# Woodpeckers new router mill pro



## Jack Wilson (Mar 14, 2010)

Woodpeckers has a new "slab flattening mill pro" which looks pretty sweet, but like so many things, with the looks comes the high maintenance, (price tag, like a fine piece of art). Anyways, my question is, do any of you have any idea where to get nice sliding components, like I see they used on their assembly? I'd like to build my own for a lot less, if possible.

Thanks.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

lots of plans here on this site for them..
they are called skis..


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Here is a pix of the one Harry Sinclair made. Very adjustable. Other pictures are of other versions that are simpler. You can raise and lower them with shims, a little thickness of wood under the side rails.

If what you are trying to level is twisted or bowed, you use wedges to level it up. Once you finish flattening the first side, you have a flat surface to level the second.

On Harry's router skis, you level the rod to the top of the piece, or on top of wood stacked to the height of your finished workpiece, then another piece on top of that to raise level of the rods. You will need two identical stacks to make sure the rods are perfectly parallel. The middle sled uses extruded aluminum and you slide the rig across very flat 2x bars as you move up and down the piece.

Although there are wide, flat bits for this purpose, I suggest you get one like the one pictured to avoid any gouging if the router sticks or slips. Pix attached of a bowl and tray bit. I think you can get them larger. Overlap the passes, of course.
You can adjust the router bit height on either version as well, but you want the tracks level and parallel.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Forgot to answer your question. I have two Woodpecker items, but won't buy this one. It is overpriced like crazy and any one of the three pix I posted will work equally well and cost much less. Note that two of the ones I posted include a wide base on which the router mount rests and slide. 

The bottom on that is ply, cut square so the outriggers are parallel and fixed. The outriggers allow you to adjust plunge depth at will. You can also wedge the twisted work piece easily on the ply. I really liked the idea of marking the spacing for each pass on the outrigger, although it is not necessary.

Most of the bits seem to be 1 1/2 with a quarter inch radius, so the flat cutting surface is only about an inch per pass, maybe less.


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## Jack Wilson (Mar 14, 2010)

I am familiar with Harry's design, I was looking for something more along the lines of the Woodpeckers design, with nylon or HDPE runners.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

For others edification, here's a video of the mill, and the price is 899.99 for the model with rails. $399.99 for the carriage part only, you make your own rails. Not quite sure where the HDPE comes into play. To ease the sliding action, lay in strips of low friction tape. But Woodpecker products are really beautiful. I think their red is th same shade as a Ferrari's paint job.


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## Bstrom (Jan 2, 2020)

Yeah, that red anodizing is what added the last $200 to the price tag....nice but clearly for the more profitable woodworker.


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## Jack Wilson (Mar 14, 2010)

DesertRatTom said:


> For others edification, here's a video of the mill, and the price is 899.99 for the model with rails. $399.99 for the carriage part only, you make your own rails. Not quite sure where the HDPE comes into play. To ease the sliding action, lay in strips of low friction tape. But Woodpecker products are really beautiful. I think their red is th same shade as a Ferrari's paint job.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqlLmOL9Zzo&feature=emb_logo


So, I guessed on the HDPE. I was concerned about galling with aluminum on aluminum, so that's where this sort of started. Thank you for responding, and I do like the idea of low friction tape. I'll continue to work this out in my head then finally in the shop.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Hi Jack,

If you keep the plastic base on the router, and make that ultra simple aluminum extrusion jig, you shouldn't have that galling problem. I always try to add information, not just for the poster, but for others who will come along and see it. No criticism is ever intended or implied. 

I am curious about what kind of wood are you planning to flatten? For example, flattening a 4 inch thick rough chunk of a tree is quite different than flatting some slightly warped, 6inch wide piece of HD lumber.


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## Jack Wilson (Mar 14, 2010)

A friend has asked me to flatten a 30" disk of 2" oak for an end table he wants to build, but I have never made any router skis, so this seemed like a good time to invest in a solid set, but no, not at $800 to $1000.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I think Woodpecker's idea was based on an article in Fine Woodworking by Nick Offerman. https://www.finewoodworking.com/2011/09/29/level-big-slabs-in-no-time-flat There are lots of options for building it. I made one similar to Nick's years ago after making a workbench by laminating 2 x lumber together. Despite being as careful as I could it didn't turn out dead flat so I had to make a sled to level it. One thing you should decide is how much you'll use it and that might dictate how elaborate it gets.


