Long-Reach Stop for Crosscut Sled Lansing MI

Long-Reach Stop for Crosscut Sled

I built the “Ultimate Crosscut Sled” featured in AW #75 (October 1999).It works great, and recently I've added an adjustable stop, which makesit even better. I thought other AW readers would be interested in myupgrade. My 50-in.-capacity stop consists of scrap wood, a 48-in.length of
T-track (I used Mini Track from www.prairieriverwoodworking.com),1/4-20 hex-head bolts and a couple of plastic knobs. I spent less than$25. My stop makes repetitive crosscutting of long stock—shelves for abookcase, for instance—a breeze. Any hardwood will do for the rail andstop; I used a 7/8-in. x 2-in. x 60-in. piece of hickory. You canincrease the crosscut capacity by using a longer rail. I cut a stoppeddado in the back of the rail to house the T-track, which I installedwith screws. I attached the stop to the end of the rail with a gluedhalf-lap joint. I counterbored a pair of holes in the sled's fence andinstalled the bolts and knobs.

T-track makes the stop easy to install and adjust. When the stopisn't necessary, tightening the knobs draws the bolts into thecounterbored holes, so they don't protrude.

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