Time for an adjustable sled - need your input...

[cnsranch]

I have too many sleds. Have thought about an adjustable one, it's been on the list.

However, I just scored a krap-ton load of red oak cut-offs at a garage sale (see pic) - now it's time to make the adjustable.

I've read all the threads - the one problem everyone seems to have is the ability to do cut-outs on an adjustable - the miter slot concept is a great one, but you'd cut into them, destroying the bit, at the least.

So, here's my concept - with pics and mpc's attached:

3/4" cab. grade plywood, 44" long x 14.5" wide. One 4" wide end piece permanently attached on one end, the other 4" wide piece moveable. The result gives me the ability to have a carveable board a maximum of 36" long.

The moveable piece has two slots 5/16" wide, 3" long, 3" from each edge for a threaded screw. The sled itself has two rows of brass "insert fasteners" spaced along the board every 6" from end to end. The result is the ability to move the one end piece all along the board "incrementally".

Here's my real question -

The brass inserts are 9/16" long. If I make them flush with the back of the board, that gives me 3/16" clearance from the top-side of the insert to the face of the board.

When I've done cut-outs on a sled, the bit cuts into the sled about 1/16" "or so" - and that's my real dilemma - will a clearance of 3/16" never cause me a problem when doing a cut-out?

I could always grind down the length of the insert and give me more clearance, but I just want to make sure I'm ok.

What do you all think???

[dbfletcher]

Wow.. nice score on the cut offs! Your design loos very much like that one I made, but instead of using brass inserts, I just had the carvewright drill holes on the bottom large enough to allow me to epoxy a standard nut on the bottom. Oddly I spent a great deal of time making my sled, but truth be told, I find that I rarely use it. Go figure...

[cnsranch]

Wow.. nice score on the cut offs!

Yeah, they're anywhere from 4" to 12" wide, and 8" to 18" long.

Her son-in-law worked in a cabinet shop - I gave her $30 for the lot.

[DickB]

I suggest a different approach. I put rails on my sled. Of course the sled will not accommodate the widest board, but it does allow carving and cutting to the edge of the project board with no complaints from the software. I embedded T nuts along the far rail and insert a couple of thumbscrews as needed. I have several scraps of various widths that are used as spacers. The thubmscrews facilitate quite a bit of pressure to hold the project board securely - more so than with your arrangement.

56030

[badbert]

I suggest a different approach. I put rails on my sled. Of course the sled will not accommodate the widest board, but it does allow carving and cutting to the edge of the project board with no complaints from the software. I embedded T nuts along the far rail and insert a couple of thumbscrews as needed. I have several scraps of various widths that are used as spacers. The thubmscrews facilitate quite a bit of pressure to hold the project board securely - more so than with your arrangement.

56030


How do you tell the machine where the board is?

[DickB]

Create a board in Designer that is 8" longer and 2" wider than your project. Draw a rectangle and attach the sides 4" from each end of the Designer board and 1" from each side. This defines your project board. Now lay out your project within the rectangle. When machining and prompted, place on corner. That way, it's OK if your sled is actually wider and longer than your project. I lay out virtually all of my projects this way. It becomes second nature. You can carve and cut through right up near the edges of the rectangle with no issue - the sled will always stay under the rollers, and there will always be sufficient width at the rails to provide good traction always staying well clear of the brass roller.

Note that the actual project board is the size of the rectangle, and there is very little waste.


56032

[ladjr]

I suggest a different approach. I put rails on my sled. Of course the sled will not accommodate the widest board, but it does allow carving and cutting to the edge of the project board with no complaints from the software. I embedded T nuts along the far rail and insert a couple of thumbscrews as needed. I have several scraps of various widths that are used as spacers. The thubmscrews facilitate quite a bit of pressure to hold the project board securely - more so than with your arrangement.

56030

How do the thumbscrews fit though the Carvewright

[badbert]

Here is a pic of my sled 56033 Tape down 56034 Add Hot glue 56035 Glue down ready to flip board 56036 Center board and press down hard! 56037 Tape it up end to end and cross ways and load it in the machine. 56038 The machine measures the tape, as if it were wood. SO it measures the exact same size every time. I tell it to center on the board. I usually use "jog to touch" so it knows where the surface is. And it usually tells me the board is too thick to cut through, I press continue. Sometimes it asks what the thickness of the board is, so I enter it manually. I got this idea from here on the forum. So I made a modified version of my planer sled.

