jason mowery
12-28-2009, 5:46 PM
Good Evening-
I've had great success using a piece of Melamine shelving (from Lowes) with a simple hardwood cleat secured with countersunk screws at one end for a planer sled to surface rough cut boards wider than my jointer. This is a very simple solution, and works just fine for me. While I've seen pretty complex planer sleds, mine works great using shimstock and blue painter's tape to compensate for irregularities in flatness. One area that could be improved though is the rigidity of the Melamine. A 6' long piece is a little floppy at the extreme infeed and outfeed ends when in the planer, and I was wondering if Melamine could effectively be glued to another sheet of melamine. Also, would this add any rigidity, or would I just end up with a heavier, but no more rigid, planer sled? Thanks for your thoughts in advance.
I've had great success using a piece of Melamine shelving (from Lowes) with a simple hardwood cleat secured with countersunk screws at one end for a planer sled to surface rough cut boards wider than my jointer. This is a very simple solution, and works just fine for me. While I've seen pretty complex planer sleds, mine works great using shimstock and blue painter's tape to compensate for irregularities in flatness. One area that could be improved though is the rigidity of the Melamine. A 6' long piece is a little floppy at the extreme infeed and outfeed ends when in the planer, and I was wondering if Melamine could effectively be glued to another sheet of melamine. Also, would this add any rigidity, or would I just end up with a heavier, but no more rigid, planer sled? Thanks for your thoughts in advance.