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Posted (edited)

So after many hours spelunking down a youtube rabbit-hole on table saw sleds and jigs, I decided to design and build my own.

 

My CAD file titles it "Matt's Makita Super Sled", but I guess the "Super" part can only be verified once it'm done, and it works.

 

After measuring, drafting, and spending WAY too much time and money procuring materials, the build began...

 

Runners/Sliders:

 

I started off buying some HDPE strips from a specialist woodworking shop. They claimed to be the perfect size fro mitre slots (3/4" x 3/8"... I hate imperial, but anyway). They slid well, but had some lateral play, so went for the more traditional hardwood option. Local hardware store had kwila decking planks. They were cheap and the thickness happened to be perfect for the mitre slot width, bonus!

 

I ripped down a bunch of them, then test fitted and selected the 2 best ones.

 

I used the "penny" (or NZ 10c piece) and superglue trick to fasten them to the sled base (18mm ply), before driving in some screws.

 

post-10758-0-91811800-1616359006_thumb.jpg

Here's the sled upside down with the hardwood runners being installed.

 

Base Options:

 

Most of my Youtube research has shown me that woodworkers either run dual runners if they want a crosscut sled (or something based on a crosscut sled) or a single if they want to be able to move to the sled to either of the mitre slots.

 

Fortunately with my little table saw has an extending base, so I can have 2 runners and still move it to each mitre slot to allow for different usage options.

 

  • Both runners in slots - crosscut sled applications
  • Right runner in left slot - bevel cut applications
  • Left runner in right slot - tapered cut or jointing applications

So I ran the base on the left (bevel) and right (square) slots to trim it down to the width. I haven't run it down the centre for the crosscut yet, as I need to build the front and back fences first or I end up with 2 sleds  :ph34r: :lol:

 

Accessorise:

 

The plan was to run some universal T track all over the top so that I can accessorise with hold down clamps, moving fences, stop blocks, etc.

 

I routed out a bunch or 19mm dados, and used the very sled and dados to cut down the T-track on the table saw (they say cutting alu is fine. I know the purists will cringe, but it worked well).

 

Once I had all the cut pieces, I epoxied and fastened the T-track into place. The screw were a pain as 12mm was the smallest I could get and they were too long so outcame the visegrips and angle grinder and I shortened them all so that they wouldn't protrude out the bottom of the sled base.

 

Progress so far:

 

So here it is... so far

 

post-10758-0-68093200-1616360486_thumb.jpg

Right runner in left slot for Bevel cuts.

 

post-10758-0-65355200-1616360528_thumb.jpg

Both runners in both slots for crosscut sled applications (once fences are installed)

 

post-10758-0-02224400-1616360590_thumb.jpg

Left runner in right slot for tapered cuts, jointing, etc.

 

Next steps:

 

Next steps will be to make a perfectly square fixed fence with T-track and stop block for cross cuts, and a floating (also with T-track and stop blocks) for repetitive tapered cuts.

 

I'll post those up once they're done!

Edited by patches
Posted

post-10758-0-70237700-1616968477_thumb.jpg

 

Fences added.

 

I used the 5 cut method to square up the main fence. Initially I was intimidated by the youtube explanation and the imperial unit mathematics.

 

But in metric it's super simple and gave amazing results.... after it took me 4 goes, hahaha!

 

Last step will be to make/3D print some stop blocks for the fences and she should be good to go!

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Some advice please, My folks are busy putting new counter tops in their kitchen. They are putting bamboo counter tops in. Any suggestions as to what they should use to seal it with? They were told beeswax. Is that the best option or is there something better.

Posted

Some advice please, My folks are busy putting new counter tops in their kitchen. They are putting bamboo counter tops in. Any suggestions as to what they should use to seal it with? They were told beeswax. Is that the best option or is there something better.

I'm pretty sure the proper wood guys will come in with a better suggestion, but when I bought a very large bamboo cutting board I sealed it with Liquid Paraffin. 

Posted

Some advice please, My folks are busy putting new counter tops in their kitchen. They are putting bamboo counter tops in. Any suggestions as to what they should use to seal it with? They were told beeswax. Is that the best option or is there something better.

 

Beeswax will not seal anything. You need Rystix interior armafloor. I sealed some Rhodesian teak counter tops, works well but needs a fair amount of time to harden.

post-3624-0-01245700-1617800236.jpg

Posted

I have used Woodoc 5 a few times for counter tops. It works well and is super easy to repair if ever needed. My current tops at my home kitchen are going on 6 years now and I have not even applied any polish or oil to look after them. They are made from Ash and is a nice experiment for me to see how well the products hold up.

 

1 note though. Mine were slightly stained (grey) and the domestic put a bottle of bleach on the scullery counter that left a mark due to bleaching the stain. Otherwise I am happy with it

Posted

Some advice please, My folks are busy putting new counter tops in their kitchen. They are putting bamboo counter tops in. Any suggestions as to what they should use to seal it with? They were told beeswax. Is that the best option or is there something better.

Tung oil or mineral oil/paraffin work well. But they could also use any polyurethane sealer you'd use on wood counters for a more hardy finish.

Posted

Beeswax will not seal anything. You need Rystix interior armafloor. I sealed some Rhodesian teak counter tops, works well but needs a fair amount of time to harden.

I agree with Plenti...beeswax and oils need regular top-ups fussing like that just adds to the list of chores.

 

Seal it properly and carry on with your life, Rystix FTW  

Posted

Beeswax will not seal anything. You need Rystix interior armafloor. I sealed some Rhodesian teak counter tops, works well but needs a fair amount of time to harden.

 

Do you know how this compares to Woodoc 25 water-borne, which I think is a water-based poly?

 

The woodoc cures/hardens quite quickly, but like all polyurethane finishes has "plastic" like finish.

 

I've had success with Rubio monocoat on our kitchen island counter I made. If you spill any oil, it does leave a slight oil stain for a while, but holds up pretty well to everything else. The other plus point for oil based finishes is the natural wood look compared to film finishes.

The bathroom cupboards was a total failure though (I suspect that it might a specific batch problem), so need to redo those and am looking at the above instead of oil-based products.

Posted

Yes it is. I've been testing this for a while now. So far I like it, a lot. The plus on this over the Rubio is you can use multiple layer sand build up whatever finish you like.

 

But...... I haven't had it for years, so I can't vouch for the long term durability. But it has been around for a long time so I am very confident in the product. It seems expensive, but it really does go a very long way

Posted

Yes it is. I've been testing this for a while now. So far I like it, a lot. The plus on this over the Rubio is you can use multiple layer sand build up whatever finish you like.

 

But...... I haven't had it for years, so I can't vouch for the long term durability. But it has been around for a long time so I am very confident in the product. It seems expensive, but it really does go a very long way

Matt Estlea on youtube swears by it for working counter tops and has been using it for a long time.

Its a really great product based on reviews. Rudio is probably a little harder wearing being more of an epoxy than a hard oil but Osmo is much easier to apply and very easy to refresh if needed.

Posted

Matt Estlea on youtube swears by it for working counter tops and has been using it for a long time.

Its a really great product based on reviews. Rudio is probably a little harder wearing being more of an epoxy than a hard oil but Osmo is much easier to apply and very easy to refresh if needed.

My thoughts exactly. I am very confident it will be great product, what I meant to convey is that I myself have only been using it for a short while, being that it is new in the country.

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