[lawrence]

I keep on meaning to post a how-to for my adjustable sled... basically any thickness will work in it. I can't this weekend (I'll be in Vegas) but I promise I will try to next weekend

Lawrence

[badbert]

I keep on meaning to post a how-to for my adjustable sled... basically any thickness will work in it. I can't this weekend (I'll be in Vegas) but I promise I will try to next weekend

Lawrence

Can't wait! LOL Have fun in Vegas!

[ladjr]

Lawrence

Welcome to Las Vegas I hope you enjoy it here


Leo
Life is to short carve something today

[PCW]

I keep on meaning to post a how-to for my adjustable sled... basically any thickness will work in it. I can't this weekend (I'll be in Vegas) but I promise I will try to next weekend

Lawrence

Have a good time Lawrence. Never been to Vegas but maybe one of these days. Please post up your sled when you get a chance.

[DickB]

How do the thumbscrews fit though the Carvewright
They are on the far side in the machine and ride over the top of the adjustable squaring plate. The only issue with them is to have the bit avoid them during calibration. If you select Jog to touch position you can easily do this.

[liquidguitars]

Create a board in Designer that is 8" longer and 2" wider than your project. Draw a rectangle and attach the sides 4" from each end of the Designer board and 1" from each side. This defines your project board. Now lay out your project within the rectangle. When machining and prompted, place on corner. That way, it's OK if your sled is actually wider and longer than your project. I lay out virtually all of my projects this way. It becomes second nature. You can carve and cut through right up near the edges of the rectangle with no issue - the sled will always stay under the rollers, and there will always be sufficient width at the rails to provide good traction always staying well clear of the brass roller.

Note that the actual project board is the size of the rectangle, and there is very little waste.



56032


Nice job Dicky... this is how i do it 2... as a side note for the guys that use tape on the top of the sled, if you use a 4" tail block and load that under the board sensor you never need to use tape...

[ladjr]

They are on the far side in the machine and ride over the top of the adjustable squaring plate. The only issue with them is to have the bit avoid them during calibration. If you select Jog to touch position you can easily do this.

Thanks for the answer.

[ladjr]

Bert

That is a great trick with the tape. I never noticed it always measures from the center.

Thanks for that information

[liquidguitars]

Bert

That is a great trick with the tape. I never noticed it always measures from the center.

Thanks for that information

Only the x centers , the y measures from the in point of the sled placement in the cw if that makes any sense to new users. a simple 4" block and positing the sled correctly removes the need for any tape on the top of the sled saving time, money and adds more accurate indexing.

[badbert]

Only the x centers , the y measures from the in point of the sled placement in the cw if that makes any sense to new users. a simple 4" block and positing the sled correctly removes the need for any tape on the top of the sled saving time, money and adds more accurate indexing.

Ok so say that again, this time explain to us simple people! LOL I just place the center of the sled in the carvewright, making sure the tape is under the truck. It measures the width and length accurately every time, within a couple thousandths. I never claimed to know what I am doing. Just offered my method, LOL. Please give us a walkthrough of your sled,LG.

[DickB]

MY sled is the same. There is a 4" board at either end. Facing the keypad, place the left end of the sled in the machine so that the 4" board is under the spindle and board sensor. When the machine measures width, it will traverse the 4" board and measure the width of the sled - no tape needed. When measuring the length, I don't think that the board sensor is used until the sled passes the right roller and trips the switch. By that time, the other 4" board is under the board sensor, so again no tape is needed.

[liquidguitars]

MY sled is the same. There is a 4" board at either end. Facing the keypad, place the left end of the sled in the machine so that the 4" board is under the spindle and board sensor. When the machine measures width, it will traverse the 4" board and measure the width of the sled - no tape needed. When measuring the length, I don't think that the board sensor is used until the sled passes the right roller and trips the switch. By that time, the other 4" board is under the board sensor, so again no tape is needed.


Well said... I have to say any time i see tape on the top of a sled i cringe.

[Capt Bruce]

Please let me add one more thought. Since I too feared cutting into bottom aluminum tracks for T-Bolts or other sliding rail systems for the movebale end piece of my latest (adjustable) sled, I just went back to my furniture craftsmanship ways. I cut a pair of dovetail slots the length of the sled. After adding my fixed 4" wide end piece to the left end of the sled, I then cut matching dovetail rails in two hardwood strips and tested them until they easily slipped into the grooves. I cut shallow dadoes into the bottom of the second 4" end and glued in the male dovetail strips. A good coat of paste wax keeps everything moving smoothly.

