Thread: what type of planer is this?

It is a router planing sled. They've been around for donkeys years. Recently Woodpeckers advertised this one ...

https://www.woodpeck.com/woodpeckers...j3t1yp1gjnaylm

Make your own out of wood or mild steel rails.

Useful for flattening wide slabs.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by qwertyu

Came across a fancy router sled on youtube:
https://youtu.be/TrYTo2-cNbU?t=184

Is there a name for this type of setup? What type of runners are they that that sled run on?

more interestingly, Andrew sure looks familiar

I would like to build one. Aluminium extrusion with the t tracks probably the easiest to get the table flat. Ideas on a runner system? What type of runners does this one use?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

The runners on that particular machine are linear rail shafts fitted with bearing slide blocks. A few guys on the forum have been using them lately most significantly in computer controlled router lifts. Have a look at threads by Lappa and MandJ in the routing forum. There are a lot of much more basic, cheap and simple homemade router sleds around though.

Good advice above, qwertyu.

The enemy of router sleds is flex - almost everyone builds their first one too light, is delighted at how quickly and smoothly it works, then dismayed when they realise that their lovely flat surface is actually wavy.

Good luck

Graeme

I think I'll go with aluminium extrusion as it will be more cost effective. Thoughts on this?

20x60mm for the long side rails - 3m each side
20x40mm to join the two 3m rails - 1.4m each. I'll have 4 lengths of these - one on each end and two in the middle which I adjust to suit the slab.

like this:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...d_?usp=sharing

Think these will be rigid enough? Or go with 20x80 long rails and 20x60 cross rails

or just 30x60 rails all round. 30mm extrusion seems to have better connectors

_____

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/mk2060-2...UMj:rk:42:pf:0

the other consideration is that your reference surface -- what the slab and your sled rests on -- needs to be flat

I was going to sit it on the aluminium directly as I figured it was be the easiest way to get a flat reference surface. The sled will also likely also be aluminium, just got a figure out a way it can ride along the extrusion.

Anyone know if there are some nylon pads which also fit into the T slot I could use? Just want something cheap

This may be of interest to those who have to flatten big slabs