# Planer sled



## ajthomas5009 (Dec 21, 2013)

Hi all I'm in the middle of making some planer sleds for milling purposes. I planned on making a 8', 5' and 3' sled all similar to one featured in FWW a few years back. For the base I was going to go with 3/4" MDF sandwiched in between 2 pieces of B-Birch ply. My problem is that I don't want to spend 80$ in just sheet goods. I have enough birch lying around for the 6' and 3' sleds and want to know if there is any reason why I shouldn't use (3) 3/4" pieces of MDF on the longer sled to cut down on costs?

I know it prob can be done just looking for a little advice before I hack up a whole sheet of MDF.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

MDF isn't nearly as stiff as BB and could result in sagging sometime down the road. It would also need greater support on the in feed and out feed side of the planer, again to keep the lamination from sagging. In addition to the increased potential for greater sagging, it would also be heavier. If you're not concerned with this lasting forever, it might not be bad idea if you're ok with spending more on materials if/when the all MDF sled can no longer suit your needs.


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## Rhwoodworks (Jun 30, 2014)

I try to use baltic birch for most of my jigs.. sand the top smooth and wax it with butchers or something ..Then hand buff it and it will work great..


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## Rhwoodworks (Jun 30, 2014)

I try to use baltic birch for most of my jigs.. sand the top smooth and wax it with butchers or something ..Then hand buff it and it will work great..


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