# Router sled discovery ***Thread Fixed***



## ajthomas5009 (Dec 21, 2013)

Today I was surfacing a batch of five end grain cutting boards with my router sled. This is something I've done about 20 times. So I'm not a rookie to the procedure but I wouldn't call myself a leading expert.

My usual results with the router sled is a pretty damn flat surface, smooth but with some minor tearout and and bit ridges. None of this is even an issue on face or edge grain. But with end grain those imperfections mean a minimum of an hour of rough orbital sanding followed by another hour of fine sanding through the grits. When doing 5 boards that 10hrs of vibrating your arm off and one would be lucky if they could tolerate it enough to finish it in 16hrs with breaks.

So I said to myself there has to be a better way without a drum/belt sander. Well I played around with my router sled and hit the jackpot!!!

First I tightened up the slop in the router carriage. It was only about 1/16" to start but making it a friction fit eliminated irregularities in the surface caused by vibration/movement and the occasional climb cut.

The rest had to do with technique. Keep the speed moderately slow going back and forth in the same spot before moving on. Also it helps to take 2 final passes after everything is flat. First pass take off 1/32" then the 2nd do 1/64". If there is still a decent amount of tearout after the 1/32" pass do another a 32nd lower before moving on.

This process took about 10mins longer but it cut out hours of annoying sanding.

The pics are are of the boards. In one of the pics you can see a close up of some minor tearout I left. The surfaces look polished almost.













































Andrew


----------



## PhillipRCW (Dec 9, 2014)

Are you going to share your jackpot finding?


----------



## ajthomas5009 (Dec 21, 2013)

If your referring to pics that is possible


----------



## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

Yes, post some pics please


----------



## putty (Jan 1, 2014)

so…finish the story!


----------



## Woodchuck2010 (Jan 19, 2016)

Well good for you.


----------



## conifur (Apr 1, 2015)

Another dumb thread, Say What????


----------



## nkawtg (Dec 22, 2014)

Well I'll bite, what was your solution?


----------



## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

Duh….


----------



## vskgaming (Dec 23, 2013)

BAZINGA!!!


----------



## ajthomas5009 (Dec 21, 2013)

What the heck. There was suppose to be another paragraph but it's missing. I'll fix it later tonight. That explain the asinine responses lmao


----------



## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

I think the right word is "*appropriate*" responses given the actual post


----------



## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Blue balls.


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

In my opinion, unless you see a potential market for your "breakthrough", it would be nice to share with your fellow woodworkers so they can use it or at least make decent comments.


----------



## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

Some people just do like to tell you where they caught all those fish.


----------



## ajthomas5009 (Dec 21, 2013)

Again sorry about the confusion with the half finished post. It wasn't intentional. I just figured I'd share my doscovery as a tip to others. Many people that use a router to surface complain of tearout/machine marks. So I figure the info would come in handy to some.


----------



## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

I hope you don't drop one of those cutting boards on your toes. It's going to hurt.


----------



## FLBert (May 19, 2016)

Thanks for the write up. Curious, what router bit do you like to use with the sled (size, style, brand)?


----------



## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Thanks for the update Andrew.


----------



## ajthomas5009 (Dec 21, 2013)

It's a 2" or 2 1/2" Freud straight / morticing bit. The box advertised flat bottoms. I got it at woodcraft for 35$ or 45$ I think. I can post a pic of it if you want.


----------



## FLBert (May 19, 2016)

Thanks atthomas. I recently puchased a similar Diablo to use but haven't started yet.


----------



## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

OK, this makes more sense now so please pardon my terse remark in post #13!


----------



## Nubsnstubs (Aug 30, 2013)

Athomas, after routing the surfaces, why not use a belt sand to remove the tearout, and finish sand with the orbit sander you indicated you were using? ............ Jerry (in Tucson)


----------



## Nubsnstubs (Aug 30, 2013)

> Athomas, after routing the surfaces, why not use a* belt sander* to remove the tearout, and finish sand with the orbit sander you indicated you were using? ............ Jerry (in Tucson)
> 
> - Nubsnstubs


----------



## ajthomas5009 (Dec 21, 2013)

I don't have a belt or drum sander. If I did I wouldn't care about routing a near perfect surface


----------



## Nubsnstubs (Aug 30, 2013)

athomas, it's good that you tweeked your router setup to reduce the tearout, but to speed up the sanding process, you probably need to save up about 300 bucks, and invest in a good quality 3×24" sander. If you have any near you, get over to swap meets, and look for old Rockwell and Porter Cable 360's, or even an old Skil sander. I don't think you would like those plastic things sold at the box stores… At a swap meet, it's a good possibility you can get one for under $50, and if you're mechanical at all, bushings, brushes and a little lube, you could have it running like new.

My calculations are after routing the final pass, you would spend no more than 5 minutes on each board belt sanding at 120 grit. After belt sanding, another 5-10 minutes each grit with the orbit sander. I doubt you would spend more than 30 minutes including routing per board start to finish.. To me, that's an incentive to look for a sander. ............ Jerry (in Tucson)


----------



## AZWoody (Jan 18, 2015)

So is the jackpot moment adjusting the router to a tighter tolerance and then slowing down your speed?


----------



## ajthomas5009 (Dec 21, 2013)

Yes it was. I actually like making cutting boards from time to time so achieving a drastically better surface was exciting lmao. Also I was intregued by it all because I've watched a handful of videos on router sleds and all of them mention how it's a good option but leaves a rougher surface than a planer/sander. So I thought it was worth passing the info because I've never heard of these tips.


----------

