Poor Man's Straight Line Rip Sled

Years ago I was in need of some walnut wood, and a friend of mine had some rough cut he wanted to get rid of.

I live in a very rural area, so getting my planks to a mill house wasn't an option. Snapping a string for straight edge, then free handing the plank through the saw is not fun, and quite dangerous to boot. Then there is the joining process, and I never really liked that step with a "not-too-true" edge to begin with.

I created this sled to do the trick, and with a very good, non-flexing rip blade, I have been able to many times skip the joiner altogether.

A good plywood such as Baltic Birch works very well for this sled. The material you want to use needs to be stronger than particle board.

I hope you get some value as I have.

Comments

[OldGuy52]

Wonderful! I made something like this after my tablesaw died in the middle of a project. This has some great refinements! I'll be using this in my next one.

[albertlea101]

Thank you for the nice comment!

[seamster]

Thank you for sharing how you made this!

I've needed a straight rip sled of some kind before, but never figured out how to make what I needed. This is a great idea!

[albertlea101]

I'm glad you like it! Thank you for the feedback!