Thinking back pn it, originally, my Primo sat on a chunk of MDF, which in turn sat on an old unused kitchen table. It still sits on the chunk of MDF, which sits on a torsion box made to hold it. The CNC was not needed to make the box, and its main advantage is a large drawer under the work area.
The LR got a torsion box tabe earlier on, but only because I already had the means to make it, and it is actually something of a problem the way I altered it in order to convert the LR2 to LR3. Should have made the wings differently, in hindsight. I may still rebuild that part of the design…
The only thing I really see about that is the LR can handle a Y curve better than an X curve. So I laid my main supports along the X. Otherwise I am sure it will still handle our use case well.
I think the main takeaway here is I need to add a few images to the table section of the LR instructions. That will show people that an accurate, sufficient table can easily be made. If you use screws not glue you can reuse the wood if you choose to rebuild.
I previously had a ping pong table, which worked really well, and they can usually be found pretty inexpensive on Facebook Marketplace. Now I have a sheet of .5" OSB screwed to 2x4s 24" on center just sitting on top of a couple small folding tables. You can get by with some really minimal setups.
I’ll share my table again. I think this is a reasonable option if you aren’t sure how to build a table. It could scale to just about any reasonable size.
It was built with pocket screws, but those jigs are pretty inexpensive now.
You could easily add some spars in between if you find it too flimsy, I like the simplicity of it. My first table is similar, I only put a torsion box on top because my spaces in between were too big.
Personally wanted full sheet when getting started, but had limited space, so built 5’x10’ rolling sled for LR3 that can be hung vertically using cheap game meat hanger. Reality is my LR3 ended up mostly living on a rolling bar height bench sized for 2’x4’ cuts. Intentionally made top surface a removable half torsion box. Has integrated storage, torsion box can be used separately, is currently indoors, in coffee table mode. Lower bench portion is narrow enough (without top) to roll through door entry for bringing inside when garage is too cold.
Like how LR3 can be quickly switched between tables/modes.
Wondering if anyone has LR3 on NO table. They just rest/bolt Y rails to garage floor slab. Using shims and/or surface XPS/MDF to make level enough? Also wondered what’s the absolute minimal effort easy to repeat path for success with LR3? For 2’x4’, the AllTed bench seems to be the way, other than buying some right sized bench (Ikea, Lowes, Home Depot, harbor freight, etc…).
I went full on ghetto with my table. It was an old beaten up, solid wood dining room table on craigslist for $40. Rock solid, flat and did I mention, cheap?
When approaching any design I try to simplify things down to the most basic form I can that meets the requirements of the project.
The lowrider really doesn’t even need a true table only 2 parallel rails with enough cross supports to keep the spoil board from sagging. It’s basically a bed frame with slats.
The lowrider 2 had some weird requirements because of the wraparound z-axis that forced my table to look like this:
But if I was building a LR3 I think I’d just use a pair of I-Joists from HD for rails. They come in 22 foot lengths and are engineered to resist deflection .
Just a couple of scrap 12" strips of 3/4" plywood, a couple of scrap 4’ pieces of 1x4, and a couple of sawhorses.
Not so flat~ish, and obviously not suitable for cutting anything, but it worked as a temporary support surface for assembling the LR3, connecting wiring and belts, and sorting out the first movements. Pros: cheap, fast, elevated things off the ground. Cons: wavy/bendy/warped, only useful for temporary testing during build
Full sheet of 3/4" ply, a couple of 8’ 2x10s that were laying around, and the same two sawhorses.
More flat~ish, bigger, able to perform actual cuts with my shorter temporary gantry. It will allow me to cut my struts, XY/ZY plates, etc, and to sort out some mods that I want to make to the LR3 (side mounted belts, modify the firmware & wiring so that X is the long axis/unit homes on the new XMin/YMin (where XMin/YMax now sits). Pros: cheap, fast, off the floor (same as above), big enough and flat enough to do some basic cuts, easy to disassemble and move out of the way. Cons: not full size, not sturdy enough to use as a work bench for other activities, probably still a little warped/wavy.
Flat~ish surface #3 (future, no pictures available ATM):
Expanding surface #2 with a second sheet of ply (cut), assembled to 5’3" x 10’ surface, 2x4 structure underneath, w/10’ lengths on long edges (Y axis) , following Ryan’s advice and using 5’ supports along X axis every 16 " or so. Still plan to use sawhorses as legs to start, may build permanent legs eventually. Pros: large enough to handle full sheet cuts (once I replace the temporary gantry with the full size one), sturdy enough to stand on/use as a work bench for other projects, still fairly cheap. Cons: somewhat less portable, less cool factor than a full torsion table (but way faster/simpler/cheaper)
I think that’s a little bit unfair. You could have built it with 3 mm skins and a lot smaller sections but you had other design criteria in mind which over rode weight as a criteria. Weight is just a function of material volume after all.
I agree with all you have said regarding the need but light weight is a great advantage for those who need a mobile or folding setup IMHO.
Got my table built. Ended up 49" x 90". Bought some 2x8s and ripped them down but that was probably more work than necessary. I bought a sheet of 3/4" MDF and had them cut it in quarters so it fit in my car. I ripped them down a bit more on the table saw. I ended up basically building a torsion box anyway minus the bottom skin. I used pocket screws. It’s not perfect but it’s pretty flat (certainly more than the floor of my garage). Back to assembling the LR3 now that I’ve settled on the width!
I love this conversation! I know my machine is less than a full sheet, but I had done torsion boxes for various reasons previously, and it did make a great first project (after cutting some struts). To build it I had to design it (I chose to design it from scratch rather than the parametric versions) and do the CAM. Then cut and ruin some material. Then cut the actual struts and spars for the table. I’m sure it’s imperfect, but I’m happy with it, and I’ll level it at some point. I definitely learned a lot.
But - I’ll also chime in that I was absolutely getting serviceable cuts from a sheet of MDF on a couple of 2x4s. I’m not sure it would have sufficed for carves, but for cuts it was awesome. The area was larger than my final table size as well. I love the flexibility of the LR3 in this way. I actually wouldn’t hesitate to go back to a larger sheet on the ground for a project larger than my current table.
I’m pretty sure my table took longer in total to CNC than if I had just used my table saw and woodworking tools… But as I said, I learned a lot.
wish i could 
but it is a neat table
