Thread: Making a Router Sled

Originally Posted by Pauls321

Good luck with it Stu, hope it works out fine and performs to all your expectations,

Paul

Hope so too! Let me know how those cheapy ebay bottom cleaning bits work out - I saw those and thought they might be worth a punt for the money, but if you're going to play guinea pig, so much the better

Originally Posted by Prle77

Heya Jim47
What L profile size did you use??
Also the 55mm surface planer would definitely speed up the job but cost wise it is a bit too expensive... $79.30 + delivery from apworkshop.com.au comparing to carbatec $31.00 for slightly smaller bit but again... huge difference in pricing..

Hi Prle77
Sorry for the delay in posting a reply.
I wanted to fix the Al strips before responding.
I used 20X12, mounted 20 flat and 12 upright to suit the castors which I bought.
I have found that it is OK for the purpose for which I intend using.
My trial has been carried out without a load on the rolling trolley, as I have not fixed the router on to it yet.
I have 2 X 1200 Al strips length wise i.e. X axis, and 2 X 600 across i.e. Y axis.
This info may not be much use to you, if you intend making a sled like Paul made.
If you intend using castors, you will need large ones, (over 50mm diameter) to clear the 25mm X 25mm Al you already have.

Re the planing bits, I will be using the Carbatec planing bit which I bought; but it is good to know that the larger bit is available.
I agree that the large bit is expensive, but it all depends on how much use it will get.
Once the Carbatec bit is dull it is of no further use.
The dearer one has smaller cutting edges on 4 sides which can be rotated once one edge becomes dull. Furthermore replacement 4 sided blades for attachment to the main body can be purchased 10 for $36.00.

Originally Posted by Pauls321

Thanks Jill, I also just found a 22mm cleaning bit with a 6mm shank, most interesting.

This is it, it appears you get 2 for 20 bucks with free delivery.

2pcs CNC Router Bottom Cleaning Bits 6mm 22mm | eBay

If its no good I've wasted $20. Whenever it arrives I wont be able to test it out till later in July, as we're heading on a trip up to Cairns end of next week.

Regards, Paul

Just had a thought about those - they have a 6mm shank. Does your router have a 6mm or 1/4" (6.35mm) collet?

I've actually decided to have a punt on the 1/2" shank, 1 1/2" diameter version. I'll let you know how they go!

Finished my sled. I haven't tried it out yet because there a few minor adjustments I want to do first, but it looks like it will work OK.

The required "glide" for the carriage bit is achieved using little pads of teflon, as seen in the third pic. It slips very nicely, and IMO negates any need for a complex ball bearing arrangement.

That looks really neat, StuNZ, well done

I particularly liked the Teflon touch Where do you buy that material? Can you tell us a bit more about it please, like thickness, and if it comes in sheets etc ?

I bought the teflon from a bloke in Spain of all places: TEFLON / PTFE SHEET 100mmX100mm, thickness 0.8 mm | eBay

I only needed about 2/3rds of the 100mm x 100mm piece for the pads (which are 40x20mm each, and that seems to be heaps. It's 0.8mm thick.

The only slightly tricky bit is glueing it to the aluminium, but Loctite make a product that's perfect for the task - basically plain superglue with a primer/activator that goes on the teflon side first. The glue is Loctite 401, and the primer is Loctite 770. Or you can buy a little combo pack with small tubes of both: LOCTITE SUPER GLUE -All Plastics.x 4m | eBay

Looks good NZStu.

Jill, another alternative to teflon is UHMW Polyethylene. Initially it's not quite as slippery as teflon but because teflon is softer than UHMWPE it more easily picks up tiny bits of grit etc so eventually is it about as slippery as UHMWPE. UHMWPE is generally more available, cheaper and hence can be used in thicker sheets that can be mechanically held onto surfaces eg using countersunk screws. I use 3 and 6 mm thick UHMWPE all over my workshop and have started putting it on the feet of my benches in place of wheels for benches that are only moved occasionally.

Many thanks NZStu and BobL, this is valuable information for me and many others, I would reckon. Much appreciated.

Spain !! who would have thought that

I did consider using UHMW, and there's no particular technical reason not to - it's just that the size and price of that particular bit of teflon worked out best for this application

Originally Posted by NZStu

I did consider using UHMW, and there's no particular technical reason not to - it's just that the size and price of that particular bit of teflon worked out best for this application

Yeah - often it's what you have or can get access to that works best for you.

Templatetom wrote a series on supporting your router. He recommends two rods through the holesthat the fence rails go in, and feet fixed on the ends. The router moves around a flat surface (skis).
Tom's article is still around, and harrysin on the router forum often explains their construction and use. And there is the cam box to hold small workpieces down.

Originally Posted by Johncs

Templatetom wrote a series on supporting your router. He recommends two rods through the holesthat the fence rails go in, and feet fixed on the ends. The router moves around a flat surface (skis).
Tom's article is still around, and harrysin on the router forum often explains their construction and use. And there is the cam box to hold small workpieces down.

Here is a quick demo I made up for some friends in the US.

The router skis are made to Template Tom's design and made for me by Harrysin.

I was using my rough work bench, but next time use a flat sheet of MDf as a base.

Using router skis demo1 - YouTube

After a number of months of not doing anything interesting in the shed, I've now finally used my sled in anger - dressing one face of a 2100x180x50 piece of oak.

This is a big, heavy bit of timber, with a slight bow along the length. I plonked it on my sled, set it up to take the required amount of material off in one pass (about 4mm at the highest point) and got stuck in. It took about 10 minutes to finish it, and the end result was a perfectly flat, straight face with a tooling marks that took another couple of minutes to remove with a #7 handplane.

Overall, I'd call it an unqualified success. It would have taken considerably more effort to achieve the same result with a thicknesser, especially with removing the bow.

It probably isn't for everyone, but for my situation it's utterly ideal.

Hi NZ Stu, can you please tell us the best way to clamp a bowed / warped piece of timber to the sled base, and how to determine the depth of cut to make with the planer bit?