Segmenting and the flying segments

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TonyL

TonyL

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Hi folks:

Built my sled (pics will follow soon), got my super-thin kerf, 60TPI Diablo, tuned-up the table saw and have enough hold downs on the sled to make it look like a display case of hold downs. What is the skill behind preventing the 1/8 to 1/4 inch cross cut segment from becoming a projectile? Hold it down with a hold down, butting up against another piece of stock (secured by a hold down), shutting off the TS immediately cutting off the segment, prayer :) ?

All advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
 
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Tony there are some I read that has a wedge that allows the cutoff piece to fall away from the blade. a hold down on such a small piece seems unsafe.

I am sorry I can not remember the website where I read about that particular sled design.

be careful and good luck.
 
Thank you Jim....I saw it. I also saw a safety shroud made of wood. Thank you though.

Interestingly, they tend to fly away less when I don't butt it against a wooden stop, but that disrupts my sizing. I/we will figure this out! It may be the wedge.

Thanks again my friend.
 
may try using a thin piece of laminate on the side that you are cutting from to give the cut off piece a little bit of room to fall away? hope that made any sence.

*edited for clarity

try gluing a thin piece of laminate to your sled on the side that you are cutting from and not on the drop off side.
 
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yes i belive. The goal i am thinking of is to try to keep the cutoff piece from pinching against the blade causing it to become a bulet. if you are a tiny bit forward on the bigger piece the it will tend to fall away from the blade a little more. tho I havn't seen the sled but it may be worth a try.
 
Look up Penl8the's tutorial. I think it's titled "this jig sucks" or something similar. He used the shop vac to pull the ripped strips away from the blade.
 
I am searching for it now. There's got to be a better way...
We have screw caps on milk cartons...someone had to overcome this challenge with something other than a vacuum and a sock :).
 
Well....my pen cap off the Brandon. It's ingenious! But not for me. Where there's a will, there's a jig! LOL
 
Tony, several years ago a member posted some pics of his sled that, had a deflector on the back side of his sled. There was a tray next to it to capture the pieces. I'll see if I can find it.
 
Tony

You are way over thinking this. But if you want to get fancy here is some info. In it is the sled Malcolm Tibbets uses that has the wedge everyone is talking about. Re: Table saw sleds *PIC*

When I cut thin slices all I use is my miter gauge with a sled attached. All the sled is a piece of 1/8 ply for the bottom and a solid wood fence. The fence is long enough so that when you slice the piece off it is still against the fence for support. No fence no support and the piece will fly.. I do not push the sled all the way through. Just enough to make the cut and back it up. What makes the piece fly is it gets caught in the spinning teeth and this happens mostly when it gets to the other side because of the direction of the spinning blade. The blade is spinning downwards at the front of the blade and upwards at the back of the blade. Remember this is a small pen blank we are talking about here so no large jig is needed for this type cutting. For larger work I made a sled that has rails that ride in both miter slots but again all it has is a bottom and a taller fence. You can put hold down clamps on the main piece side but clamps will not work on the cutoff side. The big factor though is zero clearance fence and bottom platform. The jig should be made for that saw blade.
 
I think that Chuck has it right. The trick is not ensuring that the tiny pieces don't fly but instead catching them before they go to orbit.
 
All outstanding advice and will be heeded. Thanks also for the references to the other links. Some I have seen, but please never assume that I have.

Just as I did when I built my sled, I will incorporate the advice from all and do it "right".

You (plural) are an amazing bunch. Thank you.
 
Tony -- Seg Easy is the hot thing with the big segmented turners. This shows the "zero clearance ramp strip". Some use rare earth magnets to hold the ramp strip in place. The photo shows it very clearly.

Wedgies
 
KenV said:
Tony -- Seg Easy is the hot thing with the big segmented turners. This shows the "zero clearance ramp strip". Some use rare earth magnets to hold the ramp strip in place. The photo shows it very clearly.

Wedgies
Click to expand...

This method is also done on a full size sled where you have a sheet of MDF spanning both miter slots. The ramp is then glued to the MDF. Works great.
 
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