Wood Slab Flattening Mill - Where to start?

Hi - Looking to build something that can flatten and level slabs of wood. 3’x6’ table would suit my needs. I have seen a few on youtube but my level of expertise is limited. I have built a 3d printer but that was a kit. I can follow directions but am not sure where to start. Nothing fancy needs to move along the X&Y and move the router down each pass. I am assuming the router would be my Z-axis? What parts do i need? Thanks ahead of time for your help.

Welcome to the forum, Jason!

I think that for the work you describe a LowRider 3 would work nicely.

https://docs.v1engineering.com/lowrider/

It is the latest design in the Lowrider series and is receiving a lot of support which is very important when you start a DIY project like this!

There are a number of forum threads that describe the decisions that various individuals made while building their version of the machine. One thing to keep in mind: while the basics are common, the individual needs of the builder means that the finished system is likely to be unique and tailored to the specific tasks that builder needed.

Again, the various build threads are a good place to start, just to get some ideas.

Happy building!

Mike B.

Presumably, you are going to flatten thick slabs. So you would do yourself a favor of building a drop table so the machine will be close to the bottom of its travel when milling.

It would work well, but I do have to warn you that this is not a turn key product. We have great forums and decent instructions. But you will be “getting your hands dirty” with this kit. You will have to learn a lot.

I think you mean that it’s NOT a turn key product. Big difference there.
:grin:

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Thanks. Watching a bunch of videos on other builds. This seems doable. I appreciate the post and will definitely post once the build is underway.

LOL. What about the drop table concept? I usually work with 2-3 inch thick slabs that have up to an 1/4 inch (worst case) variance that needs leveling. Can the router travel up and down or do i really need to consider a drop table?

The lowrider is the most stable when it’s at its lowest but 2-3 inches should be fine if you design your machine for that height.

If you want to start surfacing anything more than 4" tall a drop table would be nice.

If it’s a one off project you could use something like my table and leave the center panel out with a table underneath holding the work piece

Thanks for pointing that out. Fixed.

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This is great… I am like you, I work out of my Garage, so the first step is moving out the toys to make some room for the build. Long term I intend to build the table in a way that I can further enhance down the road to “drop” but for now I will probably start with a static one. Thanks again, everyone.