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Woodworking often seems to be about building or making something to do a job you need done, but don't have the tool for. I would love to have a 20 or 24 inch planer, or 24 inch belt sander, unfortunately I would use either so seldom it would not be a cost effective purchase.
So, when I need to plane a board that is too thick, if it is larger than my 15 inch planer, I have to devise another way of planing the board down. There are a few options, you can find a local woodworking shop to plane or sand the board down (for a price), or you can use a hand plane (which is very tedious if it is a large board), you can take the fence of many jointers and make multiple passes, but then you have re-install the fence and adjust it, you could use a hand power planer (but they can gouge the wood if you are not careful) and the last option ... which is the one I opted for is to make a planing jig or planing sled that I can use my router on.
Building a Planing or Surfacing Jig
These jigs are not new and have been around in one form or another for years. I you purchase rough sawn lumber from local mills or suppliers, this is something that will be a Must Have in your workshop. Or if you don't have a planer of any size, this allow you to plane and re-surface boards in fairly short order, and do a great job of it.
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The table saw is agueably designed for ripping wood, that's really whate it is best at, but that doesn't mean it can't be used for other things equally well. For many woodworkers, the tablesaw is first stationary tool they purchase because it is so versatile. Out of the box, they will rip and cross cut (with the appropriate blades) and even cut dado, with a small modification to the throat plate.
With many table saws, the mitre gauges are pretty standard and have small surface that accepts wood for cross cutting, still they work ok. For someone who is doing a lot of cross cutting and wants perfect repeatable results, a crosscut sled is the answer.
Making a Heavy Duty Crosscut Sled
These are relatively easy to make requiring only a few items, such as a good quality plywood base (I simly used a quater sheet of plywood that was 2 feet by 4 feet), a couple of decent quality mitre blanks and lastly a couple of flat boards that can be used for the front and back. The front stabilizer board only needs to be flat on the bottom the inside and outside should be reasonably flat but since this is only to stabilize the sled, it's not important that it be abslutely flat. The back stabilizer board DOES need to be pefectly flat on the bottom and inside as well, so selecting materials for this is very important.
If you have access to thick plywood that is 2 inches thick or better, that is ideal, otherwise you will need to hand pick something that is flat. I found a piece of construction grade, kiln dried 2x6 that was 8 feet long that looked like it would work. When I got it home and cut it in half, one half was off a tiny bit, but the other side was perfectly flat, just what I needed, and it was dry so it's not going to move around on me.
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Innovation and woodworking go hand in hand. Despite the fact that woodworking is the second oldest profession, it has always been a place where new tools and ideas meet. Such is the case with the "Magswitch". If you aren't familiar with the Magswitch, it is simply a magnet that can be switched off and on. So if you place a magswitch on a steel table, like a table saw, and turn the switch, the magnets are energized, adhering the unit to the table. When the switch is turned off, the switch can be lifted off the table with same effort it takes to lift a screw driver off the table.
Magnetic Switches for Jigs
Having a tool that is quick and easy for making and adapting to jigs is a HUGE benefit in the workshop for saving time and for making more accurate cuttings, and that's just where the magswith is perfect ....