Poor man’s jointer/sander: Will this work?

[cwithboat]

One set of two parallel T-slot rails is mounted on a stable bed.
A second set of two parallel rails is placed perpendicular to the first set and is free to slide back and forth in the X direction. Screw assemblies mate each of the four contacts between the rails. These screw assemblies are adjustable in height.
A sled is mounted on the second set of rails free to travel in the Y direction.
Mounted on the sled is an orbital sander fitted with Microplane sanding discs or sandpaper.
A work piece is placed on the bed. The sander at fixed height can be moved by hand to cover the area to be smoothed. As material is removed the rails and sled carrying the sander are lowered until the desired flatness and thickness are achieved. The work piece is then turned over and the procedure is repeated.

[LarryG]

That is essentially identical to the so-called "router rails" system in which a mortising bit (straight bit with end cutters) is used in a router to flatten a workpiece or bench. So in theory, I guess it'll work. In actual practice ... well, you tell us after you've tried it.

This is stating the obvious but your results will only be as good as the trueness of your guide rails. With the "router rails" system the rails are often something like sections of structural steel tubing, say 2" x 3" or thereabouts. The flaw I see with this approach is that while it SEEMS like such tubing ought to be straight and true, in reality it is anything but. IINM the tolerance for structural steel is 1/2" in 20' and that's hardly conducive to fine woodworking.

[poolhound]

I made a Router version of this type of jig. I concur with Larry that the accuracy of the rails is the key element. They do work but they take a lot of time and you wouldn't belive the amount of dust and chips!!! No easy to get dust collection to work very well in this situation.

I managed to find a good used TP on CL it does the same job that could take hours using the jig in a couple of minutes - and much less dust. I think I paid $150 for my Ridgid whcih would have been $300-$400 new. Keep you eyes peeled on your local CL.

I do still use my router sled primarily if I have very rough stock that needs a lot taken off. I use it to generally true the surface and save the planer blades, it only takes a couple of passes as I dont need to use the sled to get to a true surface or specific thickness anymore.

[LCHIEN]

it'll work to some extent but will not yield results like a good jointer.
T-slot material is aluminum and limited thickness and weakened byt the slots. If you hang a router between on thse top rails I'm sure the sag will be at least .01", if not more.

There's a reason why jointer beds are cast iron and very thick and heavy.

[cwithboat]

[quote=LarryG;335280]That is essentially identical to the so-called "router rails" system in which a mortising bit (straight bit with end cutters) is used in a router to flatten a workpiece or bench. So in theory, I guess it'll work. In actual practice ... well, you tell us after you've tried it.

The use of a plunge router would make a good deal of sense, if only for the ease of mounting and more precise adjustment. You have answered one of the questions I had in mentioning the type of bit. The other question was whether there are limits on the direction of movement of the router over the work piece (right to left, left to right).

[cwithboat]

Just to clarify, I am not looking for cabinet grade, just a transition from terrible to mildly acceptable.

[poolhound]

It doesnt really matter how you move the router. I have gone L-R, R-L and F-B. The important thing is to get a pattern that will cover the whole workpiece.

Remember that when working the edges the direction will tend to pull or push the bit towards or away from the work so keep a steady hand. Dont try to take off too much with each pass - hence why it takes a long time.

You should note that even when you think you have an accpetable surface its rarely totaly uniform and will probably have small unperceptable grooves and depressions so it will still need careful sanding. If you wipe it over with mineral spirits you will see it more easily. When I first used my router sled I thought the surface was fine but when I then stained it, every little imprefection was highlighted. Thats another reason I ended up getting a TP.

[jgrobler]

As mentioned by the other posters, it works. I had a jointer, but no planer for the longest time. I finally got a planer a couple of months ago.

I made a sled-bed with rails, about 20" by 18", with my router, that was my planer for the longest time. I still use it on occasion when I want to plane something that's too large for my planer, or unpractical, like end-grain cutting boards when my glue-up wasn't spot-on.

Here's a photo.

Dust collection sucked (or not, since there was none to speak of), it took much longer than a planer and the results still had to be cleaned up a bit with a scraper, but it came out flat, which was the most important consideration.

[Russianwolf]

As other said it will work, but IMHO you'll be better off doing the job with something like this... http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...182,41187&ap=1

They'll take about the same amount of time and cause a lot less frustration. Added to that, hand planes are just cool.