Table Saw Crosscut Sled With...IKEA Hardware??

I really wanted a nicer crosscut sled for my table saw. I made one years ago and it gets the job done but the base is short in length which makes cutting thicker lengths of wood impossible. Also, I have to clamp a stop block every time and is another minor annoyance. I really got inspired to make this when I came across some hardware from IKEA I thought I could utilize and wouldn't you know, it worked! Let's build one.

Wood for making the base, fence, and stop block

Wood Glue

Clamps, a lot

Drill, bits, and countersink

Screws

Runners for the sled base

IKEA Vidga single track (# 204.929.16)

Hammer

T-track bolt and screw knob

Router and bits

Jointer

Miter saw or handsaw

Painters tape / marking tool

Calipers

Chisel

Safety gear: hearing/eye/breathing protection

Check out the video for more description of the building process

For comparative purposes, my table saw bed surface is 22-inches deep x 26-inches wide and I made my sled 20-inches deep x 36-inches wide.

As stated earlier, my previous crosscut sled was cumbersome and too small. Going forward my idea for a new sled would:

1. have a bigger footprint to crosscut larger stock,
2. have a stop block for ease of reproducibility,
3. be inexpensive, and
4. be easy to build

I had to take into account some features such as what to make it out of, where the T-track would live, and what to use for sled runners.

For the runners, I made my own out of recycled HDPE water jugs and a mold.

For the sled itself, I used scrap plywood I had in my shop but it needed some work

For the T-track, I decided to situate it inside the front fence. I have seen folks place it on the top of the front fence where your hand grip but that wasn't conducive to my overall idea.

If you follow my work, you know that I try to make my own items whenever feasible and what I cannot make, I purchase like items. When I saw the Vidga curtain track at IKEA I thought, "Well doesn't that look...LIKE T-TRACK!" Yes & no. It does but "double-sided" which poses a big issue: It needs to be cut down. Luckily, it is made of aluminum so it can be cut with carbide blades as long as you take your time.

You may be asking is this even worth it? You really gotta ask yourself if the time processing it is worth the savings? The 55-inch Vidga was $14 USD when purchased compared to 30-inch T-track for $20 USD from Rockler. That is a difference of about 40 cents / inch of track or about a $13 savings for 30 inches. The Vidga is also 15-cm wide which caused me to make multiple passes with my router where as if I used my 3/4-inch router bit, I would only have to make one pass with the traditional T-track.

I thought it was worth it financially but mainly to see if the concept was actually doable. It really is a matter of personal opinion on what you want to do. But other than that, let's crack on.

The first (and time consuming step) is to glue my front and back fences. I used two 3/4-inch pieces of plywood that I glued together to get a thicker stock. For the back fence, I glued two pieces of ply what were 18-inches long. The height will vary on how high your blade sticks up when fully raised. My blade max length is 2.5-inches. My bed is 1/2-inch thick so I really only get 2-inches max blade height with this crosscut sled.

For the front fence, I did the same thing. I glued my two pieces together except that these were cut to span the entire length of the crosscut sled base, 36-inches.

NOTE: if you are gluing two pieces together and you notice they have a curve to them (pic 2), glue the concave sections together (pic 3). This will help close the gap and keep the boards straight.

Once the glue set up overnight, I cleaned up one edge with my jointer (pics 10-12) and make the other edge parallel with the table saw (pics 13 & 14). Afterwards, I squared everything up and cut the fences to length on the miter saw (pics 15 & 16).

To make things smoother, I routed round-overs on the tops that my hands would be gripping. I did the back fence, too just for aesthetics but it wasn't truly necessary (pics 17-21).

Lastly, I routed a tiny (<1/8-inch) path for where the front fence would mate with the base to allow for saw dust to blow by and not get stuck.

I wanted the T-track on both sides of the blade but didn't want the actual blade to come in contact with the T-track itself. As opposed to running the T-track along the full length of the front fence, my plan was to route out guides to insert the T-track into, leaving about a 2-inch clearance.

I made marks on where the router bit would run (pics 1-3) and set up a system with painters tape on when to alert me to stop (pic 6-7). Basically, I would run the bit through to a stopping point (pic 8), lift the wood up and over to the other side (pic 9), plunge cut and finish the routing (pic 10). I made several passes taking a little with each pass as opposed to make one deep pass, especially since this thing was 10-mm deep and 15-mm wide.

I left the clearance tight and once the dados were cut, I tapped the track in place with a rubber mallet (so as not to mar the surface, last pic). This would take drilling and screwing it into place out of the process altogether (which would be another thing to keep in mind when comparing it to traditional T-track).

Before I installed the fences, I wanted to place my runners...in place. Most folks either make their own out of hardwood or buy stock to cut to length. Me? I made my own out of recycled HDPE water jugs using a mold that would fit my table saw guides, which are 3/4-inch wide (pic 1). https://www.instructables.com/Recycled-HDPE-Plastic-Crosscut-Sled-Runners/

I traced the path with a pencil and screwed them into place with countersunk holes. You don't want to obstruct your wood or scratch your table saw surface.

Next, I needed to install the fences. The back one is easy since it doesn't Need to be square (pics 3-4). I centered it and glued and screwed it into place.

The front fence, however, does need to be square (pic 5). Otherwise, what's the point? With that in mind, I only screwed it into place, no gluing in case I need to make adjustments later. I drilled holes the length of the fence but only installed a screw in the front corner and far edge (2 total). I took a piece of stock wood I knew was square and cut a strip and measured both edges of the strip with calipers. I took the difference of the leading edge and subtracted the two numbers. I adjusted the fence with the far edge screw (Don't use the same hole, though) until my tolerance was close enough. I stopped at 0.008-inch difference, which was close enough for me. I then screwed in the other (middle) screws in place (last pic).

Finding a thorough but easy to follow/understand method to square up the sled was more time-consuming that I would have liked (maybe it is just me). I like the 5-cutt method but find one that is best for you and get your sled fine tuned to how you'd like it.

The last thing is to make the stop block. I used a block of scrap poplar and cut a groove (pic 1-2, with my now squared up crosscut sled, nbd) that would hold a piece of wood that will ride inside the T-track. The groove was cut in a position to allow the stop block to "float" up off of the base to allow for sawdust (similar to the groove routed on the front fence itself earlier). With the two pieces cut, I glued them in place (pic 3). It was also a tight fit so I wouldn't have to wait to drill out a hole for the T-nut, which I did next. With the hole drilled, I traced where the head to fall and cut out the excess (pic 4=5). This is to allow the block to glide smoothly (pic 6) and up against the fence itself. The last thing to do is to insert the stop block and screw the nut on (pic 7). The fit it tight and makes me very happy!

The last last thing was to glue on another block on the front fence to help protect my fingers. This block is tall & wide enough that if I place my thumbs/fingers on it, the blade won't cut into a million pieces (pics 8-9).

That's that (pic 2).

Now that everything is put together, I took a piece of scrap and took this baby for a test spin (pics 3-4). And it was nice!

This was a nice weekend project and that was mostly waiting for my fence's glue to dry thoroughly and modifying my IKEA T-track. Now I have a harder, better, faster, stronger crosscut sled and I made it for next to nothing.

If nothing else, hopefully this gives you another perspective on building a crosscut sled or even what you could do with Vidga rails :)

See you on the next one!