I’ve decided I’ll use the cnc to build a rolling base for my table. My “in-the-ceiling storage” plan didn’t get past my own safety department. So on to plywood, glue, and casters and a likely garage re-organization project.
Last night I started to cut a test piece for the base to judge the fit on the mortise and tenon joints I’ve got planned and I hit a snag, or in this case a slip.
The problem I found was due to loose grub screws. I only checked my x axis as it was the problem axis, but (3 of 4) grub screws were loose and one half of my gantry was just tugging along behind the other causing all sorts of trouble. Yay for test cuts and scrap wood at least but definitely a good learning opportunity for me.
So now I see some threadlocker in my future then back to this test cut.
After a couple of false starts, I’m finally making big pieces. The first big piece off the table came out great. This is nearly the full length of my table at just under 6ft.
I think I’ve wrapped up the build portion of this project now. It’s working, I’ve got a few adjustments to make it really sing but it’s doing all the cnc stuff I expected/hoped for.
Happy to report on as well that I was within <1mm of my drawn dimension on a 70mm piece for this stool I made. I hadn’t checked the dimensions that closely before but it seems I don’t need to adjust too much at all in the designs when putting parts together as the dimensions are coming out nearly exact.
Thanks, more accident than anything and it’s a modified idea from “chess” stools I found so I can’t take much credit.
I did find some pretty good materials though at the orange store, these were cut out of “white wood” boards. They’re laminated boards to make up the width but it was just $15 for a 1’ftx8ft board of solid wood (if you ignore the glue up). They had a couple of different widths but were all around 3/4" thick and quite flat.
The difference cutting from solid woods to press board/ply materials was night and day, the edges were so clean and crisp and the top and bottom edges only required a little sand paper to remove the fur. I’ll be back for more of that wood for future projects. It also makes me yearn for a thickness planer/jointer.
“White wood”… cracks me up but sounds great I will keep an eye out for it. Sometimes I do the same with their oak boards but it’s pricey.
Since you’re in Edmonton check out Busy Bee… its Chinesium but they have a couple bench top jointers one even has helical cutters and the prices are usually better than the big box stores especially if you catch their sales. They have so much of my money
Thanks, busy bee wasn’t on the radar really but I’m more of a kijiji tool buyer, it’s pennies on the dollar if you’re patient. I’ll check them out though and see about those sales.
Well I figure since this is building again I’ll put it back here.
Mini me torsion box is constructed, it’s weird but it feels like I’ve done this before… final revised size is 48" by 30" so my cut area should be a little inside this. The reduction in size is purely for space, and my father in law’s built a huge shop where he intends to put a 5x10 CNC so the full table needs/wants) are covered in the future.
Like before it’s a torsion box design, 1/2" mdf sandwich with same for ribs, and squared 2x3"ish solid wood edges all around. I used my big daddy lr2 to lay out the grid, and the top piece has 1/4" 20 tnuts in every hole for hold down strategies
After going back and forth on the support idea I’m opting for mixed media and am welding up a custom metal base which is a work in progress.
This is going to be a great machine size. This is how big mine is, but I want to make it again, with a bit more support, and a better plan for the table.
I agree Jeff and thanks Greg, having a second crack at the table is allowing me to refine some parts like the hold downs, and I was never completely happy with how I did the wiring or the lcd/mini rambo mount. The size should be good too, with the exception of just a couple of things nearly everything I’ve cut so far on the cnc would have fit within this cutting area.
