How to Make a Picture Frame Sled | This Improved Version is very Accurate

[@rodgerq]

Best video ive seen on this, from showing where to cut through the sqaure to the challenges faced by using a smaller saw. Thanks.

[@homebuiltshop]

Awesome. Thank you. There is a big difference between making one of these on a large cabinet saw and on a small saw like mine.

[@rodgerq]

@homebuiltshop definitely! I only have a DeWalt site saw and it's got a very small table top. Luckily it has t slots so I can eliminate the tipping issue at least.

[@pianoman173]

Thank you! I couldn’t find anybody else talking about offsetting the first cut on the corner of the aluminum square to be able to have a “true” zero reference with the markings. I was wondering about this exact thing!

[@lannybiggs4438]

I looked at a lot of sleds on KZbin. My opinion is that yours is the best so that is how I am going to build mine.

[@BlessedLaymanNC]

I'm glad to see you have trouble, not "that" you had trouble. What you experienced is what many of us newbies see woodsmiths make things and it looks easy. And it is! If you have practice and experience, it is easy, but for someone still unsure of their skills and aren't set up the same, things go wrong! I suppose you figured this out quickly without saying as much, but if you had made the sled square to the table, the excess weight would have been on the other side of the blade and its center of gravity would have been on the table instead of where you stand. Speaking of which, you could still have removed the excess behind the square to make room for your belly. But, that would be much more important to me than to you. ;)

[@gonnafish]

Found aluminum t-bars on Amazon that should fit in my table saw tracks and hold the sled down. Thanks for the leftie tip too!

[@weekendwarrior9570]

Excellent video. Never give up and never surrender. I like your style. Keep up the good work.

[@thor2015]

I'm not sure if your table saw has this or not, but my small/cheap Kobalt table saw actually has t-slots where the runners go. When I build my sled I fully intend to add something to the bottom of my runners to make them T shaped and "lock" them into the slots therefore eliminating the need for perfect weight distribution. Thank you though for taking the time to not only design and build this sled but for taking the time to film and edit the process. It was very informative.

[@Colt-4570]

Great explanations. Another thing with mounting the long side to the left is that your ruler will measure in 1/16's. If you mount the long side to the right, it measures in 1/12's, which drives me nuts. Thanks.

[@paulwaldrop]

Nice sled. Yeah, I ordered David P's plans and built mine. I've got a jobsite saw, so I know the limitations that you speak of. Made my first picture frame, last weekend, and it turned out great. Like the way you did yours.

[@homebuiltshop]

Awesome, Did you have any issues getting your to balance like I did?

[@georgedurbin7093]

I built one very simaler... To offset the weight all you need to do is add a fender washer to the front edge of the runner to slide into the t-slot... The washer will not allow the sled to tip up... Perfect fix and adds a lot of safety to the frame sled...

[@giovannipetitti1588]

very good as always my friend 💯💯💯👍❤️

[@homebuiltshop]

A big thanks to you Giovanni!

[@kennethvierck244]

Excellent tutorial! I am wondering why most of these designs put the sled base on an angle. If you make it start square to the table saw then the track runners extend further and also more weight is over the bed. By having the sled base oriented like it is, the track runners are barely engaged when the cut begins. Might take a little care to limit the waste for the plywood base but it seems the orientation of the sled base should be such that the runners go as far as possible. Makes it sled a little more of a pain to store but easier to use and better reference to the table. Or am I missing something? Also, it seems to me that your design is better than the one from MakeSomething since your stop block clamp seats on the top of the ruler rather than on the other side. The clamp load on the one from MakeSomething is attempting to pry up the ruler. The primary clamping load on yours clamps the block against the ruler and lighter load seating the block against the bed and loading the ruler. Nicely done. It also seems nice that you put the adhesive sandpaper on the block rather than on base. His rational was probably that the sanpaper seats the block and also helps hold the workpiece during the cut but it looks pretty easy to hold the workpiece in position during the cut.

[@MakerTom2022]

My table saw is small too, and your workthroughs really helped. Thanks!!

[@RedWhiteAndBrian]

I was thinking about making the left hand rail extended on the front with wood and plywood so it will sit further in the track on that side but cut off all excess and keeping the rest set back like this design

[@TheMikeNan]

To add weight up front on your sled, just orientate the base to be square and not at a 45 deg angle. That will add weight up front. Still remove any excess wood on the back. Thanks for the video.

[@TransplantHelper]

Good job, like you my saw is small so I I needed this modification

[@gailjohnson3544]

I absolutely love it. I would like to make one just like yours

[@fin3125]

If you are off you get you will get a perfect 90 but you'll have one edge longer than the other. I have a Sawstop so I would need to cut a lot further back.

[@homebuiltshop]

Yes, You'd need to widen the slot so the blade doesnt touch the metal.

[@milosrankovic8952]

Just add an infeed removable small table to help you with the weight issue.

[@markharmon6392]

I built a similar sled for my Shop smith table saw. I simply added an auxiliary table off to one side which supports my sled. My sled is more of a rectangle so the right side hangs off the back more than the left. Works great with no tipping issue.

[@RoyPaige]

Add extra peice to saw table 2x4 or bigger

[@jimbond24]

Jeff, I feel like if you add more plywood to the front and use your biscuits or Kreg tool to attach then some wood braces from your front wood supports it will add the weight your looking for without adding front length.

[@homebuiltshop]

I was thinking about that. I actually had some pieces laid out that I was going to splice on the front. I'll give this a try and see how it goes. I may just add more material at some point.

