I'm in a bit of a dilemma. Let's say I have a crosscut sled for my table saw that's only 1.5' long. Now, I need to cut a 6' long piece of 2x4 into three equal sections of 2' each, and they all need to be exactly the same length without any variation—even a millimeter discrepancy isn't acceptable. I'm not sure how to do this since the piece is longer than my sled, and I don't think a stop block will help in this situation. Any ideas on how to achieve this?
6 Answers
You could clamp an extension board to the sled and attach a stop block to it. Alternatively, you can cut the first piece and then align the two edges so they are flush, then slide them together until one piece just barely touches the blade.
Just make a longer back fence for your sled and add a stop block; clamp it securely to the sled!
You might want to consider a miter saw for this. Seems like it could be more straightforward than using a table saw at this length.
If your table saw has enough space to slide the fence at least 2 feet from the blade, you can use the fence as a stop block. Just clamp a spacer block in front of the blade. For example, if the block is 1" thick, you’d want the block to be 24" from the blade, which puts the fence 25" away. This setup helps prevent binding and kickback when you cut it.
I’ve cut and dado'd long boards before on a table saw. With some creativity, you can make it work, but usually, there are better tools for this type of job—like a miter or hand saw for cuts, and a router or chisels for dados.
Great tip! By the way, why did you add the three blue T-tracks on the sled? Are they just for clamping the wood with featherboards?