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## Jack Wilson (Mar 14, 2010)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> I think Woodpecker's idea was based on an article in Fine Woodworking by Nick Offerman. https://www.finewoodworking.com/2011/09/29/level-big-slabs-in-no-time-flat There are lots of options for building it. I made one similar to Nick's years ago after making a workbench by laminating 2 x lumber together. Despite being as careful as I could it didn't turn out dead flat so I had to make a sled to level it. One thing you should decide is how much you'll use it and that might dictate how elaborate it gets.



That trough which guides the router, I'd like it to be aluminum extrusions because of height and weight. Having said that, I've never seen this article before, thank you for sharing this! It gives me more to wrestle with. Out in the shop I have a 100 or so copies of Fine Wood Working that someone gave me, I should go through them and see if this issue is in the mix. I'd really like to review the whole article.


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## ger21 (Feb 10, 2019)

You could build a CNC for $1000 that would do it by itself.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

They would need to be some pretty wide extrusions to keep from flexing Jack, at least 3 to 4". Those start getting pretty pricey and you'd still need a way to join the bottom of the trough to the extrusions. With plywood on edge I think it rivals the aluminum for strength and it's easy to join the bottoms to the sides.

I see in Nick's version he took the slab and sat it on timbers on his work bench and then clamped the sled to the timbers. Woodpecker shows their system mounted on a sheet of ply so I don't know what the height range is. Maybe you have to add blocks between their rails and the ply sheet if it's something thick. Anyway that is another issue you have to consider is how thick the pieces and how to set the sled up to deal with it. Most of that kind of thing is a one-of for me so I engineer a one-of solution and then usually dismantle the whole thing to keep from cluttering up my shop with jigs I won't need for 10 years at least (or maybe ever again).

When I flattened my work bench I built a sled like Offerman's, minus the boxes at the ends. I'd have to examine Nick's sled closer but maybe the boxes are there for height adjustment. I didn't need heigth adjustment past what my router was capable of as I only needed to take off maybe 1/4". I erected a 3/4" sheet of mdf on either side of the bench and cross braced them together and those became my rails. The sled just slid across the edges of the sheets of mdf. The trough on mine was just wide enough so I could slide my big plunge across it. With an 1 1/2" straight bit from Lee Valley it took me maybe 45 minutes to flatten an eight foot bench.


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## Sominus (Oct 4, 2012)

Orange Aluminum and 8020 Inc. sell extrusions which would likely allow one to make something like this fairly inexpensively. It wouldn't be that pretty anodized red color, but with the money saved you would likely be able to buy something else for yourself, claiming to SWMBO "look at all the money I saved, honey!".


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

HI all, just thinking a bit about that aluminum jig. Why not place to longer pieces of aluminum L bracket to make the rails? That would work just fine and be very easy. You want the rail parallel and a fairly tight fit on the brackets on the ends of the jig. You might find a rectangular extrusion that's a little taller, You probably don't want this thing longer thanb 60 inches, which is just right for BB ply, so it stays flat. Voila, there's your whole Woodpecker gadget for about $60 bucks. 

I'd make the platform first, then add the rails. Use two pieces of scrap to space the rails to make sure they're parallel, and start them from the top of the ply so they're even. Then make the jig and fit it to the rails. Fit the end and side pieces and fix them in place with clamps and drill holes to secure it. I'd use rivits to assemble it, at least three per end. I'd also use an engineer's square to make sure the jig was square as possible, and a short chunk of scrap ripped to a hair more than the diameter of the plunge base. If you really wanted to complicate your life, you could make a square base for the router, that that would be completely unnecessary.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

And plywood with a hardwood edge would work well for the rails too.


