However, for boards or slabs that are too wide for a jointer (but still narrow enough to fit through a thickness planer), the approach demonstrated in this Instructable is one way to perform both steps needed to flatten boards using just a thickness planer, rather than using a jointer AND a planer. Another benefit of a commercial shop is a large jointer, we have a 12″ jointer in our shop. FREE Shipping by Amazon. Shipping on our slab jig is about 3-5 business days. I would get as flat as possible prior to adding any epoxy. With just 1/2 sheet of plywood and my router, I was able to surface and flatten some massive end grain butcher blocks! Unless you're dealing with some crazy cupping, when removing board-twist at least one corner of the board will likely be able to rest directly on the sled. The Slab Flattening Mill starts with two aluminum extrusions. About proper drill press speeds for different bits and how to set the pulleys to match. I'm not sure what these boards were used for previously, but they have a lot of character! You are correct. 10 months ago Or you could just chuck the board into the planer and cross your fingers. See more ideas about woodworking jigs, woodworking tips, woodworking. And you basically run it on two long straight edges, and you use it for flattening out wide slabs of anything too wide to fit in your planer. $28.49 $ 28. Using a table saw, I cut two 60" lengths of 3/8" plywood that were just narrower than the opening of my planer (in my case, the width capacity is 12 1/2", so I made these pieces 12 1/4"). FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon. Planer's Package for Routers This package features everything you need to work with a slab flattening router jig. Learn the ins and outs of power tools with this digital collection! I wish I had a planer and wide belt sander big enough for 11’ slabs, but that’s far fetched. Here’s how. Enjoy flattening some slabs! That is great for short boards and I have a somilar setup but with a lip in the back so no need for tape. To finish the box, I sprayed it with a few coats of spray lacquer, followed by a light sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. This is a great way for me to flatten work pieces that are too large to fit in my planer, drum sander or my CNC. Slab flattening is now being offered! The Slab Flattening Mill PRO is able to mill slabs … Good question. DIY, flattening, jig, leveling, plans, slab, woodworking. For long boards and live edge stock, I use 1 x 2 pine glued to to the bottom on both sides. How are you checking for flatness? Alternately, a plain piece of plywood or MDF could be used as long as it stays perfectly flat and becomes sufficiently rigid when the board to be flattened is affixed to it. The sled will move along an inch at a time; it is slow, but you get a deadly flat surface when you’re finished. The SlabMizer MB200 Slab Flattener efficiently surfaces and flattens wood slabs, boards, burls, cookies, and other wide material with minimal labor. I'm Matt. Thanks. Please note that the router will leave shallow lines from each pass, which will need to be sanded out before finish. I picked up a bunch of old oak beams recently, and have been using the wood for various projects. David Thiel has been part of the Popular Woodworking family for 20 years, and now oversees the woodworking video creation. How to Make a Router Sled to Flatten Slabs: Hi! Facebook; Pinterest ; Twitter; Text; By . You are just establishing a flat plane to reference from , then flatten the other side, flip and dress the surface you routed. This innovative kit provides the necessary hardware to build an inexpensive large-capacity router sled for flattening slabs. I grew up working in my dad’s custom woodworking shop standing in a pile of shavings on the outfeed side of a 24″ planer. In the first photo in step 3, the furthest back corner of the board is resting on the sled box, with all other corners shimmed. Sometimes I just shoot for 60-70% of the underside of a slab to be flat on bar and tabletops. Live Edge For Beginners - Planing, Surfacing, Just Getting It Flat. In this video i make super fast and simple router flattening sled for a combo build with mike montgomery from modern builds. This slab jig will help you make wood slab projects flat! You can’t pull this off without a jointer, surface planer and table saw. The board is now fastened securely in place using hot glue. It takes an investment to flatten wood, though. 49 $49.99 $49.99. That would let you get thicker material through the planer. I should mention that with these large slab projects, I plan on using the Freud 1-3/4” x ¾”double flute straight cut bit ... the 3/4″ ply can potentially sag under the weight and throw off the middle of the slab flattening. So I use the rigidity of the slab and shim under the 2×6’s so the runners will run even. I use sample laminate pieces which you can typically get for free from the kitchen section at home centers and hardware stores. If you are familiar with woodworks then you. The simple steps to keep mortiser chisels and drill bits sharp and cutting true. Slab flattening router jig plans. You won’t have to shim it, since this side is already flat. – Simple Woodworking Projects, hand planes and winding sticks are an option. *The term "flatten" as I'm using it here means: make two boardfaces perfectly parallel to one another by removing warps, twists or cupping. The goal is to affix the imperfect board firmly to the support structure so it cannot move or flex at all. Sure the individual boards are square and true, but with a glued-up slab, there’s always room for error. If you have access to a large, industrial planer, or don’t mind coughing up a pretty big chunk of