planner sled

Keye

Keye
Corporate Member
I need to make a small planner sled. I am going to use curb side pickup from HD. I know very little about plywood. Since I am using curb side pickup I can not look before buying. I need some help on what to buy. I can use a 2' x 4' precut piece.
 

Canuck

Wayne
Corporate Member
My sled is simply made with a piece of 3/4” MDF with a cleat to hold it to the infeed table. Nice and flat and slippery with a coat of Johnson’s paste wax.
 

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Herdfan2005

New User
Jason
I just recently a made small one to help with my undersized jointer, I used melamine shelving. 6in jointer and 8" boards...
 

NOTW

Notw
Senior User
I would use melamine or MDF before i used plywood especially since you can't see it before you buy it. melamine and MDF are going to be more likely to be flat
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
I guess there are at least two versions of planer sleds.
1. What I see in above responses is likely what Keye (OP) is asking about, given his mention of plywood.
2. There are also planer sleds that are used when one does not have a jointer and needs to establish that first flat or straight face or edge on a rough piece; a planer will establish a parallel face and a consistent thickness, but does not create an initial flat or straight face/edge without a sled. I have made and successfully used one of this type of planer sleds to take the twist out of a piece of timber - and if interested I can dig up the NCWW thread where I show that. Note that this is NOT my design or idea, I believe I saw the idea in FWW mag (online).

EDIT - also posted below in a separate post
Back to the two types of planer sleds - I just realized a part of description that I missed above...
1. The 'sled' is really a fixed, false bottom plate that may be an extension of the in-feed and out-feed tables
2. THe one I have used, is a movable sled that holds the wood piece (to be planed) and cradles it as everything moves through the planer
END EDIT
 
Last edited:

Keye

Keye
Corporate Member
I guess there are at least two versions of planer sleds.
1. What I see in above responses is likely what Keye (OP) is asking about, given his mention of plywood.
2. There are also planer sleds that are used when one does not have a jointer and needs to establish that first flat or straight face or edge on a rough piece; a planer will establish a parallel face and a consistent thickness, but does not create an initial flat or straight face/edge without a sled. I have made and successfully used one of this type of planer sleds to take the twist out of a piece of timber - and if interested I can dig up the NCWW thread where I show that. Note that this is NOT my design or idea, I believe I saw the idea in FWW mag (online).
Henry, when I hit the pause button on woodworking20 years ago the only heavy metal I sold was my jointer. I am going to use the small sled to flatten one side of a board. I would be interested in seeing your thread.
 

Tom from Clayton

tom
Corporate Member
I use a melamine covered piece of shelving from the big box store. Without looking it is about 12 inches by 36 or 48 inches. I also put wax on it every now and then.
 

Keye

Keye
Corporate Member
I use a melamine covered piece of shelving from the big box store. Without looking it is about 12 inches by 36 or 48 inches. I also put wax on it every now and then.
Do you need a special blade to cut melamine? I seem to remember you can ruin a blade by cuting MDF
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
Keye
here is the thread from NCWW before the software update - so pics did not carry over.

https://ncwoodworker.net/forums/ind...le-trestle-base-design-and-fabrication.37064/
I believe the pics of interest are these:
1600903825885.png


1600903845699.png


Basically a 2x4 box of straight 2x4s on edge, with a few cross pieces in there. Important part is that it be stiff and straight.
I built this for a specific purpose, that particular board. You can use screws or wedges to suppoert the board in order that it not rock and that the planer rollers NOT be able to push it flat.
In the first pic you can see the long gradual twist in this board. The near edge is lifted. I used a few screws to stop the rocking and stabilize the board, then ran through the planer. Upon establishing that first flat face, I put the sled aside and created a parallel flat opposite face in conventional planer use.
FWW article was my inspiration - though mine is not general purpose as his was.

Hope that helps.
 

wooduser

New User
Lecil
I purchased a 3/4” x 12” x 8’ piece of shelving from Lowe’s that already has the slick melamine added. It’s in the prefinished shelving isle. I put a cleat on the underside to hold it in place, let about 2’ stick out the front side and the balance catches it on the back side so I don’t have to catch it quickly. Been working like this for 10+ years and put quit bit of lumber thru it.
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
Back to the two types of planer sleds - I just realized a part of description that I missed above...

1. The 'sled' is really a fixed, false bottom plate that may be an extension of the in-feed and out-feed tables
2. THe one I have used, is a movable sled that holds the wood piece (to be planed) and cradles it as everything moves through the planer
 

Pop Golden

New User
Pop
Now you guys have got my interest up on the 2 statements about planing MDF & melamine. I understand that planing melamine is not a good idea, but why not MDF?

Pop
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
"I understand that planing melamine is not a good idea, but why not MDF?"

I don't see that anyone is talking about planing melamine or MDF. Where have I missed that?
 

SabertoothBunny

SabertoothBunny
Corporate Member
My sled is simply made with a piece of 3/4” MDF with a cleat to hold it to the infeed table. Nice and flat and slippery with a coat of Johnson’s paste wax.


Is this sled the entire length of the planer from end to end? Simple idea I am thinking to replicate.
 

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