Crosscut Sled and Pawls

[cpw]

Anyone know of a good design for a crosscut sled that plays nice with the anti-kickback pawls? I'm thinking of just notching out a 1/4" in the back of the one I'm building so that I can push it mostly past the blade and then retract it.

Also thought about removing the left pawl from my blade guard, but decided that was a no go since I may want it for a rip cut. It sure would be handy if the pawls could come off the guard and go back on quickly (kind of like the guard itself).

[BadgerDave]

It's not the best solution in the world but I use a small binder clip (http://www.amazon.com/ACC72010-Binder-Clips-Black-Silver/dp/B000JCPKG8/ref=pd_bbs_8?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1217500330&sr=8-8) to hold up the left side pawl. This method doesn't allow for the blade guard to lower itself all the way down to the table top but it still enables the blade guard to be functional. Just remember to remove the clip when you're done using the sled.

[Wood_Junkie]

I use a 1 1/4" chunk (or so) of a wooden pencil to hold both pawls up. The pawls have a big tab on the top end that'll rest on top of a number of improvised blocking items. You need something that has its own holding power, like BadgerDave's binder clip, or straddle the splitter so that the right pawl holds up the left pawl (and vice versa!)

The best solution I've thought of, but never implemented (because I'm a BAD boy and just remove the splitter...) is making a saddle-bag style block. So, imagine a piece of 1/2" x 2" plywood with a kerf cut up its middle. Glue some 1/4" hardboard/MDF onto the lower edge. (see ghetto kindergarten pic attached)

When you want the pawls up, put the saddle on the splitter, raise the pawls up, slide the saddle into position and lower the pawls to rest on the MDF. My li'l rabbit brain makes me think the blade cover would still function unimpeded and your pawls would be up and out of the way. You could adjust the size of the saddle to get the pawls as high/low as you want.

[VASandy]

I saw a crosscut sled design that allows for a slide-on, slide-off clear plastic piece that covers the kerf area of the blade. It's made using 1/4" clear lexan material. While this does not have anti-kickback capabilities, the lexan will keep things from being thrown up at you. Since the device slides up and down on the sled, it can be set for any thickness of material. You could go as far as clamping a featherboard to the lexan to insure the material doesn't jump up.

Niki may have a thread already that shows it. Take a look through his jigs thread.

[cpw]

I saw a crosscut sled design that allows for a slide-on, slide-off clear plastic piece that covers the kerf area of the blade. It's made using 1/4" clear lexan material. While this does not have anti-kickback capabilities, the lexan will keep things from being thrown up at you. Since the device slides up and down on the sled, it can be set for any thickness of material. You could go as far as clamping a featherboard to the lexan to insure the material doesn't jump up.

Niki may have a thread already that shows it. Take a look through his jigs thread.
I've seen the double runner sleds like that, and I know niki has one. I'm trying to start off with a single runner sled though; because they are simpler to build and I think that I'll be able to dial it in better (just because it is simpler, and I'm not super coordinated).