I discovered this technique on the internet. I was a bit bleak because I bought lots of very rough mahogany to make a gate, plus a 2nd hand bench planer (with bad blades) to flatten it, and the planer blades can only be sharpened/replaced in the new year. Ian was kind enough to do one for me, which I want to use for a speaker build, but I needed to do the other eighteen boards myself. So I was looking for a technique to edge the boards and flatten a face on them. THis is a very simple one using a router - crude and slow, but effective. You don't need the jig for doing the edges of the board - the router rides straight on the aluminium. The aluminium edges are sold as straight edges at BewildersHouse, and are very straight. I sliced an old Oregon pine plank into two lengths and screwed them into the inside of the aluminium to reinforce it - it twists easily otherwise. Care is needed to get everything square - I used a spirit level and a pair of old table tennis trestles. Also, because there are no lateral stops you must make sure you don't impact the aluminium with the angle grinder.
