I was about to make a router sled to ride on my table saw crosscut sled but your solution is so simple that I'm going to build a dedicated one like yours. Thanks and I subscribed.
Hey, Gary. Thank you for the kind words, my friend. I hope that solution works out for you. I’m considering doing an update on this design where I add a downdraft table to the bottom to help with dust collection. So keep an eye out for that. Take care and happy holidays! 🤙
Suggestion for wheel mount - mount on the sides (vertical sides) of the sled. Doing this will allow you to mount it exactly where it needs to be to give you that sweet 1mm clearance above the rolling bottom surface. This will likely resolve your issue of rocking in the original design. Based on your design, you can retrofit it directly into your current build with little modification needed.
forgot to mention, you can just put 1mm shims and clamp it all down so its pre-level as is. no measuring and fiddling needed. Just need to make sure you drill the wheel mount holes dead center.
Seems obvious when you put it like that, lol. I appreciate the suggestion, homie. Maybe I can give this a go on my next iteration. I’ll give ya a shoutout.
Great video, great construction! The only addition I would do for dust collection is have the entire build 90° rotated. Bottom of bed should imitate a sanding table, as in; a bunch of holes in the bottom of the bed, make an airslot under the bed so the dust can fall in - add vacuum port in the side/front. Then add a sheet of polycarbonate one each side of the sled, so the dust is captured instead of flying everywhere. (this is the reason for the 90° twist as it will require more space to the sides)
That’s a solid idea! There have been some other commenters that have brought up a “down draft” system for something like this, but what you mentioned sounds even more effective. I work full time so making content really isn’t something I get to do a lot of, but I’d eventually like to do a follow up video on this to experiment with some of these ideas. Thanks for watching and for the informed suggestions! 🤙
suggestion for the wheel mount .you could use skateboard bearing ,due to the small size you could put 4 bearing each side i think it would resolve the rocking .ive use these bearing to make drawer and it work great
I've had so many awesome suggestions about making this roller system work, and this is no exception. I'm planning on making my flattening jig a more permanent fixture in the shop, and when that happens, I'm going to compile all of these commenter notes and apply it to the sled 2.0. Great idea! Thank you! 🙏
You can see I really tried to make it more complicated than it needed to be at first, lol. Glad it was helpful, though. Hope it works out for ya. Another commenter a while back pointed out that using a “downdraft” table for the bottom of the jig would help the dust collection issue as well.
Yeah, I have tried the tape you mentioned before, but it always seems to get torn off when sliding against a cast iron bed. But for this application it actually might work a bit better since it's just wood on wood. Thanks for the recommendation. 👍
The pressure is always on this time of year, haha. But this jig should make things a little faster for you if you're doing end grain boards. So much nicer than planing by hand. Glad it helped! Merry Christmas, Anke!
Hi i would have thought that the wheels on the jig would be to free and not easy and a little uncontrollable. But it look very good because and I do need to make it or one similar. Very good video ❤👌👍👏👏👏
I really wanted the wheels to work so the sled would have been super low-friction when in use, but it just wasn't happening and I had to cut my losses. Maybe I'll take another crack at it one day. And I'm glad you liked it! I hope you end up with a functioning final product, haha. Good luck!
Thanks, I'm away in about 6or 7 days then I'll get on and build one just like yours minus the wheels and use plenty of wax I'd think that I would be able to control it better. But anyway thanks for the reply, i look forward to seeing more videos 👍🙌
Haha, thanks! Gotta work with what you have, right? I get some sunlight down here, but it does feel like a cave sometimes. Hope you're diggin' the content!
Well! Another commenter actually suggested using a "down draft" system with regard to the dust collection dilemma. Essentially, the surface you're setting your work piece on will have a bunch of small perforations that will allow dust to fall through that leads to a funneled inlet for a shop vac! I haven't tried it yet, but I do recall seeing it in related videos and I think it definitely works better than no dust collection, haha. Hope that helps and thanks for the support, Lucas!
In regards to your router sled just make the addition of a downdraft sanding table to it , so just add a bunch of wholes to the bottom and connect a vaccume to the base
That’s an awesome idea! Space is a bit limited in my shop to create “fixtures” of sorts. But I’m going to hang onto that tip if and when I give this jig a permanent station. I appreciate it! 🤘
Hey, Dennis. As with most things, it depends. If you have a router with a "fixed" base, meaning the depth can't change at all, then yeah. You'd either have to make taller rails for a thicker piece, or put a backer or shims under your piece to make it thinner. However, if you have a "plunge" router base, you can change the depth of cut right on your router. Another commenter had mentioned that you can even get an extension for your bit if your plunge base doesn't quite reach your piece, but you still want to keep it thicker. I hope that helps!
