs. Of course, I've seen sleds both ways. I used a RAS for decades and it was my only saw most of that time. As a result, my muscle memory is for my left hand to hold the workpiece and my first inclination is to build a sled with the workpiece on the left and the off-cuts come off on the right.
But, the SS JS is left-tilting which means the blades go on/come off on the right side. That could suggest having a sled where the workpiece is on the left and the off-cuts fall off the right and would suit my proclivities. I'm going to call that type of sled "left-handed" and visa versa.
The concern I have is that the left side of the table is the short side (edge 13" from the blade). On the right side, the edge of the table with the extension in, is 18" and 30" with the extension out. That, to me, suggests having a right-handed sled - due to the greater support. I realize that having a sled on the table can make the closeness of the edge a little bit moot, but I think it makes sense to take advantage of the support on the side where it is. I am sure I can retrain my muscle memory, with time, especially since I no longer have the RAS.
Which side the blades go on/come off may not matter much when using just saw blades, although for having a true zero clearance kerf slot, it might matter a little when different kerf width blades are used. It seems it matters a whole lot more when it comes to dado sets.
I saw one design, that I liked a lot, that had a moveable/replaceable section of the sled on the off-cut side that allowed for using dado stacks of differing widths and allowed for making zero clearance kerfs for those dado stacks. That design assumed the blades come off on that same side, so it was pretty straight-forward. That is not the case if the sled is right-handed and the blades come off on the right, which is what I think I'm looking at.
I think it would be fairly easy to make a right-handed sled that has a replaceable panel in the floor, on the right side, that would provide for making zero clearance kerfs for whatever blades are installed.
A bit of a long post, but I look forward to reading your thoughts.
Rick