cash to have a professional lumber mill operation level and flatten out a large slab of wood for you, then you have nothing to worry about. It all depends on the shape of the board in question, and what twisting and various thicknesses you're trying to overcome. Repeat! Thanks! Pretty clever! Woodhaven 3000 27" Planing Sled. Great! You only want to remove a tiny fraction at a time. Measure your wood slabs maximum width and length. We specialize in wide slab and burl tables and what a mission it used to be to get them flat, let alone of uniform thickness. Ah! 38" x 56" Slab Flattening Mill Flatten uneven, live-edge slabs and rough-sawn lumber using your router and this innovative slab flattening mill from Grizzly. If you have a large wood slab that's too wide to put through your jointer and surface planer, use these tools with your hand-held router and a Slab Flattening Router Jig (PROJECT-002) to accurately flatten and plane it to a working thickness. A very good idea. This jig does not come with the router or bits. I’ve got a couple of live-edge table tops that I’m going to be building coming up here, and I’m getting them milled up next week. But generally speaking, the longer the plane you have the easier it will be on you for flattening wider surfaces. Below are pictures of the process. I got an old sewing machine when I was just a kid, and I've been making stuff every since. on Step 8, I have actually tried something similar in the past... this looks like a much easier and more precise method..... Great Idea, For all of you wanting to just put it on a flat board the longer you need it the more it will flex. Good questions, I hope my answer makes sense! In my case this was especially important because the middle section of the board was not shimmed, so it was still possible that any extra pressure from the cutter head could have made the board bow downward, resulting in an unflat cupped board. CNC Spoilboard Surfacing Router Bits, 1/2 inch Shank 2 inch Cutting Diameter, Slab Flattening Router Bit Planing Bit Wood Milling Cutter Planer Woodworking Tool by NITOMAK (Carbide) 4.5 out of 5 stars 681. This service is performed using a router jig and can flatten up to an 7’ x 40” slab of wood. The glue holds the board firmly in place while planing, but is easy to remove once the top face has been planed. Did you make this project? I'm Matt. The board is shimmed to both support the board fully, and to make the top face as level as possible, simply to avoid removing more material than needed to in the process of making it flat when it runs through the planer. If there's any chance the board would flex under the planer's cutter head, that would require full support of the board with shims in order to produce a flat top surface coming out of the planer. Add to cart. I then waxed the two larger faces with furniture wax (so either side could be used face down, but this is also helpful to remove masking tape that's used as well - which is shown later). You could of course make your own router jig or get one of the router slab flattening set ups woodpecker or others sell. The Slab Flattening Mill can mill slabs up to 3-7/16” and the minimum thickness depends on the travel of the router and length of the blade. 1 year ago, So make her box-beam sled, without the top? We built this jig to last, very high end materials are used to build this jig. MB200 SlabMizer Slab Flattening Mill. Description MB200 Slab Flattener. Easy to use winding sticks and a plane to level it. How to Build a 30 Kilovolt Wimshurst Machine! Depending on your router and router bit, you can work on stock just a fraction of an inch thick or up to 3-3/8” without ever shimming either the rails or the slab. Second, by flattening dry, rough-sawn wood, you’ll end up with boards that are perfectly flat, straight and true, which is rare with store-bought boards. Woodpeckers Slab Flattening Mill guides your router over your slab in a controlled plane. Follow along as I make a router sled/slab flattening mill. I start with a long plane equipped with a convex blade which allows me to work fairly quickly, then I progress to a shorter plane with a straighter blade for a more even surface. Well, I don't have the Engineering answer either. The assembled sled lets you pass your router back and forth in an XY-plane to consistently flatten an entire slab. Dust-collection accessories capture most of the debris. This leveling platform is a good example of a tension torsion beam. Get it as soon as Tue, Feb 9. Reply. I've never had a big issue with snipe, honestly. Download the plans for it as a SketchUp file: 1. 2 years ago. Dec 18, 2020 - I have some 8/4, 6/4 and 5/4 rough sawn Oak, Mahogany, Walnut and Maple that's been sitting for awhile, Most of it is pretty straight but still needs flattening. I just don’t want to pay for a $200 Amana bit or comparable bits and am looking for the next best bit. I never before knew how to do this. If you have access to a large, industrial planer, or don’t mind coughing up a pretty big chunk of cash to have a professional lumber mill operation level and flatten out a large slab of wood for you, then you have nothing to worry about. Flattening Sled Woodworking Plan. Asi) Wearable Steampunk Style Spider, How to Make a Nightstand From Wooden Hangers || DIY Side Table. Since you‰ۡó»re using a router instead of a planer-style cutterhead, tear-out is minimal‰ۡÌÝ_and thanks to Woodpeckers uniquely engineered rails and enhanced solid steel carriage, the surface will only need light sanding afterwards. Once the slab is acclimated and to rough size it is time to build a planing sled. 3 months ago The new carriage adjusts in height by a full 2-1/2". The router carriage is the main feature that sets the Slab Flattening Mill PRO apart from the earlier Slab Flattening Mill. However, this does not impact our recommendations. I made mine 3″ high. My name is Sam and I'm a community manager here at Instructables. Add 1/32″ to this measurement to allow just enough room to prevent binding when the router moves across the sled. Step 2 no flex. But there doesn't seem to be any snipe when I use this setup. Recently I purchased 4 Marri burl slabs 2.4m round hacked off the tree with a Stihl 090 varying from 100mm to 70mm in thickness. The Slab Flattening Mill can mill boards up to 40-¾” in width and 58-⅜” in length. 