A Very Effective Planer Sled!!

[Keith Starosta]

Since this (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=80613) particular thread was not bearing any fruit, I figured that I needed to go a different route. Glenn Bradley posted a thread on a different board relating his experience with building and using the planer sled featured in Fine Woodworking last year. Basically, it allows for flattening one face of a wide board using a sled on your planer. After watching the video, and looking at the associated plans, I figured this would be a great way to tackle my problem. So, I got to work...

I put in a total of about three hours into this over yesterday and today. Mine measures 55"x12", which means that I can work with lumber up to the full width of my 13" Delta planer!! :). Here is a picture...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2172/2374327461_2ae6657953.jpg

Here it is just before its maiden voyage. I was using a 54"x 12 1/8" piece of rift sawn white oak...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2417/2374327913_ef0343f6ed.jpg

After some fussing with how to work around my bench, it went really well!! I was able to completely flatten one face, then take it off the sled, flip it over, and bring it down to 3/4" thick using the conventional method. I'm very happy with its performance. I'm probably going to make a nine foot sled at some point, but for now, this one will do fine. ;)

For those of you that have a sunscription to FWW online, here is the link where you can see the video and plans for this sled...
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/subscription/workshop/workshoparticle.aspx?id=5245

Thanks for looking!

- Keith

[Jim Dunn]

Nice Keith! I use a sled but I just shim the edges after determining the crowned side down. Keep them in place with hot glue. Simple but I seem to run out of shims pretty frequently:)

[J. Z. Guest]

Very nice Keith. Let me see if I have this straight: One puts the board on the sled, then slides the wedges in to come up flush to the high spots?

What if the board is bowed or cupped, so that the middle needs a wedge? You just turn it concave side up, then wedge the ends?

This seems like an awesome way to get the most out of your planer, nearly making it into a 13" face jointer.

When you're done thicknessing, you can edge joint on a router table, right?

[Josh Rudolph]

Keith,

I am going to be doing that same sled in the next week or so. Hopefully it worked out well for you.

Friday, I received the 20" G0454. I could not find a larger jointer in my price range so figured I would go with a big planer and do a planer sled until I could find a bigger jointer. (Doing these upgrades slowly since the shop budget got realigned)

I have been looking for the bungee cord locally, but have not had much luck...where did you find yours?


Josh

[Stephen Edwards]

Looks nice Keith. The sled itself is 3 layers of material? What is the material that's sandwiched in between the top and bottom layers of the sled?

Is the board that you're planing secured to the sled or is it just laying on those strips that appear to be covered with some sort of sandpaper?

I've read about these sleds and it seems a nice solution to a common problem. Thanks for sharing!

[Keith Starosta]

Very nice Keith. Let me see if I have this straight: One puts the board on the sled, then slides the wedges in to come up flush to the high spots?

What if the board is bowed or cupped, so that the middle needs a wedge? You just turn it concave side up, then wedge the ends?

This seems like an awesome way to get the most out of your planer, nearly making it into a 13" face jointer.

When you're done thicknessing, you can edge joint on a router table, right?

This is the plan, Jeremy! I'm going to use a split-fence set-up, with a sharp straight bit to edge the boards. Hopefully it works like I'm envisioning it... :rolleyes:

- Keith

[Keith Starosta]

Keith,

I am going to be doing that same sled in the next week or so. Hopefully it worked out well for you.

Friday, I received the 20" G0454. I could not find a larger jointer in my price range so figured I would go with a big planer and do a planer sled until I could find a bigger jointer. (Doing these upgrades slowly since the shop budget got realigned)

I have been looking for the bungee cord locally, but have not had much luck...where did you find yours?


Josh

Hey neighbor!! :D

I picked up a 48" bungee from Home Depot. worked really well...

- Keith:D

[Keith Starosta]

Looks nice Keith. The sled itself is 3 layers of material? What is the material that's sandwiched in between the top and bottom layers of the sled?

Is the board that you're planing secured to the sled or is it just laying on those strips that appear to be covered with some sort of sandpaper?

I've read about these sleds and it seems a nice solution to a common problem. Thanks for sharing!

Stephen, I've attached a quick and dirty drawing of the bottom and middle layers. I used MDF for the bottom, then 3/4" plywood for the frame in the middle. The board that is being planed does indeed just sit on top. The risers and wedges are held down by friction, and peel-and-stick rubberized stair tread.

- Keith

[Josh Rudolph]

The 48" bungee...what do you think the longest it can stretched? I am looking to build an 8' version.

Found some online sources for some bulk spools (50'), but the shipping is a bit high. I will have to keep looking.


Josh

[Phil Thien]

Outstanding, it really negates the need for a wide jointer. I look forward to reading a follow-up review after you've had more time to use it.

[Stephen Edwards]

You could tie two bungies together and make sure that that the knot is located between two of the cross pieces. Or, using the type of thread and needle that a shoe repair shop uses, stitch two of them together. Heavy duty thread of course.

[Charlie Velasquez]

The 48" bungee...what do you think the longest it can stretched? I am looking to build an 8' version.

Josh

Just add 1/4" rope to the end to make up the difference. You only need the bungee to add tension.

[Matt Day]

How much does that beast weigh? My only concern would be wrestling it around my shop. I guess it would give me good reason to finally make a useable infeed/outfeed table!

[Greg Sznajdruk]

Keith:

Watched the video and saved a copy of the plan. This looks like something that I could have used this last year, saved myself a lot of hand planning.

It appears that the only thing that keeps the board from shooting back out of the planner is the friction tape on the cross wedges.

Was this a problem or a concern for you?

Greg.

[Keith Starosta]

No, actually. I didn't even think about that. The rubberized stair tread does an excellent job holding everything in place. It didn't even budge.

- Keith

[John Browne]

The 48" bungee...what do you think the longest it can stretched? I am looking to build an 8' version.

Found some online sources for some bulk spools (50'), but the shipping is a bit high. I will have to keep looking.


Josh

You can buy shock cord in whatever length you want at West Marine or other marine store (www.westmarine.com). Just put a hook on each end. Use zip ties to keep the knots from slipping.

[glenn bradley]

Great job Keith. I'm glad someone else tried this as I was so surprised at how quickly it goes together and how well it works ;). I went ahead and put tread on my wedges and added the screws to lock the wedges in place per the plans. It could be ugly to have a wedge get loose while passing through the planer :eek:.

The screws help keep the wedges from falling out when I hang it on the wall too :rolleyes:. I just drilled a couple 5/8" holes on the underside at one end and hang it from a couple pegs on the wall by the DC.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=76667&d=1197145807