It's about time! I've needed a router sled for a long time and today I build an epic one! It works awesome! Check it out! Here's where I bought my rails: www.ebay.com/i...
Yea! I’m one of those guys that uses a wet thumb to get his work flat, that and a 8 inch national Detroit mud buster for finish work! Low budget you betcha! My dad said, nothing we do is perfect and nothing lasts forever! Just learn and enjoy the ride! Thank You for sharing my friend!
I have a new router coming tomorrow for it. Now that I’ve used it on a complete slab, I don’t know that I’m going to power it. It’s so fast and easy to use as it is.
Ha! That thing would fill up in 10 seconds! I have a new router coming tomorrow. Once I get it mounted, I’ll figure out how to hook up my Grizzly dust collection system to it.
Nicely done. I did the same thing but I used linear rails for both directions. I can flatten a 4'-6" x 10' slab very quickly. I also added a 4" dust port and horizontal brushes to catch 90% of the chips. Otherwise I need a snow shovel.
@@NorthwestSawyer Cool! I added a swivel socket to my router and push it around with a short broomstick. I also added a lock (6mm? thumbscrew to one bearing block) and go end to end instead of across the slab. It's tons faster.
"I'm going to make a giant mess in here in no time"...... truer words were never spoken! Perhaps dedicating an area for the unit and hooking up a chip removal system is in order? Nice work Jason!
Excellent design, go for it. That should work just great. You may want to find a new router though. Most older routers were not built for heavy long term use. I burnt out 2 in one month, now I have a huge Bosch router. Well have a great time.
Thank you! Now that I have this base, I can fab up whatever I need for a better router when the time comes. Which is probably soon with how noisy this thing is😂
This is fantastic. Great attention to detail with the end covers towards the end. I’ve got all the parts just need the time to get my router sled set up and this has given me all sorts of ideas! From what I’ve heard, ideally you want to only push the router across the sled as that will give you the best cut. Pulling works but can create more tear out. Can’t wait to see what comes off of this sled in your videos! Congratulations on a job well done!!!
Congratulations you have made yourself a great bit of kit, really going to be useful. You remind me of myself when I was younger, needed something so out to the workshop a few hours later I had what I wanted, happy days. Enjoy.
You have a winner, Jason. Did you decide that you don't need to lock the casters? We used Thompson linear bearings 50 years ago where I worked back in the day. Those were a great choice for you. The balls actually recirculate inside the bearing housing. Great to see you getting to use your shop finally. Bill
@@NorthwestSawyer Frankly speaking, once I saw the Miller welding machine I said to myself, this man is a serious craftsman. The system you maid is great and I am looking forward to see the next stage of this outstanding creation. Keep it up 👍🏼
Fantastic build Sir! Love that sled! Thanks for another great video. Looking forward to seeing what you do with that 5 Window Chevy down the way. That was the first vehicle I learned how to drive. 😃
I threw together a router sled last weekend for some slabs I cut 4 years ago. It's nothing as handsome as yours, but wow what a lot of fun seeing those slabs slowly emerge from the chainsaw mill roughness. God luck with your sled! I could see it used for some joinery also.
Thank you! I actually put a new, larger router on mine and it just plows through the wood. Like you said, it’s like a totally different piece of wood when you’re done.
If I may add a safety comment. My shop teacher in high school (who only had three and a half fingers and a thumb on one hand, lol) taught us to hook your two little fingers over the fence when pushing the stock through the saw. That was Mr. Marble at North Marion High School in Aurora.
Nice job on the table n it works great.always a good thing. Looks like retirement fits you good.I've been busier since I retired then when I was working.
@Northwest Sawyer yeah we've had terrible rain in mi.i just got 3 food plots n beans in today.i have a 40 x 40 shop but I struggle to sell anything. People want everything for 5.00 bucks cause we live in a flea market n garage sale area.
I have a router sled I made out if wood but I've been wanting to build a new one. The best design I think I've seen was by a guy on here who built almost the entire sled from rexroth profile extruded aluminum.
Great video. Another RU-vid video used these bearing rails in both directions and it’s completely smooth sliding both X and Y. Very simple build and it breaks down to store under the workbench top. I built that version it’s sweet.
A suggestion for your cross feed, install a long ball screw across the sled with a hand wheel on the end then you could then feed the router back and forth just by turning the wheel. in the future if you decide to automate it you just replace the wheel with a stepper motor.
Awesome work, I love it. Simple and effective. I was going to say you should put an extension-able arm on so you can push across larger pieces but you mentioned it at the end.
Very nice. Now I have an idea on how to make one. Patent violation? One person on U-tube fabricated a metal lathe using those rails. It appeared to work rather well! I have a dust collector just like that. It came with a lid to fit a garbage can. That goes between the tool and the collector and keeps the bag from filling as fast. I usually use it with my planer so there is an abundance of chips. The can fills so quickly that I am going to reconfigure it to use 55 gallon drum.
