Amazing Crosscut Sled for Your Tablesaw

Here is a simple design for a table saw crosscut sled. I was personally very sceptical about making one of these but I am telling you if you have a table saw, you need it! It totally changes the capability of your saw! To give you an idea;
-little to no tear out on cuts due to zero clearance
-fast square cuts
-repeat accurate cuts when using a marker or block
-safer
-accuracy second to none!!!

-18mm plywood
-double sided tape
-wood glue
-20mm screws
-plastic/hardwood strips
-Clamps

I have attached a drawing of my design that I used, it is simple to follow. This design shows a cut away on the sled, this reduces the weight significantly but doesn’t loose the functionality for me. I am a travelling woodworker, so weight is important.

Before you make the sled, get the fences glued up. I used two pieces of 18mm plywood glued and clamped to a level. The fences are 12.5cm high/5”

This will depend on the size of you table saw. I have a portable 10” table saw and this fits nice on my table top. It will also depend on your general use, the projects that you make etc.

Most table saws have T slots, however, there are various sizes. I used oak runners because I had some in my shop. I have also seen people use acrylic material. You want to use something that won’t warp or change shape and swell with changes in temperature and humidity. You want to make them thinner than the depth of your T slot to ensure smooth running, test fit the mmmm in the slots before attaching them to your sled.

Once you are happy, pack the T slots on the table top with pennies or washers to raise the runners above your table top. Before fitting them into the slots, use double sided tape on the top side and peel off ready for your sled base. To keep everything square, I used my table saw fence to guide my sled into position. Once down, apply pressure where the runner are then lift out. You can now drill and countersink some screws to keep the runners in position.

An option that I went for, was to put a 45degree bevel on the bottom of my fence, this is a great dust trap to ensure accurate cuts and I recommend doing it!
Once you have cut your fences to length, attach the smaller rear fence, this doesn’t need to be square to the blade.
The front fence must be square, there are a couple of ways to do this. The five cut method which you can find videos on YouTube on how to do that or using a framing square. I opted for the later and I am more than happy with by placing the sled on the table saw too and with the blade set below the top, turn the machine on and slowly raise the blade until it comes through the sled. You can now cut almost to where the fence will sit, this gives you a reference line to square off.
Now attach your fence at one end and using the framing square, adjust the fence until you are happy using the pivot point you created.

Once you are happy with the fence, ensure it is screwed down and make some cuts! Don’t forget to add a safety block on the back side of your front fence where the blade could come through. I used a piece of 3x2 and glued it in position.
I also used a spare piece of fence to use as a stop block for repeat cuts.