To fix the end when it is butted up against the wood blank I just drive in two brass screws. Same technique one uses to make drawer slides or to fix interior dividers while allowing for wood movement. Still a work in progress, so I'll let you know if it works as well as I hope.

[badbert]

MY sled is the same. There is a 4" board at either end. Facing the keypad, place the left end of the sled in the machine so that the 4" board is under the spindle and board sensor. When the machine measures width, it will traverse the 4" board and measure the width of the sled - no tape needed. When measuring the length, I don't think that the board sensor is used until the sled passes the right roller and trips the switch. By that time, the other 4" board is under the board sensor, so again no tape is needed. AHHH! (as the light comes on) It needs 4 inches! LOL If I don't use tape I get a clear board sensor error! Thanks I am still learning! I also mis-spoke about the length of project my 48 inch sled can handle. Obviously to leave 7 inches, it can only do 41 inches.


Well said... I have to say any time i see tape on the top of a sled i cringe. I pull the tape before it starts carving!

I think that is most important to make sure the rails of your sled are a little taller than the wood you are carving. But can we just make a 2" tall rail and anything under 2" work? So that the 4 inch boards and the rails are all the same height? For example make 2" tall rails and 4" boards to carve 1/2" material?

[liquidguitars]

For example make 2" tall rails to carve 1/2" material? ....

If you use " jog to place" 03 you can index the z location so if your board is lower the software will make the adjustments.

[badbert]

For example make 2" tall rails to carve 1/2" material? ....

If you use " jog to place" 03 you can index the z location so if your board is lower the software will make the adjustments. Thanks LG! I think that would be the way to go for me. I made 2 sets of rails, one for 1/2" and one for 1" material. I got 2 lines (7 inch rule) on a project because the board was 1.08" combine that with two layers of tape and hot glue, the rails were a little shy. Just enough for a roller to change pressure...

[badbert]

For example make 2" tall rails to carve 1/2" material? ....

If you use " jog to place" 03 you can index the z location so if your board is lower the software will make the adjustments. What is 03?

[liquidguitars]

key pad "03"

[badbert]

I built a new sled, trying your ideas. It is 48" x 14.5" made out of 3/4" Birch plywood. I sacrificed the old sled (cut pathed to death) in 2" slices and glued them together to make real 2" x 4" end boards. I then cut 2" strips of 1" x 40" oak for the rails. This gives me a sled that is 2 3/4" thick. With 2" deep rails and ends. I enabled jog to touch in the options, and once the bit calibrates it asks me to jog to touch. At this point I jogged until the bit is above the board, just like always. the bit moves back and then the display changes to finding thickness... . But the bit won't touch the wood! I had to add 2 1/2" sheets of plywood (sacrificial) to bring the depth up to 1". And it works perfectly. I tried adjusting the depth (reach) of the bit. And when it is in "Load Bit" mode. I can move the truck down until the bit touches the wood. So I do not think it is obstructed. Everything moves normally, and works smooth and quiet. I also tried "jog to touch", when it asks for placement of board (which is keypad 02). It just keeps asking for the bit. The bit does touch the bit plate.

[cnsranch]

A sled with rails higher than the wood you're carving on is going to cause you problems. The machine will go into a "load bit" loop - just won't work.

I meant to take some pics of my new sled this last weekend, but didn't get it done - but these are the changes I made to the original design (when I get the pics, I'll also attach the mpc's for it).......

I was concerned with having one of the end boards fixed in place - primarily because I didn't want all of the weight of the sled to be hanging out one end while carving a smaller project. So, I made both ends moveable. With the slots sized in the end pieces correctly, they can both be moved toward the center of the sled, and you can place your project board as close to center as possible. That way, the sled is placed in the machine "on center", and it only moves far enough for the machine to measure the board and end pieces. Works great.

The other addition I made was to the inside edges of the end pieces.....I wanted to assure no movement of the project board, so I attached 3/4" strips of heavy-duty sandpaper along the inside edges of the end pieces (had a new belt for my Craftsman belt sander I sacrificed - glued it on the wood with crafter's spray adhesive). When the board is placed on the sled, and the end pieces are butted up against the board and tightened down, there is no way the project board will move. It's a peach.

