Table Ideas for those just getting started

LowRider CNC Hardware Development
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Hey All,

First post on the forum and happy to be here! Just built (almost done) my LW3, made it with a 53" workable cutting area in X but think I’m going to trim it down to something a little more “standard” and make it a 49" X.

Found this thread interesting as I’m currently trying to figure out what I want to do for a table. I really like the idea of getting something cheaply thrown together so that I can use the LW3 to cut out it’s own torsion box (Doug I have yours in mind). But the more I think about the material I’ll be using and the price, I find myself trying to decide what is worth doing for the table right away.

I’m super cheap, I’m sure we all have aspects of that as diy’ers, but even a temporary table I drew up is going to cost $100 or so to make.

So two questions for you all, do you think this would be enough for a permanent build? This is a lot of 1x4 on the underside.

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Or do you think this is enough to get me through learning my way into cutting out a torsion box pretty soon after? this is just 2x4’s laying flat and will just sit on my concrete floor for now.

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We are talking $100 in material vs stuff i already have/will reuse for the torsion box build. End goal is to use the LW3 to cut out my cabinet designs and build a nice CNC table with cabinet space underneath.

Thoughts? Better way? I’m not new to woodworking or 3D printers (I’ve designed and built multiple 3D printers from scratch, have a desktop cnc router, laser engraver, and have a fairly stocked hobbiest woodworking shop just so you’re aware of where I’m starting).

Appreciate your recommendations and looking forward to contributing to the group once I’m up and running!

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Either option should work but my 2 cents would be to go with option 1 which is similar to what I did. It’s sturdy enough to use for a long time and gives you time to sort out what you really need. I also have full intentions of building a torsion box table at some point. I’m still very new to this but I think it will take some time until I know what I would want in a fancy table. I don’t think you can figure it out without using it for awhile.

Some questions I’m still trying to answer:

  • Does this size meet my needs?
  • Should I make it fold up out of the way?
  • Do I need more space around the edges?
  • What do I want to do for work holding?
  • How tall should it be? I may end up using it as an outfeed table for my table saw.
  • What other features might I want? I’d like to have some vertical work holding. Do I need it?
  • Do I want/need a drop table?

I was going crazy trying to answer these questions at the beginning. My approach is to keep it simple, use it awhile first, and then get fancy.

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Thanks for the input! I’m sorta leaning that way, I’m just hoping that my plan for the first box is sturdy enough for long term use and enjoyment. A warped bed in 3D printing can cause a lot of frustrations and I’m certain a warped build surface on the CNC will be much exaggerated and far less enjoyable to learn on. I’m not sure if buying common 1x material from the box store is going to cut it… Can’t trust any of the lumber I get there lol

My initial thoughts were making something that folds up, but I think I like What Doug did with hiding his belts. Would be nice to use the cnc table as an assembly table when not actively in use as a cnc.

Good luck with finding your answers, I think I’ll be asking myself a lot of the same questions as well!

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I actually think this is far more forgiving than 3D printing. You mostly just end up cutting a bit into the spoil board to compensate. You can also surface the spoil board.

Yea, this is why I bought 2x8s and ripped them down but that was probably more work than necessary.

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$100 IS super cheap! And the plywood surface will be re-used for the final build, so all you are really paying for is the 2x4 (or 1x4) for the frame.

The more (and closer together) the cross pieces, the flatter and sturdier it will be. Also if you don’t attach sheathing of some sort to the long edges, you might find that it bends and twists every time that you lift and move it (which may be fairly frequently if you need to use the garage space for something silly like parking a car)

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@jeyeager Good to know! And yup I plan on surfacing as well if it looks like it’s needed.

@Bartman it is, but it wasn’t if I felt like I needed to replace it soon after with a nice cut torsion box. But these comments are making me feel like it’s going to be a while until I feel like one is needed so that’s nice!

When you say sheathing on the end pieces, you’re referring to the one’s at the far Y extremes of the table? Outside of the cutting area? I was actually thinking of pulling them out of the design altogether and adding a nub underneath. Think that would be making things worse? If i leave them in I suppose I’d sheath them maybe make that area a place to hold tooling and such.

Pic removed:

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I mean tying the boards aligned in the x direction with the boards aligned in the y direction. Best done by using the plywood (sheathing) for the whole frame - see the pictures in my post above.

Absolutely necessary? Probably not. Stronger and more stable? I think so

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Ah I see what you’re saying. Hmm, was hoping to keep it as light as I can for the time being, an extra 2 sheets of sheathing certainly won’t help with weight haha. BUT that’s an easy add I can do if I find what you’re saying to happen! Long run, I think may be fastening this entire thing down to a rolling “island of cabinets” that I plan on building in the future. I really appreciate your call out though, something I’m going to keep an eye on.