Looks awesome! My only concern would be sag in the middle of a wide piece and horizontal accuracy on all 4 corners. I guess the 4 corners don't matter as long as the slab is flat. Good works!
That's an awesome build. My only worry is the weight those 2x4's will be holding, metal would hold anything.. Let us know how they hold up... Gr8 Vid Thank You!!! 😇🙏👍
Thank you! I haven’t had any issues with the 2x4s and I’ve had some big oak on it. I have to pack this thing around my shop and I think steel would be too heavy. I also screw blocks to them to help secure the piece I’m flattening. All in all, it works pretty good.
Great bit of Fabricobiling their Jason you get approval from me as an engineer nice job. the ends of the sliding units with the bearing in looked open, so my one concern would be wood chips getting in. I would suggest looking at putting sealing wipes on which would also clean the rails at the same time.
Great job. I wish I had your welding skills. Btw, these rails are available in 100" and even longer. So I'm planning to use them as well to the left and right. Happy holidays and kind regards from Germany 😊
Thank you! I just used it again today. It really works well. I’ll be honest on the welding. That welder can make anyone look like they know what they’re doing😬. It’s been about 25 years since I was in Germany. Beautiful country and people!
The ground clamp on your welder what was that. What is it an electromagnet of sorts? Stay safe the coffee table you made was absolutely phenomenal. 🇨🇦✌️
I'm very impressed! You hit a home run with that one! Very skilled! Would you build another one? How much would you charge for one? I'd love to have buy one!
nice job on that sled ,PS cap that gas nozzle on your truck, funny how dust and fillings make it into small holes ,I also have 2 extra corner windows out back if you would like them as spares for your truck
My dad was a machist by trade, he and his machinist buddies came up with this gizmo to flatten a 48 by 10 piece of 3 inch thick chestnut! Worked famously, my brother refuses to give up that table! I can’t blame him, it’s absolutely beautiful! LOL! But I have dads flating jig!
The weight of the router will surely add a slight increasing bend towards the center of those linear rails create a slight cup to everything milled on it?
Not that I’ve experienced. I’ve flattened an oak table that was 9’ long and 52” wide and it was perfect. I think the friction of the cutter eliminates any sagging. I’ve been very happy with the results.
Thank you! That bit works really well! I flattened a slab today that will require very little sanding and I haven’t even put the hardwood bits on it yet.
I agree with your heavy duty approach which I plan to do myself Maybe I missed your commentary on other comments but I do not see where you assured that the two square tube rails were co-planer, level
Recently discovered linear bearings 👍. I probably just missed it, but how did you assure the outer rails are in the same plane (no “twist” in the assembly)? Those saw horses are still awesome.
I'm a retired machinist and shop safety was always a concern for me. Wearing gloves when drilling is a no no. The curly chips catch and grab your glove and pull your hand into the spinning drill. I saw it happen first hand.
Dig it Man! Love the 2X construction of the bed for the reason you've already touched on. I'm curious about deflection or the stability of the base as it travels across, looks super stable but you are the one using it. Also wondered how you were going to reach across to the other side but you said a handle is in the works. Looking forward to an update, Cool build!
Thank you! So far it’s worked awesome. I’ve upgraded to a new 3hp router but other than that… I still need to figure out a handle system. I flattened an oak table top that was 9-1/2’ long and 52” wide and I was reaching pretty hard.
In your shop raising vid. What type or what was the name of the jacks they used to raise the roof. Looking at doing a similar building but that makes for much faster progress
I have a 37" x 75" belt sander I've been hanging on to hoping I would use some day with a sawmill but I am far from that dream and it seems like something you could use now. Its 7hp 220v single phase. It works but needs some fine tuning. Let me know if you are interested, could work out something. I am up in Washington.
Wouldnt it be faster if you made thta huge jig for a electrical hand planer, instead of a router? İ mean u could smooth big planks much faster with planer. What am i missing ?)
I don’t think you can take a 1/4” off at a time with a hand planer. I think it would be a lot harder to operate over a large slab too. You’d also have to worry about if you’re cutting with or against the grain. You could get tear out in one direction and not the other.
2 Things. First of all as you may know many people get hurt every year by the improper use of a table saw so please do yourself a favor and use a push stick when you are nearing the end of any given cut. No2. if you had a power cord dropping down from the ceiling to your green router then the power cord would never get in the way. Other than that love your new router sled which will allow you to work even if it is raining outside.
I definitely need to suspend that cord. I’ll probably work that into my power feed idea. I think we’ve had close to three inches of rain this weekend. This sled project kept me out of it😂
