I work with a lot of air dried rough cut lumber. I recently built the planer sled originally designed and built by Keith Rust. In the past I have planed the first side of rough lumber smooth with hand planes. This was very labor intensive and time consuming. The sled is the best tool I have added to my shop in years and has greatly reduced preparation time and labor. A word of warning that was in the article and I did not heed. This MUST be dead flat. The first one I built was assembled on a workbench with a very small twist. This twist translated to the sled and to every board I planed. I built another one with more caution and it works wonderfully. Great design, thanks to Keith Rust.
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Replies
Yep, a sled with a twist will sleigh you at this time of year. ;-)
Good to hear. I have not built one yet but have recommended that others looking for such a solution. A few times I have been rebuked for suggesting such a jig by contributors who have access to large jointers.
I do have a 8" jointer that works well, but this sled solution certainly has some clear advantages even to the larger jointers.
Don
I have a 15" planer and this works beautifully for door panels. I built a short sled (3') and rough cut all material before flattening. This reduces waste and weight on the sled.
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