In my workshop I have a 2 foot x 8 foot countertop that I’d like to use as a base for an LR4 build (if I don’t get too impatient and just build an LR3 haha). It’s shown in orange in the attached picture.
My goal is to have 2’x8’ of usable area and I’d like to still have this surface usable to for general workshop stuff when I’m not running the cnc. My current plan is to remove the counter top and replace it with a torsion box that extends out to whatever depth I calculate needing to get 2 feet of x space. I plan to install the conduit rail in the back and maybe put the belt in a strut along the front edge of the surface like I’ve seen Doug at design8 do.
My question is generally is this a good plan? What other considerations should I make like space above and behind the machine?
The LR3 is great for this application. It comes off easily and leaves the front side mostly clear. It is good for an assembly table. Just make sure you don’t pile up so much stuff that you can’t use the LR without a half day of work to clean it off.
Thanks for the details Dan that was very helpful. 11" is a little more than I was originally expecting. When I went and measured it out physically it gets in the way of a door a little bit. So I’m considering rearranging my shop a little instead.
The thing I need to decide is what size work area to make and that will dictate where in the shop I end up putting it. I’m debating doing something like a 4’x4’ area so about a 5’x5’ table in a corner or a 2’x8’ work area as I originally was thinking but put it against the other wall.
In general I don’t think I need bigger than a 2’x4’ area but I do have a couple projects planned that being about to do a half sheet at a time would be nice. The main one of those is doing new cabinets for my kitchen. I figure it would be nice to be able to do at least two 24"x36" panels at a time which is what’s leading me to decide between 2’x8’ , 4’x4’, or 4’x3’.
Countertops are normally decently flat and decently rigid. And for a surface no wider than what you’re planning, the torsion box may very well be overkill. It’s mostly helpful thing on huge full-size LowRiders that can cut a full 4 x 8 sheet in a single go and when you’re wanting it flat enough to do engraving and carving that is not through cuts. For through cuts you can compensate for non-flat (mounds and dips) by just cutting a little bit deeper into your spoiler board. So for profile cuts, flatness doesn’t matter as much. Also, flatness issues are magnified over a large table surface area. And conversely, they are minimized over small table surface area. I would suggest this: think in terms of building the machine first and using it on the existing countertop, with an MDF sheet added as spoil board, and see how that goes. Later, if you want to, you could go ahead and do the torsion box.
