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One of the most common cuts to make on a table saw is a crosscut. Unfortunately, the only tool for making crosscuts that comes with a tablesaw is a miter gauge. You can usually get by with these and make cross cuts that are good enough for most projects. But there are some problems miter gauges. The biggest issue with miter gauges is accuracy. Since they are designed to be rotated at various angles, they might not always lock back in at a perfect 90 degrees for a crosscut.
An improvement would be an aftermarket miter gauge like the one Steve uses from Incra on Amazon.
It has a built in extendable fence and a pretty good system for locking it into place. But you can only support one side of your cut. And finally, your cuts can be affected by any play that might be in the miter slot since it only uses one of your saw’s slots.
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A crosscut sled addresses all of these concerns and is one of the most useful woodworking jigs you can make for your saw. With a well calibrated crosscut sled, you can be assured of perfect 90 degree cuts every time without having to adjust anything. It has two runners, one for each miter slot to assure that there’s no wiggle.
Both sides of your workpiece are supported, and its zero clearance kerf gives you much cleaner cuts with less tearout. You can safely cut small pieces without them dropping into your saw. And the best part is that you can clamp a stop block anywhere along the fence on either side of the blade for making repeated cuts.
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174 Woodworking Tips & Tricks
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