2 years ago. There are several ways one could check for flatness - my worktable is flat, so if a board lays flat on my table with no wobble or gaps, and the top surface is parallel to the table, I know it's flat. Depending on your router and router bit, you can work on stock just a fraction of an inch thick or up to 3-3/8” without ever shimming either the rails or the slab. Subscribe ». Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. Ripping and cross-cutting tips for sheet goods and solid wood. Or you could just chuck the board into the planer and cross your fingers. Cnc spoilboard surfacing router bit 1 2 shank slab flattening router bit carbide planer router bits wood milling cutter planing tool woodworking tools by nitomak 4 6 out of 5 stars 326 31 76 31. The 850 will get you close enough for sanding. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality. Where to stand and how to position your hands and body for the safest, most accurate performance. Each slab is made up of 9 boards with edge grain up. Since you’re using a router instead of a planer-style cutterhead, tear-out is minimal…the surface will only need light sanding afterwards. How to Make a Router Sled to Flatten Slabs: Hi! The details in the magazine article were a little sparse since they are dependent on … It seems like if you left part of it touching the support and shimmed the high spots, it would be less likely to flex during planing. With Power Tool Essentials – Digital Collection you’ll learn: AW Extra 2/6/14 – Vertical Panel Clamping. View in WOOD Store. The work piece will have tracks from the router bit when you are done flattening it. The way it works is you mount your router—with a straight bit installed—to the mill. Overall width and weird grain changes make the use of a jointer and thickness planer impractical if not impossible. I built a support box using baltic birch plywood. Follow along as I make a router sled/slab flattening mill. I assume that the gap to the box allows the oak to flex, but how does this help? $15.99 $ 15. The router mount glides effortlessly along a set of X- and Y-axis tracks, allowing you to flatten, or effectively surface plane, virtually any wood slab. Share it with us! I used glue and pneumatic brads to fasten all these pieces together as shown. We may receive a commission when you use our affiliate links. If the slab is cupped, hose some sunny grass and place the raw slab concave or cupped side down over the wet grass. Save up to 68% on 7 issues of woodworking projects and tricks. It’s an exercise in hand planing fundamentals and a bit of manual labor. This was all done on top of a few strips of painters masking tape. So here’s a trick from Scott Francis on keeping the slab stable for the first few runs on one side to give you a flat surface to work from. The top face of the board is now planed using the thickness planer. The board end closest to the camera was thinner, so it was propped high enough to avoid wasting time and losing tons of material to get the top side flat. Since you’re using a router instead of a planer-style cutterhead, tear-out is minimal…the surface will only need light sanding afterwards. Compared to a traditional router or planer, the SlabMizer flattens wider and thicker material in less time using powered cutter head directional controls with variable feed speed. This might also work better if wanting to flatten with the epoxy in place. Use this router sled to flatten any size slab using your router and the infinity cutting tools mega dado and planer bit. That makes more sense now. I need to do this soon, so nice timing! Then this new flat face can be placed downward on the planer bed and the planer will do it's job on the remaining face, making two boardfaces that are perfectly parallel. Reply However, if your raw stock is a 16″-wide maple slab, even that huge jointer isn’t wide enough – so you’re headed for a glue-up. Thanks for the quick reply. Dec 25, 2019 - Explore Joseph Leeston's board "jig for flattening wood slab" on Pinterest. The Slab Flattening Mill PRO is able to mill slabs … How to improve cuts using the proper blades. Each slab is 14.5" wide x 72" long x 1-7/8" thick. on Step 3. With just 1/2 sheet of plywood and my router, I was able… Hand Plane. The hot glue can be removed with the help of a chisel. This worked amazingly well. This service is performed using a router jig and can flatten up to an 7’ x 40” slab of wood. I provide tips on how to build it and obtain a smooth f… Creating beautiful furniture from a live-edge slab is easier than you think! See more ideas about router sled, woodworking jigs, woodworking tips. So i wanted to. The Slab Flattening Mill can mill slabs up to 3-7/16” and the minimum thickness depends on the travel of the router and length of the blade. $3 Shop Plans or Jigs and Fixtures. Answer Using the Slab Flattening Mill is as easy as sliding your router across the slab and back, moving over a little less than the width of your cutter and repeating until you're done. but put two rails in each side and you’ve just built something you could drive you car on and it won’t flex.