Planer Sled

[Al Launier]

Well, as noted in a previous post, it’s since been a while since I decided to make the Planer Sled noted in the Sept/Oct 2014 issue of Shop Notes magazine. This was a several month effort as I only worked an hour /day, or not at all for a week(s) at a time. In any event, it’s done, it can accommodate 12” x 4’ long boards, & I used it the first time today to mill a rough sawn piece of walnut measuring ~2 ” x ~ 12” x ~36”. Balancing the badly warped/cupped/humped (~ 3/8” overall) board with the levelers was easy.

Although the tempered hardboard is very smooth to begin with, a coat of paste was applied to the bottom & also to the planer bed, after all sleds are supposed to slide …right?

[Al Launier]

The sled passed the test with flying colors: very sturdy (torsion board base & (6) levelers) with no apparent vibration.

The board had a number of 1/16’ dia. X ½” deep holes approximately in the center of the board, so I cut the board into pieces that might be most useful (?). I currently have no plans for what I’m going to do with it (probably a small box or two, or maybe a frame), but it is a nice piece of wood, and it was an interesting project.

Now, with cramped quarters to begin with, it’s going to be a challenge to find a place to store this beast!

[Raymond Fries]

Very nice. Enjoy it...

I have a planer sled on my to build list. To many projects and so little time...

[Al Launier]

Thanks Ray, I'm hoping this will remove the limits of my 6" jointer.

[Vince Shriver]

I really like the planer sled you made. How could I get a copy of the plans? I'd happily purchase them (at a reasonable price), but it seems that ShopNotes is KaPutt!

[Scott Brandstetter]

I think I am a bit lost with this planer sled idea. I'm not sure I've heard of it before, forgive me. So what I'm getting from the pictures is that you can take a board that is warped, lay it on the sled, adjust the sled to keep pressure where the warping is with the idea of getting a true flat side, then flip in over without the sled and plan the other side. Again, new to me but interested to say the least.

[glenn bradley]

That looks great Al. Even though I have an 8" jointer my planer sled still comes into service a couple times a year.

[Al Launier]

!
Scott, you've nailed it! This is exactly how it's used. Keep in mind that what I do may not be the best way to balance out the board prior to planing, but this is what I do. If anyone else (Glenn?) can offer suggestions for better ways to use this tool, please do so.


Before I place the board on the levelers I lower all the levelers until bottomed out. This places them all at approximately the same height.
Then raise the four corner "adjusters" a bit, each to approximately the same height. Note: keeping the final height of all levelers as low as practical will provide for a more study setup.
Place the board on the levelers (cup side down) & centralize the board on the levelers to be sure the whole assembly will pass through the planer.
Then press down on each corner of the board to get a sense of where the high & low points are.
Then measure the O/A height of the board from the base of the sled at each corner to compare.
Place a straight edge diagonally on top of the board, both ways to get a good sensing of what is going on over the entire board.
Then decide how you want to minimize the amount of material to remove from the top face of the board, yet still keeping material removal from the bottom face in mind
Determine the height for the corner levelers & set the adusters at each of the four corners to establish this height - be sure there is no more "rocking" of the board adjust further if necessary.
Then raise the internal levelers until contact is made with the board. None of the levelers should wiggle at this time, giving contact support under the board at all locations.
Take a measurement from the base of the sled to the highest point on the board & set the planer cutting height slightly above this to be sure of no surprises..
Place the whole sled/board assembly on the planer, centralize it to the planer & give it a go. The first cut may be an air cut, but that's better than taking too much on the first bite.
Repeat & lower the blades to suit the depth of cut you want - I prefer to take 1/32" on a 12" wide board.
Enjoy your new handy dandy tool!


Hope this helps.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Very cool.

Al, can you explain how the lever adjustment works? I've seen a more crude version of this where the work piece rests on triangular wedges and a drywall screw holds them in place with the help of a bungee cord. But I haven't seen this version before. It looks far more sophisticated and thought out.

Thanks!

[Al Launier]

There is a bolt that goes through the leveler down through the adjustment wheel & continuing down into the "slider block". The end of the bolt is epoxied into the slider block so that the bolt doesn't rotate. However the wheel has a T-nut epoxieid into its center with a thread that matches the bolt, i.e. both are 1/4"-20. So, when the wheel is turned, it goes up or down to adjust the height of the leveler on top of it. The head of this bolt is covered by the strip of sand paper wich is attached to the leveler with a spray adhesive.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Aha. Thanks. That's very clever.

[glenn bradley]

I built the more fundamental version that Keith Rust had in Fine Woodworking. This is the one with the wedges and screws. The leveling process is much like Al's:
- Zero all the levelers
- Place the board on the sled in the way that it teeter-totters the least
--- Most boars have some degree of twist so I will use the first and last leveler in play to split the difference of the teeter-totter amount. You are looking to remove the least amount of wood possible to get a flat reference surface.
- Position the other levelers to touch the bottom surface of the material for support.
--- I sometimes have to make a run through the 'between' levelers a couple times to get the best result.
- WARNING . . . Be sure the extreme front and rear of the material is directly supported by a leveler.
- Measure the maximum height, set your planer just shy of that and start to plane (joint).

The ShopNotes version is much more refined than the FWW version and had it been around, I would have built that ;-) I made a lot of extra wedges since I assumed they would wear out over time. I have been using the originals for so long that I don't even know where the extras went. If you need to face joint material wider than your jointer on an even occasional basis, the time spent making one of these is well spent.