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## jemangin (Oct 23, 2013)

Have you checked out the Lee Valley version that came out this month, $89. Looks like it would do the job. You still have to buy the pipe but looks like a pretty good deal.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

jemangin said:


> Have you checked out the Lee Valley version that came out this month, $89. Looks like it would do the job. You still have to buy the pipe but looks like a pretty good deal.


this one???*
https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/sho...r-accessories/110746-router-sled-hardware-kit*


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Mine is based on 3/8" acrylic with reinforced edges. The DW plunge router is screwed in place and the sled moves across the rails (from Rockler) which are bolted to the T-tracks on the table. The rail tops are covered with slick tape and faced with 3/4 mdf. I enclosed the cutting board with 3/4" fir to prevent tear out on the edges and keep the bit away from the mdf on the rails. The board to be planed is leveled on a sheet of ply with wedges if needed. 

I typically use a bowl bit as Tom suggested but for this one I tried a 2" Whiteside bottom surfacing bit which worked very well.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Stick486 said:


> this one???*
> https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/sho...r-accessories/110746-router-sled-hardware-kit*


That looks like it. $70 in the US. It's scalable to a lot of sizes. I'm curious if there is much free play between the rollers and U bolts. The same thing could be achieved with using UHMW pads on the pipe instead and they wouldn't have any free play. I have a sliding table on one table saw that was made by Mule that works that way. It slides fairly well if you use some dry spray lube on the steel bars.

Jon's is a good one too for small to medium size projects. As I said earlier, there are a lot of ways to skin this cat without spending $1000.


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## Jack Wilson (Mar 14, 2010)

jemangin said:


> Have you checked out the Lee Valley version that came out this month, $89. Looks like it would do the job. You still have to buy the pipe but looks like a pretty good deal.



I like this, it makes sense to me... And frankly I can make my own plywood brackets. I don't see what they are selling that's worth $69, except maybe the convenience of not having to think too much. But they are marketing it to craftsmen, which seem counter intuitive.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> That looks like it. $70 in the US. It's scalable to a lot of sizes. *I'm curious if there is much free play between the rollers and U bolts.* The same thing could be achieved with using UHMW pads on the pipe instead and they wouldn't have any free play. I have a sliding table on one table saw that was made by Mule that works that way. It slides fairly well if you use some dry spray lube on the steel bars.
> 
> Jon's is a good one too for small to medium size projects. As I said earlier, there are a lot of ways to skin this cat without spending $1000.


my horizontal panel router is built w/ that U bolt and washer arraignment... ZERO play.. the washers (actually they're spacers) are UHMW... nylon is cheaper...
use long ones on the U bolt legs and short ones on the radius...
instead of the plywood, use a large router plate...
for pipe, *use chrome plated closet rods/poles...*
for height adjustment use _*adjustable feet/levellers...*_ or make yur own...


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Jack Wilson said:


> I like this, it makes sense to me... And frankly I can make my own plywood brackets. I don't see what they are selling that's worth $69, except maybe the convenience of not having to think too much. But they are marketing it to craftsmen, which seem counter intuitive.


the lion's share of the money is the washers/spacers....


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## TenGees (Sep 12, 2012)

A shop that I worked at had that U-bolt setup for a wall (panel) saw. Worked great, you can adjust the U-bolts.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

TenGees said:


> A shop that I worked at had that U-bolt setup for a wall (panel) saw. Worked great, you can adjust the U-bolts.


the SSC's are built that way..


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## Jack Wilson (Mar 14, 2010)

Stick486 said:


> the lion's share of the money is the washers/spacers....


Well, looks like it. I'm having hellava time finding stock to work with it. I found 1 place that had such a product, plus when I add in labor to accrue all the components and slice up the expensive UHMW I guess the price doesn't look so bad.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

The tubing is a standard size required for a 100 amp electrical service. Every big box store will have it.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> The tubing is a standard size required for a 100 amp electrical service. Every big box store will have it.


Got a link???


