Jointer Sled / Tapering Jig

Start with your 3/4” material.  Bonus points if you can make this out of scrap plywood! If the material you’re using doesn’t already have one square edge, you can use a TrackSawGuide™ like this one to establish that straight edge that we need in order to begin making our two parts.

If you already have one square side, you can start by putting that up against your table saw fence and making Part B, which controls the angle of your cut. Part B width: 4”-5” works great.

Now rip the remaining material down to your desired width for Part A, the base of the sled. I made mine just over 12” wide knowing I was going to use one 24” length of the 4038 T-Trax24 that I would cut in half for my top and bottom horizontal T-track parts. Now that both parts are cut, we can move on to creating the slots for the T-track to fit into.

There are a number of ways you could make the slots for the T-track to fit into. You could continue using the track saw guide if that’s your preference and make multiple passes. You could use the table saw with a dado stack if you have it or just by making multiple passes with a regular blade and adjusting your fence as you go.  Another option would be to use a router. I just happen to have a three-quarter inch straight bit so for me the easiest option for making the slots is going to be on the router table. Using this depth gauge makes it easy to set the height for the router bit.

Make sure you adjust your speed to the proper setting for the bit you choose to use and advance your material slowly to lessen the chance of tear out.  The distance between the slots and the top and bottom of the sled don’t need to be any particular distance. Mine are inset about 2.5”.

I needed to cut my T-track down to size and I did this two ways just to show how it can be done based on your comfort level.  A simple metal-cutting blade attached to a hand saw is one way to accomplish this. This way takes longer of course but is simple to achieve.  A light pass with some 100 grit (or something close) sandpaper should be used to remove burrs that may form after cutting.

The second way to cut aluminum down to size is using a miter saw.  Aluminum is a soft non-ferrous metal, which means that it’s safe to cut with any blade on your miter saw (or circular saw). It is extremely important to always use protective equipment, but especially when cutting metals.  Small aluminum shards will be airborne if using a power tool to cut.

I chose to flip my T-track up with the channel facing the fence thinking that this would decrease the chance of a saw blade tooth catching and potentially making it more difficult to keep secure. Special note if you opt to go the miter saw route: you may want to inspect your blade afterward and clean it.  I noticed that my blade held on to some of the aluminum shards and needed a quick bristle-brush cleaning. Overall, this method is much faster and works great!

Now that our T-track is cut to length, we can proceed with fastening it into our slots.  Confirm that you have cut your T-track slightly shorter than your Part A width so that you can leave an 1/8” margin between your T-track and the edge of the sled that will be flush with your table saw blade when in use.  Accidentally nicking aluminum would not be good.  This is especially important if you are running a Saw Stop table saw that could trigger the brake system on the blade if it comes into contact with metal.

The most important detail for the T-track placement on Part B would be to insert your T-track 1/8”-3/16” inch from the edge in case you were ever doing any close cuts to make sure you don’t nick your T-track. Back to the router table to adjust the fence to allow for that margin and to cut the slot into Part B.

After fastening your aluminum T-track into the slots, you will drill two holes for the T-slot bolt to fit through in order to be able to secure part B to Part A when in use. A 5/16” brad point bit should be used to drill a hole to fit a corresponding hole/slot for a 5/16”-18 T-slot bolt. Simply align Part B on top of Part A and use a pencil to lightly mark where the sides of the T-tracks from part A touch Part B.

Eyeball the center point between your two lines and drill a hole for the bolt.

You will need to enlarge one of the holes by drilling two additional holes, one above and one below it, to make a slot. Remove any remaining material between the three holes with a small chisel to complete your slot and allow for a greater degree of tapered cuts. You could also do this with a straight bit in a compact router if that would be your preference.

A standard size for the miter slot in your table saw is 3/4” wide by 3/8” deep, but they can vary slightly so you’ll need to double check your saw’s slots and decide what you want to use for your runner that will guide this sled. If you use more T- track for this, chances are it’s going to fit loosely in the miter slot, which is not ideal for keeping parts uniform. However, if you can be intentional with your technique when using the sled, you could commit to always keeping it to the left side of the slot, but there is some risk in that if you really want precise cuts, which is kind of the reason why we’re making this.

You could also use a strip of hardwood and just rip it down on your table saw a little by little until you get the perfect fit. You don’t want any slop and if you need a nice smooth glide, you can coat your runner strip in paste wax. The fanciest of fancy people might use HTPE or a similar plastic-based material for the runner since it will not change shape in anyway or move like wood can, but how many of us have that material laying around?

I had some hardwood scrap that was really close to fitting the miter slot and just needed about a 16th of an inch shaved off of it so I switched my table saw fence to the low fence and used the FeatherBoard™ to shave this down ever so slightly. I waited to cut the runner to final length until after I ripped it down to size since they are such close cuts. Doing this allowed me to shut the table saw off and avoid any close calls by the blade. This is not necessary, but it’s just one of those just-in-case measures that makes us more likely to keep all of our digits!

After a quick chop down to length at the miter saw to match the length of the base of the sled (Part A), it was time to attach the runner. I’m choosing to lower my table saw blade and bring my fence over to be flush with the left side of the blade so that I can have an easier time placing my sled down accurately.

Here’s what I mean: instead of trying to measure and get the runner on in just the right position, you can just put it in the miter slot of the table saw and use either a couple drips of superglue

or double-sided tape on top of the runner bar to adhere to the bottom of the sled. Simply butt the sled up against the table saw fence, align it with the runner, and apply downward pressure.

My runner ended up a little shallow, so I used a couple nickels to shim it up to be able to stick to the bottom of the sled. Once the runner is temporarily attached to the bottom of the sled with the superglue or the double-sided tape, we can then countersink and fasten with screws.

You have successfully completed making your own Tapering Jig / Jointer Sled for your table saw! Awesome job! For this project, we made use of the new HoldDown200™ clamps to easily secure parts for accurate cutting.

Want to see the video tutorial for this project? Watch here!

Additional Resources:

Hand saw and blades for cutting aluminum

Amazon materials for this project

This tutorial was provided by Christy Miller, with Oak Hill Millworks.  Follow along with Christy for more Milescraft content at: www.instagram.com/oakhillmillworks.