I think I'm going to add a sacrificial piece of melamine to the surface of the sled so that when I perform a cut-out, I'll cut into that instead of the sled.

Pics to follow....

[badbert]

A sled with rails higher than the wood you're carving on is going to cause you problems. The machine will go into a "load bit" loop - just won't work.

I meant to take some pics of my new sled this last weekend, but didn't get it done - but these are the changes I made to the original design (when I get the pics, I'll also attach the mpc's for it).......

I was concerned with having one of the end boards fixed in place - primarily because I didn't want all of the weight of the sled to be hanging out one end while carving a smaller project. So, I made both ends moveable. With the slots sized in the end pieces correctly, they can both be moved toward the center of the sled, and you can place your project board as close to center as possible. That way, the sled is placed in the machine "on center", and it only moves far enough for the machine to measure the board and end pieces. Works great.

The other addition I made was to the inside edges of the end pieces.....I wanted to assure no movement of the project board, so I attached 3/4" strips of heavy-duty sandpaper along the inside edges of the end pieces (had a new belt for my Craftsman belt sander I sacrificed - glued it on the wood with crafter's spray adhesive). When the board is placed on the sled, and the end pieces are butted up against the board and tightened down, there is no way the project board will move. It's a peach.

I think I'm going to add a sacrificial piece of melamine to the surface of the sled so that when I perform a cut-out, I'll cut into that instead of the sled.

Pics to follow.... Sounds Great! Can't wait to see the pictures!

[cnsranch]

Here are some pics, and the mpc's for the sled........

The pic of the "Last Supper" is the project I completed on the new sled.

Interestingly, the oak was 3/4" thick....the carve goes about .6 deep. Releasing all of the grain caused the board to cup during the carve, but the sled held fast to the board.

I do think that adding sandpaper to the end pieces is a great help - the last thing you want is for any board movement, and board-to-board, you simply cannot get it tight enough to prevent slipping.

Having both end pieces moveable helps keep the weight centered in the machine as well.

Eventually, I'll make additional end pieces at 1/2", 5/8", etc. for thinner stock. I've stripped an X gear in the past with end pieces on a sled that were thicker than the stock being carved - the roller basically hung up at the intersection of the two boards, and popped the gear.

[unitedcases]

Very nice setup. I like the idea of an adjustable sled. Just seems more efficient in the long run. And space saving.

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[liquidguitars]

Nice job! I had good results using drywall screws to hold the stock but you loose a little wood on the end.

[rcdages]

Jerry,

Nice job on the sled.

I have more sleds then one knows. This one could replace them all.
Good going Sir.

[chebytrk]

Very Cool Sled. Are there instructions or mpcs somewhere on building this? Maybe a youtube video "how to". ..... THAT would be cool.

[cnsranch]

mpc's are on Post #30. The threaded inserts I used are toward the beginning.

Glad you like it.

[b.sumner47]

Looks good, Jerry. I'm going to have to make it up. Again Thanks.


Capt Barry

[DocWheeler]

I chatted with Jerry about this by email and he suggested that I post it to get input from others.
SO IT’S ALL JERRY’S FAULT!

Like a lot of other people, I’ve built a few sleds. I have concluded that there is no perfect sled!
Having said that, I think there are some that are handier than others and therefore “better”.

I like the idea of a longer board on the bottom and centering the material to be carved.
My only concern that I might have is the rollers not having support in the back on narrow
material that would cause the back-end of the rollers to drop while over the work-piece
and then climb back up on the tail-piece causing the X drive to have to make the roller slip
(since the contact points aren’t parallel to the centerline of the roller).

Since the roller switches are in the front, I was wondering if a continuous back-rail might
help keep even pressure on the work-piece and reduce the strain on the x gears.
The switches would still work correctly (I think).

Yes, this situation would still happen with a back rail at the beginning and end of the process
when the front of the rollers come down, but I think the distance would be less and therefore
still be a little less strain. And, if the mode was “Place on end”, there would be less times
that the roller would do this (finding the first edge rather than at each edge of the end pieces).
Yes, this is nit-picking, but I’m bored today awaiting a repairman!

[unitedcases]

I am thinking of making one with a pegboard. Holes are already cut. Just thought of it. More to follow...

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