Well, Glenn......I went ahead and did it. I made my own sled.
I used materials I already had in the shop, so it didn't cost me anything. I even, shockingly so, had some rubberized tread in an old box.
I'm hoping the fact that I used MDF instead of BB ply for the sled base, and pine instead of hardwood for the "riser blocks", won't be detriment. The dimensions of this particular sled are 55" long by 12" wide. Here it is ready for it's maiden voyage...with a 54"x11.5" piece of white oak...
You might notice the one thing I forgot to do before using it...which I discovered after the first pass through the planer. I didn't add the drywall screws to hold the wedges in place. I can now see why those are mandatory!
The sled worked really well. There will be a bit of a learning curve with the best way to get the sled from the back to the front, but that's really no big deal.
Thanks VERY MUCH, Glenn...for the passive-aggresive kick in the pants to solve a problem with an outside the box solution.
- Keith