lauburu
Well-known member
I recently made a router sled from various pieces of scrap I had been saving up for a special occasion. It works well down to 1.5mm - and probably below that but I haven't tried.
I use a 1" bottom routing bit (or some similar name) which has a TCT blade all the way across the bottom of the bit, not just at the edges. It provides a much smoother cut than an ordinary bit.
To keep the wood perfectly flat I lay it on a sheet of plate glass about 5mm thick and use a hot glue gun to secure the edges of the wood to the glass. I don't get glue between the glass and the wood.
I then use the router sled to reduce the piece to close to the required thickness. Then, with the wood still attached to the glass, I feed it through the home-made thicknessing sander ( a rotating drum).
To remove the wood from the glass I just cut the edges where the glue it with a Stanley knife and it separates without problems.
I can then true the other side if required by repeating the process.
The prospect of something going wrong with high speed rotating tools and a sheet of glass is something I am very aware of. However, the plate glass has the weight to keep the wood absolutely flat, won't buckle or curl with humidity and has worked very well thus far. I check everything 3 times, wear safety goggles and don't stand too close to the action. So far so good.
I hope this is idea is useful to others but please be careful
Miguel
I use a 1" bottom routing bit (or some similar name) which has a TCT blade all the way across the bottom of the bit, not just at the edges. It provides a much smoother cut than an ordinary bit.
To keep the wood perfectly flat I lay it on a sheet of plate glass about 5mm thick and use a hot glue gun to secure the edges of the wood to the glass. I don't get glue between the glass and the wood.
I then use the router sled to reduce the piece to close to the required thickness. Then, with the wood still attached to the glass, I feed it through the home-made thicknessing sander ( a rotating drum).
To remove the wood from the glass I just cut the edges where the glue it with a Stanley knife and it separates without problems.
I can then true the other side if required by repeating the process.
The prospect of something going wrong with high speed rotating tools and a sheet of glass is something I am very aware of. However, the plate glass has the weight to keep the wood absolutely flat, won't buckle or curl with humidity and has worked very well thus far. I check everything 3 times, wear safety goggles and don't stand too close to the action. So far so good.
I hope this is idea is useful to others but please be careful
Miguel
