Tried a router sled for slab work, it fought me for two weekends

I took on a 6 foot walnut dining table top in Portland and decided to level it with a router sled instead of my usual hand planes. Built a sturdy sled out of 3/4 ply and leveled rails, but the bit kept burning the surface because I moved too fast in the soft grain. Slowed down to about half speed and used a new two flute bit, night and day difference. Anyone else find that the sled takes way more patience than the setup suggests?

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emery_young1319d ago

The burn marks from rushing on soft grain hit home for me. I did the same thing on a maple slab and learned the hard way that slow and steady is the whole game with a sled. Once I dropped my feed rate and switched to a spiral bit, it was like a different tool. Your half speed tip is spot on, that's exactly what fixed mine too.