use of entire board

[carpenter]

Ok I have been carving some nice patterns and cutouts using sleds now I want to carve on an entire piece of wood say my piece is 12 inches long by 7 inches wide I am assuming that I need to add extra width as well as extra length how much do I add for width. And 1 more question say I want to carve a piece of wood that is 11 1/4 x11 1/4 and my sled is 24inches long by 11 1/4 wide can I use this sled or do I need to cut the sled down to 18 1/4 giving me that 7 inches that is needed for length

[fwharris]

For me I try to have at least 1/2" on each side. This will give the compression roller enough board to maintain contact.

You can use your existing sled. Does it already have end blocks?

[carpenter]

Yes my end blocks are 3 1/2 inches wide so I can use a longer sled but obviously move one end block in I was concerned that when the machine was measuring the board it was measuring the sled as well

[bergerud]

What others have done is tape two rails (7" longer than the board) to the sides and 3.5" tails to each end between the rails.

[carpenter]

ok got it I also found some info on tips and tricks thanks everybody for the help