Human readable plan

I will cut it on the bandsaw, maybe next weekend. If sombody neads pictures, i can take some.

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What is the minimum diameter size of a sled for the new ring kit? And what thickness is recommended?

@bar can correct me if I’m wrong. The "standard sled is ~18 inches ( 450 mm ) around and is cut from 3/4 plywood. The ring was designed to fit the original sled I believe so anyone could retrofit it.

People have made the sled from many different materials to try to lower the friction of the sled. I’m famous for suggesting bees wax for the bottom of the sled or any wood installation you need lubricity.

Thank you

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Thanks Bee. I was thinking of making dados from the centre and out on the backside of the sled, to allow air to get into the routed groove and make it easier for my vacuum to pull the dust without sucking the sled to the plywood. Has anyone done similar experiments?

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Of course I would sand all edges :slight_smile:

Looking at the ring mounting template, it would just fit in a 14" circle with a little to spare.

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I’m really curious about how this works. I like the idea!

This has me thinking of Air Hockey.

I have one of these and this design would allow a very thin cushion of air to float the sled.

We should investigate this.

Thank you

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I work as a cabinetmaker at this method is used on massive machines to make it easier to move materials around. I experienced it on this saw: http://peterthuesen.dk/maskinsnedker/opskaering-af-trae.aspx

I was actually thinking of rerouting the exhaust air from my vacuum to make a somewhat closed system. But I have no idea if it will work.

Cheers Rasmus

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Does the puck work as intended ?

I have set and on a surface like a floor - yes. Very well. I bought it to play with my Dog but didn’t like the sound.

Thank you

I haven’t experimented yet, but my current design (which I believe is final and will be implemented) uses three wedge shaped pieces of HDPE that are separated by 1 inch channels. This saves material and allows a means for air to the vacuum, and, since the pieces are arranged such that there is a vertical channel below the bit to allow any residual dust or chips to fall out after the vacuum is turned off.

I am also planning to use a sled made from laser cut steel or aluminum, so there’s that, but the HDPE could certainly be screwed into plywood.

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remember that you are cutting away the surface under the sled, so if you have
rings with gaps between them, there is a chance of getting hung up

if you try to float the sled (air hockey style) you run into the problem that
when you cross a section you have already cut, more air escapes and the sled
drops closer to the workpiece, throwing off your depth of cut.

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I am counting on the 1 inch gaps being thin enough to ride over most of the surface, and since the gaps don’t run fully across the sled, then there should be no problem with them dropping in a previous cut.

Pictures being worth 1000 words, here’s the best I can do without my personal laptop:
HDPE%20pattern

With the corners being rounded and the edge rounded over.

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Are you talking about polyethylene?

Yes. High density polyethylene to be exact.

Those sled slider sections might fit well on discount or dollar store cheap cutting boards. They can be cheaper and easier to find than sheet HDPE or UHMW

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Definitely. I decided to go with an amazon purchase instead. More expensive, but virgin material with a super slick surface (whereas many cutting boards have a texture.)

Overall, though, not a bad price for 2 square feet

I have a crude quick fix and you need a fire exrsigusher - Flame polish a cheap cutting board from the pic n dollar type store.

Thank you

Has anyone tried using a 18" aluminum pizza pan?

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