Table Saw Miter Sled For Picture Frames

This also works well for small framed table tops.

Table saw miter sled for picture frames.

The two main benefits of a miter sled are speed and accuracy. In my experience i have found getting perfect 45 degree miters on a miter saw a huge pain in the butt. It is especially noticeable when trying to make a nice tight fitting picture frame. We walk you through the easy step by step how to so you can add this miter sled to your woodworking arsenal.

With your rough cut section of molding secured to the short fence miter the right hand end. If you re cutting stock that is a mitered corner that wraps like the base molding i did for my desk the sled doesn t really work for that. With this table saw jig you can cut eight perfect miters for a picture frame with zero recuts. If you should err you still will be able to cut the longer piece into a shorter side.

That makes building a picture frame much easier. Mitering and gluing odd shaped picture frame molding can be a struggle. This sled covers both of those issues as well as it allows for larger picture frames than a traditional miter sled stop system. When i started work on a frame for a mirror i quickly realized i need a reliable way to cut perfect miters.

If you re laying the boards down flat and cutting your miters like with picture frame building the table saw miter sled works great. Once this jig is made there isn t any setup time. Note that if it is 14 from the center of my saw blade to the front edge of the table that the overhang when so positioned see image 3485 is reading on the silver aluminum rule approximately 42 to the back of the sled at apron. Simply set the jig on the table saw and start cutting.

When making the sled you are utilizing a perfect 90 degree corner to reference your cuts off of. Grain and color are important. Picture frames are not measured by the inside or outside length but by the rabbit so if your artwork or matte is 5x7 we can set the stop to create a frame for that exact size. That s where a table saw miter sled comes in.

Move the molding to the long fence using the ruler to establish the desired length. Using your miter sled when cutting frame molding always cut the longer sides first. A miter is a joint made between two boards typi. 46 on the sled gold t square thus the table overhang at the front side of the saw table is 42 14 28.

With this technique the frame is mitered and glued when the stock still has its square profile.