# Slab Flattening Mill



## Flipsaw (Mar 11, 2016)

Here is the newest Woodpecker offering . Seems a bit pricey, but if you do this sort of thing a lot it may be worth it.

https://www.woodpeck.com/woodpeckers-slab-flattening-mill.html


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Easy to make a mill that works well for a few bucks. But it wouldn't be as pretty. I'm keeping my thousand bucks tucked in my wife's purse.


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

DesertRatTom said:


> Easy to make a mill that works well for a few bucks. But it wouldn't be as pretty. I'm keeping my thousand bucks tucked in my wife's purse.


Yeah, I say make your own, can then customize it as you desire. Spend $20 on acrylic paints and you can make it pretty too. 

Hard to believe they are asking that much, for such a simple tool. I think I've got around $1200 invested in my shop, including the shop itself. I've been given a number of tools, including a nice planner, made all my shop stands, and various tools. Keeps the cost down.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I made one once much larger than that to flatten the top of my nearly 8' long workbench (laminated together from 2x boards). Cost me a couple of dollars worth of ply. I stood a sheet of 3/4 mdf up on either side of the bench and cross braced them to stand up and be rigid and made the sled to ride on top of the edges. Not nearly as pretty but just as effective.


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Looks like a job for "Super CNC Man" !! - lol


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## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

DesertRatTom said:


> Easy to make a mill that works well for a few bucks. But it wouldn't be as pretty. I'm keeping my thousand bucks tucked in my wife's purse.


You're lucky. My wife's keeping her $1,000 in her purse. Really, unless you do a lot of these and make a living at these this it's almost impossible to justify that expense when there are so many ways to do the same thing inexpensively. You're better putting that money into a tool that will get a good deal more use like a Domino. YMMV (your mileage may very)


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

This is far cheaper.


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## swarfmaker (Aug 27, 2012)

I made a down and dirty system years back for a friend making cupboard doors out of MDF. It could cut patterns as required and was very adaptable. It is easy to modify to cut thick slabs. the size is 1.2m (4ft) x 5.0 m (16+ ft) It is very rigid, and cost less than a tenth of The woodpecker system. Only photo I can find is from the construction phase.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

! ....16' ? Man, that's a lot of floor space to dedicate to a single purpose tool.
Hopefully it could be knocked down to just a worktop between uses?
Other than my obvious space jealousy, excellent job, Ron!


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

I saw that Woodpecker add the other day. I’ll use Harry’s version anytime.


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## swarfmaker (Aug 27, 2012)

Thanks Dan. My friend has large farm buildings. Since 2013 he has been running a thriving factory, building cupboards. He is now on his 4th Makita, and the table is used daily.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

So many of Woodpecker's items are questionable. But some things are great. I have their router plate with the twist lock insert. It is heavy duty and is never going to sag. The other item of theirs I'd not want to do without is their digital gadget for aligning blade and fence with the miter slot. Makes setup exact and and easy. Overpriced, yes, and it's also pretty. Here 'tis...


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## Mdawson (Mar 25, 2012)

A little while ago they did a copy of the Stanley #1 Odd Job, with improvements. I could see only 1 functional improvement, the way the pencil was held when drawing an arc.

I bought an Odd Job from Carbatec a couple of years ago $A40, the same size woodpeckers version was nearly 5 times the price $A190! The larger woodpeckers version was $A275.

One other 'improvement' they claimed was that it was machined out of 'aircraft grade' aluminium, I actually prefer the old world aesthetic of my cast & machined brass one.

Oh and the pencil holder, well I have some brass rod in my scrap bin and a metal lathe if I ever feel the need to upgrade mine.


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