HOW TO BUILD A DIY ROUTER SLED

Flatten wood slabs at home with the precision of a professional.

- BRADLEY FORD

For a recent project, we needed a large 1/4"-thick piece of solid black walnut. You won't find wood like this just anywhere, and when you do, it's rarely in the dimensions you need. The problem with thicker slabs of specialty wood is that they're often found "rough-cut" from the sawmill, anywhere from 1", 2", 2½", or 3" thick, and not dimensionally consistent.

In these cases, if you don't have a large commercial planer at your disposal, you'll need to get the wood milled to your specifications. Or, you can build a slab-flattening sled that will enable you to achieve a smooth, level surface yourself instead of paying someone to mill it for you.

WHAT IS A ROUTER SLED?

In simplest terms, a router sled is a device that facilitates movement of a router in two directions (i.e., on an x- and y-axis) on the same plane. This allows you to move the router back and forth methodically over the workpiece to make it uniformly flat or to achieve a specific thickness.

WHY BUILD ONE YOURSELF?

The most obvious reason you'd build your own router sled is that they can be quite expensive, as high as $1,500. The most basic versions can cost $200 to $300 and use wheels that run along the edge of a table or bench, with a sled that slides in a groove or on a shoulder-without bearings. With this type, you'll still need to build the table or work surface. Plus, any debris the wheels track over can lift the sled and affect the overall flatness of your surface.

Instead, build one with bearings that move smoothly in both directions for about the same price and you'll end up with a tool as good as those costing hundreds more.