A Better Bandsaw Sled

I looked at different kinds of bandsaw sleds on the internet, yet I wasn’t pleased with the setup of any of them.  So I made some improvements on the ideas I found.

The first thing to do is make a trip to the lumber store for a mis-cut or damaged formica counter top.  You’ll want something to slide easily on the bandsaw table.

Also I used some PVC board (from Lowe’s) for the guide to slide in the bandsaw’s miter gauge slot.

The sled I made is 36” x 19”.  This allows you to cut 36” logs.  Any longer would just make it too heavy with 6” or bigger diameter logs.

The green  log support is 5-1/2” high.  The green 2×3’s that the ½” allthread rod is bolted on to, must be perfectly square to the base.  This is critical so the log support won’t tip when the allthread is tightened on the 2×3’s.

The distance from the face of the 2×3’s to the upright back is important.  I made it to match the length of the bit driver for my impact driver.  You will always want to drive the screws into the log straight, so the log won’t lift off the sled.  I use 1-5/8” deck screws.  As you can see you must extend the allthread all the way out in order to have room for the impact driver.

You’ll need  to drill plenty of screw holes in the back since each log will rest against the back at different spots.

The unique feature of this sled is that you can accurately shift the log over a set amount after each cut.  This allows you to make many boards of the exact same thickness.

You can tighten two nuts together on the allthread to lock the nuts in place on the allthread.  To adjust the log support, first loosen the nut on the inside of the green log support.

Then turn each allthread, equal amounts, to whatever thickness board you want. This picture shows me doing this on the workbench, however you will be doing this on the bandsaw, after making your first cut.

I highly recommend painting different colors on the six sides of the 1/2″ nut. This will help you keep track of how much you turned the all thread. From experience I can tell you, it’s too easy to lose track of where you were on the turns.

Now tighten the nut on the inside of the green log support, while holding on to the other end of the allthread. It doesn’t need to be extremely tight.

To turn the allthread through the unpainted  2×4, I simply chiseled a square hole for the 1/2″ nut.

The sled rails are not attached to the bandsaw.

They are just bolted together on each side of the bandsaw so they won’t slide back and forth.

I ripped some strips of the formica, left over from the bandsaw sled, to line the tops of the sled rails.

I used ¼” drop in anchors in the 2×4’s so that I could easily assembly and disassemble the rails with ¼” bolts.

The legs need to be adjustable to fine tune the height at the bandsaw,and to level it up.

I epoxied in T-nuts for the leg adjustment bolts. I found out later, that the adjustment bolts  would vibrate up when using the saw. To correct this, I added a nut on the bolt, and tightened it.

These rails can be broken down to store without using up much space.

Here is a picture of the bandsaw sled after I modified it for a bigger bandsaw.

I was having problems with the outfeed side shifting around, so I eventually made a new outfeed table for this, that attaches to the bandsaw.

#Bandsaw #Bandsawsled #resawing #sawinglogs