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I only used one full sheet and about 3/4 of a second sheet. You could go with 1/2” rather than 3/4” to reduce the weight a bit. You could also substitute MDF instead of plywood, but screws don’t hold as well in MDF (IMO).

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Ah okay that makes sense. Honestly, 2 sheets of 15/32 sheathing is going to weigh less and cost less than a single sheet of 3/4 MDF so that might be the move then. I think I still want MDF spoilboard though but 3/4 is probably overkill, 1/2 should do the trick for spoil board!

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If you’re going to put MDF spoil board on top of the plywood sheathing, you could probably use 3/8 or even 1/4 plywood over the whole top of the frame, but you wouldn’t want to put screws into the thinner plywood.

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You can add “torsion” style skin strength to your #1 design, without adding a lot of weight, by using 1/8" hardboard for top and bottom skins, with a thicker MDF spoil board on top of the top skin. The 1/8" hardboard would make a great skin for not much weight.

Also, if you plan on using screws into the table for material hold down purposes, may I suggest modifying the layer order to be: bottom skin of 1/8" hardboard, then your 2x4 structure, then a top skin of something like either OSB or playwood, for good, strong screw-gripping, then your MDF spoil board.

This advice actually goes with both your #1 design, a CNC cut torsion box, or your #2 or whatever.

A great part of the strength and rigidity of a torsion box is in the skins, and lack of both a top and bottom skin drastically cuts down the rigidity.

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Ah okay so it sounds like you guys, Doug and Bartman, both agree, skin the entire box, top and bottom. 1/8" hardboard isn’t the easiest to get locally but I’ll check around, if I need to do 1/4" so be it, just a few lbs and $$ extra.

For skinning, I really just need to worry about the main area right? I can ignore the front 7" and rear 10" tabs that are just for the rollers? (support them in another way) And if so, should I seam it long ways or short ways (and have it land on a middle X strut)?

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As with most things in life, there is no one “correct” answer. It may end up being a trade off based on weight, strength, ease of construction, material availability, other uses for the table (like using it as a workbench), etc.

Skin at least one full side, for sure, and possibly both. Leaving the edges unconnected will allow for twist and unwanted movement (IMO)

Doug’s idea of skinning both sides with a thin skin and adding a spoil board does have a lot of merit, in that it creates the “torsion” model that adds a lot of rigidity in various axis. It is also quite light. It does require some thought as to how to attach legs without cutting away the skin

My idea of using a thicker skin on the top surface only is possibly less rigid in all directions, but may have enough strength in the thicker layer to compensate for that (or not - I’m not an engineer, just a bloke with a very limited bit of carpentry experience). It does have the benefit of simplicity to build, a good strong surface to attach hold down screws to, and keeps the bottom available to attach legs to in areas other than the perimeter edges. I also plan to use the table as a work platform for building and assembling various carpentry projects, so I need a good solid surface that can withstand some punishment.

What is right for you? Possibly one, or the other, or neither.

As far as the tabs or extensions for the rollers, as long as the frame is fully attached to the skin, you should be able to just add boards on the outside and top of the frame as you have shown (as long as they don’t extend too far without support).

As far as orientation of the skin, I would try to keep the seams to a minimum, which would mean placing the full sheet lengthwise on the frame against one edge, then applying a full length narrow strip against the open edge, and another single piece at the end (again, see the pictures in my post above). If you skin both top and bottom, stagger the seams so they aren’t in the same location both top and bottom (seams are the weak point, so don’t have them at the same location on both surfaces).

Good luck on your table ideas!

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I did mine with a Bora Centipede table base with MDF tacked on top of flat planed 2x4 (1.5 x 3 now) frames and it’s working great. I would have done the floor thing, but my back already hates me so I spent the money to lift it 30" off the ground. Honestly, I think the spoil board arrangement is taking up more of my brain power at this point than the table build ever did.

I like the IDEA of a torsion table, but by no means do I think it’s NEEDED. When I get a bigger shop and the LR3 can have it’s own permanent spot, I’ll probably look into a torsion table build and repurpose my Bora toys.

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I would say so, yes.

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Would not even a really good torsion box warp over time if not fully supported, very flat?

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It shouldn’t, unless you make the frame from an unstable timber. It’s easy enough to level two trestles and that’s all you need for support.

Here’s my base - the table top just sit’s happily on top - I’ve used 3mm MDF skins. I think on the LR2 I used a 12mm top skin because I had it - details are on this thread-

My unnecessarily complicated yet simple torsion table for the LR3 build starts about here:

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Hi Ryan, nice looking table are there plans for this? Building mine now but unsure of the table to build.

Kev

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Hi Kevin, I used this one, Parametric Table

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