# Alternatives to using hot glue on planer sled for jointing?



## shippinguptoboston (Jun 4, 2021)

Hi everyone. Since I don't have a jointer I'm planning on doing my jointing with my planer with a combination of a planer sled and some shims to raise up the high points. Here's an example video demonstrating the technique: Planing Jig - How to Use Your Planer to Joint Wood | Woodworking Jig - YouTube 

I'd like to avoid using hot glue if I can, in fact the gentleman in the video above uses an anti-skid mat. Unfortunately, the one he linked is no longer in stock. 

I bought a shelf liner mat since it follows the same principle of reducing friction, but its too thick. When the sled goes through the planer, it'll actually push down on the plush liner which defeats the purpose of the sled.

Can anyone recommend a decent anti-skid mat that's thin and will avoid this issue, or is there any other alternatives I could look into?


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

Double sided tape.


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## yomanbill (Jul 7, 2020)

I covered the top surface of my sled with plastic laminate (Formica) and then use small hardwood wedges with hot melt glue for leveling. This works very well because the hot melt glue pops off of the Formica very easily. I find it quicker and easier than using two sided tape


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## sunnybob (Sep 3, 2016)

Whats wrong with hot melt glue?
Its cheap, its very quick, one size fits all, and its easy to peel off afterwards.
Everything else is just more work.


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## Bob Bengal (Jan 2, 2021)

shippinguptoboston said:


> I'd like to avoid using hot glue if I can


Is the glue to hold wedges etc to the sled, or is the glue to hold the work piece?


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## sunnybob (Sep 3, 2016)

You dont need side wedges if you use hot melt glue.
If the board is warped badly then you can glue the shims to the base board and then the board to the shims.
If its only slightly out of true, you can just push more hot glue under the lifted corner.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

The problem with hot glue is that it's HOT! I have it stuck my fingers so many time and it really hurts until it cools off. Then I have to chew it away to get it off. It's great but there are issues, kinda like good lookin' aka HOT women...... just sayin'
Sticky tape is also great, but it's hard to get off if it's really pressed down hard. In both cases a thin sharp bladed putty knife or chisel works best for me.
On very warped boards, a few strokes with a roughing plane will settle it down so it's got less twist. 
A front stop on your sled will keep the board from getting pushed off as the cutterhead engages.
A lighter feed will also avoid some issues. In my experience, the shims/wedges need to go under the work quickly starting with the largest gap.
Then fill in the gaps all the way around before the hot glue cools too much.
It's just not the most ideal way, but it can be made to work.

I tried a completely different approach here:








Planer sled on "rails"


Planer sled My version came from my "gluing frames" and thinking about a 2 rail system which simply screwed into the edges of the board to be planed. Heck, I already had a gluing frame, why not try it? The following photos are...




www.woodworkingtalk.com


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## yomanbill (Jul 7, 2020)

Bob Bengal said:


> Is the glue to hold wedges etc to the sled, or is the glue to hold the work piece?


In my case, it is both. For small gaps, I use just glue. For larger gaps, I glue in a small wedge. All of it together will hold the board to the sled.


sunnybob said:


> You dont need side wedges if you use hot melt glue.
> If the board is warped badly then you can glue the shims to the base board and then the board to the shims.
> If its only slightly out of true, you can just push more hot glue under the lifted corner.


Yes. As above.
If the board is very badly warped and you will be cutting it into shorter lengths anyway, cut the shorter pieces first. You will avoid wasting a lot of wood this way.


woodnthings said:


> In my experience, the shims/wedges need to go under the work quickly starting with the largest gap.
> Then fill in the gaps all the way around before the hot glue cools too much.
> It's just not the most ideal way, but it can be made to work.


I usually start with a couple of points where the board touches and glue those points first. Then I glue in the small wedges where needed in the larger gaps. It just takes a dab of glue on each side of the wedge and then slip it into place. No hurry. No need to get fingers into the hot glue.
I may be misunderstanding what you mean by "all the way around", but I have found that a dab of glue or wedge at about 8" to 12" intervals is usually enough.


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

NOTE: I wrote this post, then withdrew it because what it describes is potentially dangerous. After reconsidering, I have decided to restore this post. Thanks to everyone for their input and comments. 

IMPORTANT: Please read the kickback concerns below before you even think about doing what is described here, okay?

. . . . .

True Confession: This is probably very unsafe, so it is our secret, okay? 

I had a jointer back in the 1970s/1980s, but no longer. I bought a used DeWalt DW735 planer a few years ago and have been using it to flatten board faces using a sled with wedges in lieu of a true jointer. My sled is a piece of 3/4 inch plywood, with two low pieces of maple in one corner in a 90 degree "L" shape, square to the sled. The sled is close to 13 inches wide. There a very slight gap between the "fences" inside the planer. If the sled is not inserted straight, it won't go in.

Here is my dirty little secret:
I don't use anything to stick the board to the sled. Instead, I push the board up against the "L" and place my wedges and shims underneath so that the board can't move, rock, or wiggle.

