Planer Sled For Flattening Board

[LeftyTom]

I have jointed wide rough Ash boards on my 6” jointer, so I am left with 1/4” to 3” of the face needing jointing. The unjointed part of the board face are 1/8” proud of the jointed face.

Several videos show a simple sled, using 3/4” plywood and particleboard. You place the jointed face of the board face down on the sled, unjointed part on this side aligned with the sled edge. The board is double-sided taped to the sled.

You plane the opposite face flat in multiple passes. Then you remove the sled, flip the board, remove the double-sided tape, and plane the “unjointed edge” down to the jointed face, maybe using a few additional passes as needed.

Simple enough.

My question: are there potential issues with not using the double-sided tape? The boards are 50” and 46” long. Using a 6’ sled 1/8” depth of the unjointed part should easily ride along the edge of the sled, so the board will feed through the planer straight.

 

[jlimey]

The double sided table is to keep the board from being moved backwards by the planer blades. So I guess it depends on the friction between the sled and the board and how deep a cut is taken. Why not use the tape? Alternatively, you can screw a cleat at the rear of the sled and use that to resist rearward motion of the board. I am sure people have had success with just a board on the sled.

Personally I would use one of the methods to secure the board - or stand to the side!

 

[mdbuntyn]

I've seen sleds that used a cleat on the leading edge to prevent the board from being pulled off of it

 

[jlimey]

I've seen sleds that used a cleat on the leading edge to prevent the board from being pulled off of it

Forgot to mention that many use hot melt glue to hold shims and board to sled.

 

[LeftyTom]

Thanks, guys. I do think a cleat is WAAAYYY easier than taping each board ( then having to wrestle the tape off.

 

[Hjanes]

Another vote for cleats if using a sled.
Another approach is after you get that 6in flattened on the first side, use a hand plane to clean off that unplaned edge. Get the edge flat or even a bit lower. Then plane the rough surface flat in the planer, not going to final thickness, then turn it over and clean up the original surface. No sled , no cleats.

 

[mkepke]

Thanks, guys. I do think a cleat is WAAAYYY easier than taping each board ( then having to wrestle the tape off.

I like the double sided tape idea..I've seen too many boards change their feed angle spontaneously. I'd have some concern boards might get dislodged from the sled.

The too-strong double-side tape is easy to deal with tho: it loses sticky-ness each time it peels off something, so just touch it to your shirt before slapping down the first piece of stock! I usually get 4-6 re-uses out of double-sided carpet tape before its too weak to safely hold things.

Or a couple dabs of hot glue on the edges. That stuff comes up easily with a chisel.

-Mark

 

[kooshball]

Another vote for cleats if using a sled.
Another approach is after you get that 6in flattened on the first side, use a hand plane to clean off that unplaned edge. Get the edge flat or even a bit lower. Then plane the rough surface flat in the planer, not going to final thickness, then turn it over and clean up the original surface. No sled , no cleats.

The hand plane method is what I do.

 

[Rwe2156]

I don’t use DS tape ans never had a problem on my Grizzly planer, but it has a hold down bar, so that could make a difference. I think as long as the bed is slick the pressure of the cutter head will keep them together, but this may not apply to all planers.

 

[LeftyTom]

Another vote for cleats if using a sled.
Another approach is after you get that 6in flattened on the first side, use a hand plane to clean off that unplaned edge. Get the edge flat or even a bit lower. Then plane the rough surface flat in the planer, not going to final thickness, then turn it over and clean up the original surface. No sled , no cleats.

I used an electric hand planer after a first pass over the jointer. I planed a bit lower than the face.

A second pass over the jointer has the 6” face flat, with the 1/8” deep section on rough section of face. After the second jointer pass, I run the boards through the planer, using the sled.

 

[mdbuntyn]

Forgot to mention that many use hot melt glue to hold shims and board to sled.

No, I didn't.

Tom's boards will have a roughly 6" wide jointed section that will lay flat on the sled, without shims.

What Matt Cremona does may be a better option. He has a cleat on the underside of a piece of melamine that keeps it stationary, so only the board moves through the planer

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[ChemE75]

I've seen sleds that used a cleat on the leading edge to prevent the board from being pulled off of it

Ditto. I don’t have a jointer and been very pleased with the sleds I’ve been using. One with adjustable supports for longer/wider has the cleat up front so the board basically pushes the sled through. Bit of a hassle adjusting the supports depending on how uneven the face but it worked well for facing some 10-12” x 6’ boards.

 

[ChemE75]

No, I didn't.

Tom's boards will have a roughly 6" wide jointed section that will lay flat on the sled, without shims.

What Matt Cremona does may be a better option. He has a cleat on the underside of a piece of melamine that keeps it stationary, so only the board moves through the planer

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I do this for the flat laminate flooring sled I use for narrower boards. For whatever reasons they don't always stay aligned or pass at same rate so the cleat on bottom edge catches the edge of the infeed table and stays put as boards pass. I have hot glued shims to it which has worked out fine too. Best thing, it eliminates snipe.

 

[jlimey]

No, I didn't.

Tom's boards will have a roughly 6" wide jointed section that will lay flat on the sled, without shims.

What Matt Cremona does may be a better option. He has a cleat on the underside of a piece of melamine that keeps it stationary, so only the board moves through the planer

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Sorry, I was just adding that I hadn’t mentioned the hot glue option in my original post. It isn’t relevant to your option as you note. Should have added to my previous post but was trying to keep the thread flowing chronologically

 

[oldtexasdog]

I use a cleat at each end after leveling the board so it shows level bubble and no wobble. I did cheat and buy a Rockler sled though. The last cutting board was too tall so I had to add a pair of rails where I came to find the bottom 3/4 ply had developed some bow when I ran a level on them.

 

[LeftyTom]

I don’t use DS tape ans never had a problem on my Grizzly planer, but it has a hold down bar, so that could make a difference. I think as long as the bed is slick the pressure of the cutter head will keep them together, but this may not apply to all planers.

I gave this a go.

The rough lumber slides over the particleboard as if there is no sled, using my Delta 22-580 planer. No hint of any kickback.