Cutting Multiple Pieces

Cutting Multiple Pieces Diagram 1 I've been making and selling the same wood items for fifteen years. In order to speed up the production process, I came up with this method for creating duplicate parts without having to re-measure every time I need to make a run of a certain part. My trick is to use a crosscut sled with stop blocks that automatically set up the workpiece for the cut I need.

I started by making a simple crosscut sled for my table saw. It's nothing more than a piece of plywood with a fence and a runner. Then I drilled a row of evenly-spaced holes in the sled, just in front of the fence, as you see in the drawing.

Cutting Multiple Pieces Diagram 2 Each stop block is just a scrap of wood with a couple of dowel pins glued into holes drilled in the block (see drawing at left). The dowel pins are spaced to match the hole spacing in the sled.

I make a custom-sized stop block for each part that I create. Then I label the stop block so that I know what part it's for and which holes it fits into on the sled.

Whenever I need to make more of a certain part, I simply grab the particular stop block and mount it to the sled. This way I always know that the pieces will be the same size.

Have a nice weekend,

Phil Huber
Online Editor, ShopNotes

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