Hi. What is the exact type of your router? I have a cheapish router and have problems it not reaching far enough under the jig. How far does your reach?
Hey, Ivan. The router I use is actually part of a kit. It's a Bosch 2.25 horsepower router with a standard base and an additional "plunge" base. You can check it out here if you're interested: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005RHPD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The amount of plunge distance I can get from the top position to the bottom position is about 2-1/4 inches. So, that tends to give me enough room to reach my work piece in the sled. But if you're have trouble, you can try 2 things. 1) You can reduce the height of the side rails on your sled jig, so that it decreases the distance your plunge router needs to travel to get to your work piece. And/or 2) you try to lift your work piece a little higher up towards your router. You can shove some thin shims underneath the whole piece to raise it a bit, just make sure you're still able to secure it well enough so it doesn't move around. Hope that helps, Ivan. Let me know how it goes!
@@SeasquatchWoodshop Thanks for your reply. I have to always put enough stuff underneath. But it's a bit annoying to which degree I gotta do it. That's why I'm considering what router to get when I'm gonna be buying next one. :)
Yeah, if you're consistently having the same problem, might be time for an upgrade if you can afford it. Congrats in that case! I'm pretty happy with the Bosch, although I'm definitely biased, haha. Let me know which one you end up going with! 👍
I was about to make a router sled to ride on my table saw crosscut sled but your solution is so simple that I'm going to build a dedicated one like yours. Thanks and I subscribed.
Hey, Gary. Thank you for the kind words, my friend. I hope that solution works out for you. I’m considering doing an update on this design where I add a downdraft table to the bottom to help with dust collection. So keep an eye out for that.
Take care and happy holidays! 🤙
Suggestion for wheel mount - mount on the sides (vertical sides) of the sled. Doing this will allow you to mount it exactly where it needs to be to give you that sweet 1mm clearance above the rolling bottom surface. This will likely resolve your issue of rocking in the original design. Based on your design, you can retrofit it directly into your current build with little modification needed.
forgot to mention, you can just put 1mm shims and clamp it all down so its pre-level as is. no measuring and fiddling needed. Just need to make sure you drill the wheel mount holes dead center.
Seems obvious when you put it like that, lol. I appreciate the suggestion, homie. Maybe I can give this a go on my next iteration. I’ll give ya a shoutout.
Right On! Looks good and solid after ditching the wheels and just riding flat on the rails. 🙌✨
Thanks, Jon! It was worth a try, haha.
Great video, great construction!
The only addition I would do for dust collection is have the entire build 90° rotated. Bottom of bed should imitate a sanding table, as in; a bunch of holes in the bottom of the bed, make an airslot under the bed so the dust can fall in - add vacuum port in the side/front. Then add a sheet of polycarbonate one each side of the sled, so the dust is captured instead of flying everywhere. (this is the reason for the 90° twist as it will require more space to the sides)
That’s a solid idea! There have been some other commenters that have brought up a “down draft” system for something like this, but what you mentioned sounds even more effective.
I work full time so making content really isn’t something I get to do a lot of, but I’d eventually like to do a follow up video on this to experiment with some of these ideas. Thanks for watching and for the informed suggestions! 🤙
Great video Daniel! Love the humor.
Hey, Levi! Good to hear from you, man. Yeah, I'm trying to let my personality seep out gradually over time, haha. Glad you liked it! 🤘
suggestion for the wheel mount .you could use skateboard bearing ,due to the small size you could put 4 bearing each side i think it would resolve the rocking .ive use these bearing to make drawer and it work great
I've had so many awesome suggestions about making this roller system work, and this is no exception. I'm planning on making my flattening jig a more permanent fixture in the shop, and when that happens, I'm going to compile all of these commenter notes and apply it to the sled 2.0.
Great idea! Thank you! 🙏
Like it. Been thinking about one for a while. I like the simplicity of your design.
You can see I really tried to make it more complicated than it needed to be at first, lol. Glad it was helpful, though. Hope it works out for ya.
Another commenter a while back pointed out that using a “downdraft” table for the bottom of the jig would help the dust collection issue as well.
Strips of high molecular weight polyethylene tape can make the friction surfaces ride very smooth.
