It was time to build a new, more capable table saw sled when I saw the new design posted on YouTube by James King, King's Fine Woodworking. I liked that it was lighter and made from 3/8" birch ply in sections. I particularly liked that he'd designed it for adjustable and replacement zero clearance cutting. Accomplishing adjustable zero clearance capability was a main design goal for me and I'd been thinking about various alternatives to accomplish this.
James had a design worked out that made sense, so I purchased his plans and then made some adaptations. First, I changed the adjustable zero clearance panels in the rear fence to a single replaceable panel held in place with 60-degree bevel dados. I now have multiple inserts for different kerf widths (including the various standard dado widths that I use). Second, I changed the design of the rear fence to an "L" shape to allow it to be bolted to the base, not screwed. And added a captive adjustment screw at one side to allow for fence adjustment (and re-adjustment if the sled got dropped and required that). The fence pivots on the second bolt from the left which goes through very tight holes, with the other bolts going through slightly oversized holes to allow for the adjustment. This "L" shape fence with captive screw comes from a sled design posted by Keifer on Lumberjocks about 12 years ago (here).
I've now added some attachments to use with the sled: a donkey's ear for bevel cuts and and James King's design for an angle cutting jig (which works like a treat).
This new sled has been in use for about 4 months now and is holding up very well. It's a great design by James King. And made just a bit better by Keifer's adjustable rear fence with replaceable inserts design. My compliments and thanks to them both.
James had a design worked out that made sense, so I purchased his plans and then made some adaptations. First, I changed the adjustable zero clearance panels in the rear fence to a single replaceable panel held in place with 60-degree bevel dados. I now have multiple inserts for different kerf widths (including the various standard dado widths that I use). Second, I changed the design of the rear fence to an "L" shape to allow it to be bolted to the base, not screwed. And added a captive adjustment screw at one side to allow for fence adjustment (and re-adjustment if the sled got dropped and required that). The fence pivots on the second bolt from the left which goes through very tight holes, with the other bolts going through slightly oversized holes to allow for the adjustment. This "L" shape fence with captive screw comes from a sled design posted by Keifer on Lumberjocks about 12 years ago (here).
I've now added some attachments to use with the sled: a donkey's ear for bevel cuts and and James King's design for an angle cutting jig (which works like a treat).
This new sled has been in use for about 4 months now and is holding up very well. It's a great design by James King. And made just a bit better by Keifer's adjustable rear fence with replaceable inserts design. My compliments and thanks to them both.
