EcoSled Router Sled Panels Kit - DIY Budget Slab Flattener (4x4'-4x8')

Thinking about building your own router sled after seeing a dude from a YouTube video do it? It's understandable, we all like to DIY and not everyone can justify or afford the cost of our premium router sleds made with linear motion components.

However, building your own sled out of plywood takes time and effort, and plywood isn't exactly a buttery smooth or low friction material. Enter the Crafted Elements "EcoSled" kit. An economy router sled that is perfect for the DIY'ers on a budget that is a step above what could be built using only plywood or scrap wood panels.

The not-so-secret secret is in our low friction, pre-fabricated, pre-cut, pre-drilled panels. Made out of HDPE (high density polyethylene) plastic, once fully assembled the end result is a router sled that slides and performs much better than one made of plywood alone. With a coefficient of friction of around 0.20, it's notably more slippery than wood on wood (which ranges from 0.45-0.60!). 

We've taken the effort and guesswork out of building a basic router sled, and fabricated plastic components wherever there is motion or friction. The result is a very affordable, ridiculously easy to build and easy to use router sled. No, the end result isn't comparable to our premium router sleds made of steel and aluminum, but when cost is the driving factor our EcoSled fits the bill!

Footprint & Workpiece Levelling Size

The Crafted Elements EcoSled is a one-size-fits-all solution, however with the components included with our kit you can construct a router sled that is either 4x4' or 4x8' in total size (48 or 96" in length). This is thanks to the four plastic rail toppers included with our kit. With each rail topper being 48" long, you can butt them up against each other for a total of 96" per side, or simply only use two of them and get 48" per side (keeping the other 2 rail toppers on hand for future expansion if need be).

The 4' width of the sled is fixed due to the size of the router carriage base panel. It can't be cut down or reduced in size.

Remember that the total size (4x4' or 4x8') represents the footprint of the sled, in other words, the space it takes up on your workbench or table top. The maximum travel (reach) of the router carriage with a 2.5" bit installed is 42x38" (4x4' configuration) or 42x86" (4x8' configuration). This simply means that without moving or shifting your workpiece you can mill a 42" wide by 38/86" long piece of material. 

The maximum thickness of stock the router sled can handle is determined solely by the number of plywood risers (strips) installed underneath the plastic rail toppers. Most people will use two layers of 3/4" plywood (for a total of 1.5" of height). Once the 0.5" thick plastic topper is considered, the maximum thickness of material that can fit under the router carriage is 2". Need more that than? Add additional plywood strips under the rail toppers to raise the rails, and router carriage up, making more room for thicker stock.

Easy Assembly With Just Basic Materials & Tools

The Crafted Elements EcoSled kit is NOT a complete ready to assemble router sled like our linear motion component based router sleds are. Each kit contains the pre-fabricated, pre-drilled plastic panels that make up the most important parts of the router sled. However, you still have to provide the plywood side walls for the router carriage, plywood risers for underneath the rail toppers, workbench, screws and a router with spoilboard bit. Luckily you can quickly cut up a 4x2' 3/4" plywood handy panel available at any local lumber store and have all the pieces you'll need. A cut sheet which details the exact cuts and sizes of wood required is provided. You can also download it here.

Router Compatibility

The EcoSled works with nearly any router on the market. The router carriage channel is 6.125" in width allowing it to accommodate most routers, from small trim routers all the way up to large 3hp+ full size routers. Note: You may need to remove the handles from your router to fit within the router carriage. We also provide a 6x6" acrylic base with each kit that you can use to mount your router to. The router base has a pre-drilled 2.625" center hole to accommodate router bits up to 2.5" in diameter.  The router base is not pre-drilled for router mounting. This is something you will need to do during sled assembly if you wish to use the 6x6" acrylic plate (you can choose to use the existing plate that came with your router).

Which Crafted Elements Sled Should I Choose?

Having choice is great...except when it's not. We have three different router sleds available in our product line including the EcoSled, our trim router sled and our original, full size router sleds constructed out of metal and using industrial grade linear motion components.

For simplicity lets look at the pros and cons of the EcoSled compared to our original full size router sleds.

EcoSled Pros:

• Low Cost
• Easy To Build
• Universal Router Compatibility
• Performs Better Than A Homebrew All-Plywood Version

EcoSled Cons:

• Requires Additional Cutting Of Plywood Parts To Assemble [See Cut Sheet]
• Available In One Size Only
• Plastic + Plywood Construction
• Router Not Fixed To The Carriage (Z Axis)
• Mill/Flatten In One Direction Only
• Router Carriage Doesn't Slide As Well As Linear Bearing Version
• No Dust Collection Option
• No Pre-Drilled Router Mounting Holes

Original Linear Motion Components Based Full Size Router Sled Pros:

• Available In Multiple Sizes (Widths And Lengths)
• Incredibly Smooth Motion Due To Linear Bearing Design
• Precision Milled Aluminum + Steel Components
• Solid Steel Rails + Shafts
• Easy To Build
• Universal Router Compatibility
• Router Fixed To Carriage (Z Axis)
• Mill/Flatten In Both Directions
• Dust Collection Option
• Pre-Drilled Holes In Router Base Plate

Original Linear Motion Components Based Full Size Router Sled Cons:

• Higher Cost Than EcoSled or DIY Solutions

Watch The Assembly & Demonstration Video

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, video is worth 1,000,000. Check out the assembly and demonstration video below, which includes some tips and tricks on how to use the EcoSled to get the best results. If you still have questions about the EcoSled after watching the video, please contact us.