[@jvmiller1995]

you could of left the runners long in the front and added a little weight to them. My table saw does not have a super huge table either but it has T slots. My daughter is a artist and I recently started building the canvases frame and stretching them for her. I decided it might be nice to make some high end frames. I purchased some molding bits for the 3 hp router and am going to go all out. My hope is she can sell some rames with the art. She is a very talented artist. I like this build.

[@dagger680]

What if you make drill holes or cut channels in front and melt some lead into the voids to create counterweights up front? When I was a kid my dad and I did this with my pinewood derby car to make it as aerodynamic as possible and make it as heavy as possible. Came in second place in the state championship!

[@pjbankston]

I have a table saw just like yours. I would love to see how you would make a zero clearance insert for it.

[@homebuiltshop]

I've been pondering that for years.

[@andyoates4901]

Maybe add some magnets into those forstner bit holes with hot glue to help hold the sled down?

[@paulmoritoshi8184]

Just a thought, but wouldn’t even a short in-feed assembly solve this problem and others and make using it safer?

[@josevillanueva6992]

Thanks for sharing your project and tips. I tell you what. If you had some problems of balance on that table saw. Just imagine my problem with a cordless Dewalt table saw. It's a lot more small than yours. Wish me luck. Greetings from El Salvador. Central America.

[@homebuiltshop]

I'm sure you could make it work. One idea was to mount the square facing the other way so the weight was over the saw and not hanging off the back. I haven't tried that, but I think that may be something to experiment with.

[@josevillanueva6992]

@@homebuiltshop what you think if I make de sled running only on my left side of the saw. Because this cordless table saw have only one t track slot on the left side.

[@mikejohnson9850]

Just a question... I like the jig, but wouldn't you want to install splines or dowels to strengthen the joints? It would seem a jig to cut spline for these frames would be a good finishing tool

[@homebuiltshop]

You are correct. Once you make the frame its best to reinforce the joint with splines or some other method. I should have mentioned that in this video.

[@fogsmart]

Maybe I missed it but what is the preference for running the longer leg left versus right? Most of these tutorials for the jig with rafter square have the longer leg on the users right side when facing the tablesaw from the fence bar.

[@pianoman173]

He is left handed. But you can put the framing square in whatever orientation is comfortable to you

[@elioth.g.w2976]

I do need to make one of these for my small table saw ( working in a 8x12 shed ) , Since you only use the dimensions one side would an aluminium ruler or stick on tape work? (with a little more setup to get the 90 deg on the wood below)

[@homebuiltshop]

Yes, A ruler would work great, like you said there would be just a little more setup on the other side but it would work great.

[@jerryk5084]

Embed some magnets a little deeper into the front of the sled.

[@James-dk2df]

Can i ask are you using a Craftmans Tsble saw. Kinda looks like mine.

[@homebuiltshop]

It is a craftsman. I've had it for years and its still going.

[@James-dk2df]

@@homebuiltshop Thank you and i have the same one.

[@laurac4562]

good video

[@juanoramo]

Why don’t you add a T to the bottom of your runners to keep your board on the table

[@billbrown3414]

Weight overhang issue: Flip the jig 180-degrees so the framing square points at you instead of away. That should put all the weight on the table.

[@joshsoorlin579]

Ya but then u would cut your thumbs off

[@hu5116]

Needed to have left some board out front for balance

[@vince8723]

insert a magnet under the plywood. it should keep it down. i cut aluminum on all woodworking tools. many woods melamine and crap in particle board are a lot harder on the blades than aluminum. with carbide everywhere no reason not too. even cheep blades are fine. if you want you can brush some oil on the blade to keep the chips from sticking to the blade. also i often cut steel on my table saw with no problem. just change to a thin metal cutting disk and cut a little at a time by bringing blade higher on every pass if peace is to thick. just don't set your sawdust on fire.

[@kennethnielsen3864]

Dagm that was a lot of work.

[@homebuiltshop]

It gave me fits. Lol. I'm happy to have it together though.

[@kennethnielsen3864]

@@homebuiltshop sometimes it's good for the head, to have to rethink a project, keeps the mind sharp.

[@johnbauer3801]

Check the "The Newbie Woodworker" on KZbin on how to make runners for table saws with flanges in the grooves...

[@homebuiltshop]

I'll check it out. My saw doesn't have any flanges though, its just a groove.

[@UnicornMeat512]

I dont know what I did wrong. I'm getting a 45.6 degree cut. 🤦‍♂️ back to the drawing board

[@homebuiltshop]

Interesting. It should work though as long as you cut the mating piece on the other side.

[@UnicornMeat512]

@@homebuiltshop yea. I'm not sure what happened. I just unscrewed the short side and screwed it back together while clamps held everything to a square. Weirdness.

[@hmtrimworks7148]

Omg 🤦‍♂️… you actually cut the framing square for this 😳🙄… -Just make a typical square table sled and cut a corner triangle off a piece of scrap plywood and center it on the sled cut line… boom, done

[@homebuiltshop]

I wanted to have the numbers and a place for the adjustable stop block. Your idea will make the same cuts though. Thats how I made my first miter sled.

[@pctatc66]

wonder how many sawstop users are gonna fire their brakes?

[@binnsbrian]

They will have to use a plastic square.Or learn the hard way.

[@homebuiltshop]

In the original video I saw, he made the slot wider and used a piece of wood as a filler to avoid the Sawstop brake going off.

[@robertwhite299]

@@binnsbrian Turn on the brake bypass

[@jaydee3730]

Not a fan of the sandpaper on the bottom of the stop block. Every time you reposition it, you are removing material from your base. It will just get looser and looser over time. Something like felt may have been a better solution...

[@mlrable]

Should have fold ups to increase table saw top