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MicroJig Sled

2K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  Ed3443 
#1 ·
last weekend I saw a demo on the Micro Jig Sled project and thought this could come in handy. So I knew I had the parts at home and decided this would get done. Took my time and finished this afternoon. I made that additional fence which actually works well to capture the piece against the fence as well as being able to set it at any angle.

I did use the Top Coat finish but only 3 coats with light sanding between coats (220 grit). The Aux fence is 1" maple left over from the 3-in-1 project. I also added two stop blocks for repetitive cuts although 1 is sufficient. I had the wood and hardware hence the spare. The sled measures 16x22 and is built so you can mount the miter slot guide for both configurations, 16x22 or 22x16. The center screw of the 3 stays and the miter guide rotates 90 degrees. I added the additional holes so it line up for use on my router table. I may make a smaller one for the band saw if I see a need.

And for those saw dust cops, yes I get it on the floor although it doesn't stay long. That table saw router insert wind sure lets the saw dust fly......but really comes in handy. I would have had to remove the router table fence to get the inner dovetail slots had I not had the insert.
 

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#3 · (Edited)
Nice job Steve. I like the stop blocks on it. I just clamp one to mine but I think that would be faster and easier. I find with the one runner design that there is and are sweet spots where your hands should go depending on whether you use one or two hands to push with. To make a 2 runner sled that would have the same range as a 1 runner sled would make it so large that you'd have to find a good storage space to keep it from being in the way when you aren't using it.

Looking at the design makes me think that a worthy add on might be one of those paper measuring tapes just above the stop blocks. They hold up fairly well if you add a coat or two of varathane over them after you apply them. If you cut something using a stop block then you could measure it's length and add the tape so that it landed right where the stop block is. I may have to build me another one now.
 
#4 ·
Rick see here https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=BL0dDfimOrk&feature=emb_logo

Chuck, one thought I had afterwards was adding a rotating piece to the fence right hand side (away from table saw blade) and back to square to the base but then I use the square to check anyway now. I'm a creature of habit even though I have my fence calibrated each time after a blade switch I still double check the distance from blade tooth to fence before making any cuts. That old saying measure twice , cut once. And I double check the plan size versus what I set it too as I've cut a few too short in the past. STM (Short Term Memory) is not always a great as I'd like.

Probably one of it really strong points is the ability to set the fence at any angle and lock that down. The second auxiliary fence can lock that in place. That along with the locking spacer you get repeatable angled cuts. Now this won't replace my large sled but it seems to work well for the smaller pieces. Any larger and I'd add a second miter guide as you need to be careful when using it as a 16" wide sled. The miter guide is only 9" long and on mine is installed on the lower left corner with the middle of 3 holes located equal distant from the 2 corners so it can be rotated 90 degrees with the center screw in. I added a second set of holes to accommodate the router table.
 
#5 ·
Steve if the sled is on the same side of the blade as the saw arbor is then you don't need to worry much about the distance being the same since the blade flushes up against the saw arbor and that never changes unless you add a blade stabilizer on that side of the blade. The side away from the arbor changes. There may be a tiny difference because of differences in plate thickness and tooth width but we're talking about gnat hairs regarding that.

I don't know if you did it but usually when you make one of those sleds you make it slightly long on the blade side and the first pass with the sled is to cut off the excess. After that all you need to do is line your cut mark flush with the edge of the sled because you already know that's where the saw blade will cut. It's the same with the two runner sled where you can line up with either side of the saw cut in it.

I originally used a UHMW PE runner but I wanted to extend the runner out past the edges of the sled front and rear so that it could accurately do wider pieces (plus I don't have any strips attached at the front of the sled for the same reason). The plastic runner is about as limber as cooked spaghetti when it isn't supported but the hardwood runner I put on instead has worked well and sticks out about 8" front and back.
 
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