Q&A: If you have a quality miter gauge, why bother making a wooden sl…

Sometimes buying top quality isn’t enough

When a woodworker spends thousands on a quality table saw with a quality miter gauge or buys a quality aftermarket miter gauge—recommended by Fine Woodworking (“Miter Gauges,” FWW #306)—then why would they go to the trouble of making a wooden sled? Surely technology and manufacturing improvements and standards count for something!
—Konrad Plachta,
Bathurst, Australia

Editor’s reply:

The need for a crosscut sled in addition to a miter gauge is a subject I’m happy to address. However, it raises the broader topic of just what tools we need in order to accomplish our work, and why they may differ from person to person. Last fall I had the good fortune to participate in a woodworking tour of England hosted by Fine Woodworking (we’re heading back this fall!). At one of our stops we toured the Snowden School of Furniture.

The…