Mike Corwin Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 Hi - Just watched Marc's video of this process and had a quick question...Marc uses jointed 2x6's in the video, but I don't have access to kiln dried 2x6's near me. Could I use 3/4" pre-primed MDF strips for this process, or do you need the extra thickness? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 You only need the strips to support the routing sled. As The sled is essentlally supported at both ends by the mdf then 3/4 will be ok. They just need to be straight and it should work fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 Or you can buy the 2x6's, take them home, joint them and then flatten the bench right away. They won't move that significantly that quickly. Just do it fast and you'll be fine...that's what I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlingenfelter Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 I just flatten my bench, using Marc's approach. I think 3/4" boards should work fine. Just remember, the router is likely to "bump" into the rails. I would just be careful not to go all the way through the "thinner" rails. Although it wouldn't be the that bad, as long you don't create a gap the sled will have issues with. You could also glue up some 3/4" boards to make a thicker rail. I just wouldn't use any nails, because the router could cut into them. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted April 24, 2013 Report Share Posted April 24, 2013 Yeah in the case of the rails, width is probably more important than thickness. A nice wide board would give you enough room to clamp to the bench top while still raising the router jig above the table top. I think you'll be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 I just did this the other day, so it's fresh in my mind. If you are going to use 3/4" thick boards think about the diameter of your router bit. The bit I used is 1-1/4" in diameter. Basically to get all the way to the edge of the bench-top every time in as few passes as possible I had to go 1/2*(1-1/4") or 5/8" into the sacrificial piece. Most of the time I went even further than that. If you are going with the 3/4" rails and have a router bit bigger than an inch in diameter, I'd suggest using some sacrificial piece between your rails and your bench-top edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 One more thing, I buddy of mine did this with angle iron purchased at the local big box. He used some 2x4's as his sacrificial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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