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Jack Wilson said:


> Well, looks like it. I'm having hellava time finding stock to work with it. I found 1 place that had such a product, plus when I add in labor to accrue all the components and slice up the expensive UHMW I guess the price doesn't look so bad.


for as much as it will be used go w/ nylon or even urethane or EPDM ''O'' rings...
*https://www.allorings.com/configurator-cpd*


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

use cord stock and wrap the U bolt...
*https://www.theoringstore.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=117*


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## TenGees (Sep 12, 2012)

Stick486 said:


> the SSC's are built that way...


That looks like the saw we had, Stick. Not sure what make it was.


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## Jack Wilson (Mar 14, 2010)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> The tubing is a standard size required for a 100 amp electrical service. Every big box store will have it.


The tubing would be MAYBE 1/4" -3/6" ID, anywhere in that ballpark is not standard EMT size, and I was specifically looking for the UHMW, none of which would be sized to carry 100 amp cable. I'm sorry, I misunderstood your statement, I thought you were recommending pvc conduit. Yes, I know that its standard size conduit, I'm sorry. My struggle is finding UHMW tubing.


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## TenGees (Sep 12, 2012)

Not sure if these are suitable but something similar should be.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

TenGees said:


> Not sure if these are suitable but something similar should be.


The u-bolt is likely either 1/4" or 5/16". I wonder if they make stand-offs in those sizes?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> The u-bolt is likely either 1/4" or 5/16". *I wonder if they make stand-offs in those sizes?*


spacers???


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## TenGees (Sep 12, 2012)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> The u-bolt is likely either 1/4" or 5/16". I wonder if they make stand-offs in those sizes?


The ones in the link are: I.D.: .257". Not sure how much play you would need. 0.007" isn't all that much - might be okay on 1/4".


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## Jack Wilson (Mar 14, 2010)

TenGees said:


> Not sure if these are suitable but something similar should be.


Thanks, those would probably be perfect, for a lot less cost. At that price, it's definitely more reasonable to buy the kit.


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## LeftFinger (Mar 21, 2019)

Try this cheap and easy and it works Don't over think it 
https://www.routerforums.com/jigs-fixtures/140269-very-simple-router-planer.html


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## LoneWolfWW (Jan 27, 2021)

I don't know, if you have 50 slabs to flatten 1000 seems reasonable if in time saved not trying to Frankenstein some jig together. For a long time I used melamine and rips of Baltic Birch, melamine for the sled, bb for the rails or sometimes 2x4s I ripped a straight edge on, on my slider, mdf, melamine or bb for the platform, sat it right on my floor shimmed it level, worked fine. This slab was pretty huge but flat as flat when done and I probably spent maybe 50 bucks for materials. That said, I made one every time I needed one, now I have to flatten more slabs I went with these dudes Router Gantry System - Slab Flattening Router Mills, I have the one with the threaded rod that let's me go vertically instead of horizontal with pinpoint control, vertically requires so many less passes and the wood comes out much cleaner. I added the 55" extensions and I can do 4'x12' slabs on it no problem and it is smooth as smooth. Maybe I could have built it, my guess is with time and all the bs that goes into fine tuning it, research on materials, etc., I'd of wasted a lot more than 1000 bucks it cost so I bought the thing, poof done. This thing breaks down into pieces, super easy to store, I built 3 torsion boxes for it to sit on so they are small and easy to store and honestly I use them as platforms for benches when not being used for a sled. 1000 is a lot but the last 12 foot table I made I sold for 16K so to my mind, I'd rather spend time building more insert your project here than screwing around building a sled.. Mind you, I did build my own sleds until I got busy but when I moved from hobby DIY to having a backlog of business and started milling my own trees or buying 10 to 20 slabs at a time it was time to upgrade. Frankly I didn't upgrade far enough as automation or a machine big enough to process would be ideal but boy the price gets really high to move to that level. 

This was my standard throw it together sled, worked just fine, usually pieced together out of whatever scrap wood and flat ply or mdf or melamine I had at the time. As you can see the rails on this are 2x4s, likely big box 2x4s I ripped two straight edges on. Think I added the blue tape so the sled would glide over that joint easier, then I just coated the rails with paste wax and went to town. Is it sort of a piece of crap, I guess, but it got slabs dead flat just fine which imo is good enough for me.


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum @LoneWoldWW


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