Router Planer Slab Help. Level Slab? Pic Inside

[Patrick Irish]

I scored a free piece of black walnut from an auction thing I bid on. Live cut, 53" long and 22" at it's widest and was 2 3/4" thick before I started planing it.

My Question:

It's 2 1/2" thick on the closest end in the picture and 2 1/4" thick on the far end. Do I need essentially remove 1/4" of an inch to level and flatten it to make a coffee table correctly? There's still plenty of raw chainsaw cut I want to take off too. I really dont want to take too much material off but again, even at 2" thick, it will be a hefty piece.

The plans and youtubes I've watched mention leveling the slab. What does that mean? Sorry for sounding dumb. The slab doesnt wobble. My runners/rails I made are level to the table and dont move either. I'm going to borrow and 5' and 4' foot level as mine is too small.

[Robert LaPlaca]

I have processed plenty of wide lumber by hand with planes, you want to get one reference side flat with no wind or twist.. Once you have that reference side right, typically one uses a marking gauge set at the thinness point on the lumber to strike a level surface line around the edges of the lumber, the line is used to establish the level thickness of the lumber.. You want to remove wood down to the struck line..

[Erik Christensen]

yah - flat top & bottom is what most do - how flat is 'good enough' and how you get there is the question. A router sled does a great job of letting a small shop flatten pretty much any size slab/glue-up. to remove the router marks you can either use a sander or handtools

[Ted Calver]

I would select the flattest side first and shim the piece as necessary to use the router sled to flatten it. Then, flip the piece over in the sled and flatten the other side as much as needed.

[Patrick Irish]

Thank guys. The top in the picture is definitely flat now with no twist or anything. When I flip it, it sits flat and doesnt wobble or move. Toward the edges there's a tiny gap but thats where the piece gets thin. I think I'll flip it and flatten the other side then check for thickness all around. Going to grab a level now thats big enough.

I wish I had a 2" flat bottom bit, this 1 1/2" does take a good amount of time.

[Prashun Patel]

Patrick-
I notice your sled rides on saw horses and plywood. Have you taken time to level that base (making sure all four corners are coplanar) before flattening your slab?

I made the mistake of not doing that perfectly on a recent project, and ended up tapering my sycamore board on one end.

[Chris Merriam]

The Wood Whisperer has a great video on his site on making a router sled and getting the rails coplaner.

I'd say if the bottom is flat enough to mount your base with no gaps, and you are happy with what the top side looks like, then you are done, but of course it all depends on what final look you are going for.

[Dave Haughs]

The Wood Whisperer has a great video on his site on making a router sled and getting the rails coplaner.

I'd say if the bottom is flat enough to mount your base with no gaps, and you are happy with what the top side looks like, then you are done, but of course it all depends on what final look you are going for.


http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/flattening-workbenches-and-wide-boards-with-a-router/