Yeah, I have tried the tape you mentioned before, but it always seems to get torn off when sliding against a cast iron bed. But for this application it actually might work a bit better since it's just wood on wood. Thanks for the recommendation. 👍
great, thank you for that. Will straight go to work and build it. Those last-minute-christmas-cuttingboards each and every year suck. 😂
The pressure is always on this time of year, haha. But this jig should make things a little faster for you if you're doing end grain boards. So much nicer than planing by hand. Glad it helped! Merry Christmas, Anke!
Hi i would have thought that the wheels on the jig would be to free and not easy and a little uncontrollable.
But it look very good because and I do need to make it or one similar.
Very good video ❤👌👍👏👏👏
I really wanted the wheels to work so the sled would have been super low-friction when in use, but it just wasn't happening and I had to cut my losses. Maybe I'll take another crack at it one day. And I'm glad you liked it! I hope you end up with a functioning final product, haha. Good luck!
Thanks, I'm away in about 6or 7 days then I'll get on and build one just like yours minus the wheels and use plenty of wax I'd think that I would be able to control it better.
But anyway thanks for the reply, i look forward to seeing more videos 👍🙌
Dude you live in a ww2 bunker thats cool as hell
Haha, thanks! Gotta work with what you have, right? I get some sunlight down here, but it does feel like a cave sometimes. Hope you're diggin' the content!
Thank you!!!
My pleasure! 😃
Any other tips I'd really appreciate it! I'm a beginner
Well! Another commenter actually suggested using a "down draft" system with regard to the dust collection dilemma. Essentially, the surface you're setting your work piece on will have a bunch of small perforations that will allow dust to fall through that leads to a funneled inlet for a shop vac! I haven't tried it yet, but I do recall seeing it in related videos and I think it definitely works better than no dust collection, haha.
Hope that helps and thanks for the support, Lucas!
In regards to your router sled just make the addition of a downdraft sanding table to it , so just add a bunch of wholes to the bottom and connect a vaccume to the base
That’s an awesome idea! Space is a bit limited in my shop to create “fixtures” of sorts. But I’m going to hang onto that tip if and when I give this jig a permanent station. I appreciate it! 🤘
Exactely what i thought. 🤓
The height of the side rails determines the maximum thickness of your work piece. Right?
Hey, Dennis. As with most things, it depends. If you have a router with a "fixed" base, meaning the depth can't change at all, then yeah. You'd either have to make taller rails for a thicker piece, or put a backer or shims under your piece to make it thinner.
However, if you have a "plunge" router base, you can change the depth of cut right on your router. Another commenter had mentioned that you can even get an extension for your bit if your plunge base doesn't quite reach your piece, but you still want to keep it thicker. I hope that helps!
Crazy I tried doing the same thing with the wheels! I ended up going with ball bearings. Works great on the side rails!
Not a bad idea! I wondering if adding some bearing wheels to the rails instead of to the sled itself would be easier to level in my case. 🤔
How is your shop so clean??
It’s a super small space! If I don’t keep it straightened up, I’ll be walking on scrap the whole time! Lol.
Hi. What is the exact type of your router? I have a cheapish router and have problems it not reaching far enough under the jig. How far does your reach?
Hey, Ivan. The router I use is actually part of a kit. It's a Bosch 2.25 horsepower router with a standard base and an additional "plunge" base.
You can check it out here if you're interested:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005RHPD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The amount of plunge distance I can get from the top position to the bottom position is about 2-1/4 inches. So, that tends to give me enough room to reach my work piece in the sled. But if you're have trouble, you can try 2 things. 1) You can reduce the height of the side rails on your sled jig, so that it decreases the distance your plunge router needs to travel to get to your work piece. And/or 2) you try to lift your work piece a little higher up towards your router. You can shove some thin shims underneath the whole piece to raise it a bit, just make sure you're still able to secure it well enough so it doesn't move around.
Hope that helps, Ivan. Let me know how it goes!
@@SeasquatchWoodshop Thanks for your reply.
I have to always put enough stuff underneath. But it's a bit annoying to which degree I gotta do it. That's why I'm considering what router to get when I'm gonna be buying next one.
:)
Yeah, if you're consistently having the same problem, might be time for an upgrade if you can afford it. Congrats in that case! I'm pretty happy with the Bosch, although I'm definitely biased, haha. Let me know which one you end up going with! 👍
They also make collet extensions you can add to get a deeper plunge.
I think this might be worth mentioning in an update for this video. Thanks for that, Tom.
Awesome video. I’m looking forward to making one almost just like yours. Maybe I’ll make a video too! :D
Hey, thanks! Glad you got something out of it. And yeah, if you’ve got a solid video idea, get it out there!