# Getting a flat jig or lamination without a flat reference surface



## Sirgreggins (Apr 12, 2012)

I'm looking to make a planer sled this weekend and am going to follow Fine Woodworkings' article on it. My workbench is sorta flat and i'm sure flat enough to make this torsion box style jig, but what about when i have to do laminations. Should i use shims and clamps to hold a piece flat? Any tricks to tweaking something into flat if the surface youre working on isnt ideal? I also need to make crosscut sled and the back fence will be 2 pieces of ply laminated together. when i put the pieces on my bench theres a low spot in the middle. Of course if i were to glue these together the glue would dry and the pieces would be permanently out of flat.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I think you should go about making your bench flat.

Your table saw top is probably flat enough for most 
woodworking assembly work.


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## ADHDan (Aug 17, 2012)

If you don't want to work your bench flat, maybe do what you were planning to do except use it to make your new table surface - get a (thick) piece of material you were going to use for a sled, shim it everwhere possible to make it supported flat on your table, then screw it down? Voila - your workbench is flat!

(For real a flat workbench is a good idea for many reasons. I use thick conference room tabletops my office was tossing, maybe you could find something like this or a solid core door on Craigslist?)


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## Sirgreggins (Apr 12, 2012)

i made my workbench out of a sheet of ply wood cut into 4×3/4"x 24" x 48" pieces and 1 3/4 MDF sheet all laminated together. and covered with hardboard. I did the lamination on my garage floor. The floor is obviously WAY out of flat. I'll try the shim idea


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