I run the sled with the wedged/shimmed board through the planer, with the "L" on the front of the sled to enter the planer first. The rollers push the board, and the board pushes the "L" on the sled. This may not be intuitive.

-> _I push them in by pushing on the board to be flattened, not the sled._ That holds the board against the "L" as it enters the planer. You have to support the sled too, but the driving force into the planer happens on the board, not the sled.

I set the planer so that the entire assembly can run through without contact. The first few passes, nothing happens, and I must manually push the board and sled through. I lower the planer slightly, and repeat. The goal is to ensure the lightest cuts. Eventually the planer rollers engage with the board and push it. The planer rollers push down on the board and drive it through the planer. The board pushes against the "L" on the sled, so that both go together.

The board and sled pop out of the planer. I guide the sled carefully out, keeping the sled as flat and straight as possible. (You do not want the back end of the sled to lever up and into the whirling blades!)

As I lower the planer, it starts to take light cuts. You can hear when the planer blades start to cut the high spot. Lower the planer ever-so-slightly and repeat until the top surface of the board is completely flattened.

IMPORTANT CAUTION:
The tops of the wedges must be lower than the final planed board height. Keep wedge exposure outside the board to a minimum - swap or trim wedges accordingly. You do not want the planer's cutters to contact the wedges or shims, ever. I once had a wedge sucked into the planer because the outside top of the wedge was higher than the board. The wedge broke up and rattled around for a few seconds. My wedges are very thin, so no harm done and a good lesson was learned.

I hope others will explain why this is such a terrible, dangerous idea, to motivate me to change my ways. In the meantime, I am almost done restoring a benchtop jointer, so my need to use the planer as a jointer will diminish.

. . . . .

IMPORTANT REMINDER: 
_Please_ read the comments below regarding the potential for dangerous kickback.


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## sunnybob (Sep 3, 2016)

If your machine has anti kick back teeth that trail on top of the wood, your method is reasonably safe. If the machine does not have anti kick back teeth. DO NOT DO THAT!.


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## yomanbill (Jul 7, 2020)

Tool Agnostic said:


> True Confession: This is probably very unsafe, so it is our secret, okay?
> 
> I had a jointer back in the 1970s/1980s, but no longer. I bought a used DeWalt DW735 planer a few years ago and have been using it to flatten board faces using a sled with wedges in lieu of a true jointer. My sled is a piece of 3/4 inch plywood, with two low pieces of maple in one corner in a 90 degree "L" shape, square to the sled. The sled is close to 13 inches wide. There a very slight gap between the "fences" inside the planer. If the sled is not inserted straight, it won't go in.
> 
> ...


I assume that you have been told or you have read that this is dangerous. Frankly, maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see the danger. I see it as being very cumbersome, but I don't see the danger. I can see the planer knives possibly catching a wedge, but it would just throw it out the front or into the dust chute; not dangerous (assuming you are not standing there). I can see the work piece possibly slipping out of alignment, catching, and not feeding; annoying but not dangerous.
For me, after trying a variety of methods, I like having a rigid sled (torsion box) and have the work piece glued down. It is easier (and, I think, more accurate) to have the sled and work piece acting as a single unit.
I think that even when you get your bench top jointer running, you will still find a use for the planer sled. I have a 6" jointer and still use my sled and planer when prepping/thicknessing boards for a project.


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

sunnybob said:


> If your machine has anti kick back teeth that trail on top of the wood, your method is reasonably safe. If the machine does not have anti kick back teeth. DO NOT DO THAT!.


It is a DeWalt DW735. As far as I know, there are no anti-kickback teeth on it. There is no mention of kickback anywhere in the user manual. 

I will withdraw my post so that others do not learn a bad lesson. Thanks.


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## sunnybob (Sep 3, 2016)

The anti kick back is usually a full width row of little pivoted teeth that face forward placed right at the wood entry point. As you push the wood in the teeth fold up and do not interfere.
If the planer knives (that are rotating backwards to the direction of travel) dig in and try to throw the wood back out, the little knives dig in and stop the wood being thrown out the back at great force.
Thats how my JET works.
Just had a quick surf for a dw735 and it does not appear to have any anti kickback safety.


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## yomanbill (Jul 7, 2020)

I'm not aware of any "kickback" issues with this type of bench top planer. I have had my 733 grab a thin work piece and chew it up and spit it out the other side, but it didn't present and safety issues that I observed. I don't have any experience with any other, but with my 733, I think as long as you aren't making excessively deep cuts, the feed rollers will prevent any kickback of the work piece or throw back of debris. Actually, the design of the 733 won't allow insertion of a work piece with the cutter head set too low for a safe cut. I assume that other bench top units are similar.


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

Does anyone think I should re-post my dangerous original post #9? 
@Bob Bengal?


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## Bob Bengal (Jan 2, 2021)

Tool Agnostic said:


> Does anyone think I should re-post my dangerous original post #9?
> @Bob Bengal?


I liked the idea of it. If the safety issue was the possibility of the work piece shifting away from the end with the fence it is easy to screw a temporary block at the other end of the work piece.


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