BlueRider
ArboristSite Guru
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2007
- Messages
- 550
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- 125
Lately I've been using more live edged slabs in my work rather than cutting them up. So I figured its about time I built a flattening set up. I'm not talking about throwing a couple 2x4's on the floor and cobbling together some scraps of plywood into a sled, although that would get the job done. Nothing wrong with that approach, but I have a welder and I know how to use it... hold my beer and watch this.
My good friend 820wards and I have been sharing Instagram photos and chatting on the phone about different designs. Some of my design is dictated by having a very small shop and no outside work area. My shop is so small that I don't have enough floor space to set up something without a major moving of heavy iron, Ouch! My solution was to design something that could be set up over the top of my cabinet saw and extend into the open floor space. Of course it would also have to knock down easily and store in various rat holes around the shop and in the rafters. 820 wards was a great sounding board for my ideas. I really liked the idea of building a gantry style sled that used rollers or wheels on the guide rails, I even have a set of Thompson linear bearings and 50" of guide rail for the router. We discussed various options for wheels and ways to control racking, how to build in ways of adjusting and truing things up. In the end I opted not to use any wheels or linear bearings and to go with simplicity, but with a couple of features that I hope will make my set up hold up well and easy to use.
Most of the parts are cut and welding starts today. I'll post some pics tonight but since I know everyone licks photos I post a little teaser. The concrete in my shop is very uneven and since the whole point of this is to level the slab I have to have a way or leveling the bed and guide rails. I buy 1/4" 20 furniture glides that I use on my furniture so I will be using them in exactly the same way I do on the steel furniture legs. I cut some 2" long pieces of 1/2" steel round rod and chuck them up in my lathe using a four jaw chuck so I can drill and tap them. The lathe is not under power for the taping part but used as a way of holding the steel rod and guiding the tap, that's what the dimple in the end of the tap wrench is for. I'll be drilling holes near the end of the legs and welding these in so the glides have something to thread into.
My good friend 820wards and I have been sharing Instagram photos and chatting on the phone about different designs. Some of my design is dictated by having a very small shop and no outside work area. My shop is so small that I don't have enough floor space to set up something without a major moving of heavy iron, Ouch! My solution was to design something that could be set up over the top of my cabinet saw and extend into the open floor space. Of course it would also have to knock down easily and store in various rat holes around the shop and in the rafters. 820 wards was a great sounding board for my ideas. I really liked the idea of building a gantry style sled that used rollers or wheels on the guide rails, I even have a set of Thompson linear bearings and 50" of guide rail for the router. We discussed various options for wheels and ways to control racking, how to build in ways of adjusting and truing things up. In the end I opted not to use any wheels or linear bearings and to go with simplicity, but with a couple of features that I hope will make my set up hold up well and easy to use.
Most of the parts are cut and welding starts today. I'll post some pics tonight but since I know everyone licks photos I post a little teaser. The concrete in my shop is very uneven and since the whole point of this is to level the slab I have to have a way or leveling the bed and guide rails. I buy 1/4" 20 furniture glides that I use on my furniture so I will be using them in exactly the same way I do on the steel furniture legs. I cut some 2" long pieces of 1/2" steel round rod and chuck them up in my lathe using a four jaw chuck so I can drill and tap them. The lathe is not under power for the taping part but used as a way of holding the steel rod and guiding the tap, that's what the dimple in the end of the tap wrench is for. I'll be drilling holes near the end of the legs and welding these in so the glides have something to thread into.