I’m building the LR with a few projects in mind, and prior to starting those I’m rearranging my workshop. Here are my questions:
Capacity
One project will require a full 4’ x 8’ capacity, but most of my other projects would be less than 4’ x 4’. Everything will be through-cutting plywood. To do pieces that are near 8’ length is it possible (and worth the effort) to cut half the design, move the board, and then cut the second half? Or am I better off just making the full size table?
Table Design
For my other tools I want to build an outfeed/assembly table. I could dual-purpose it for the LR, or I could build a separate torsion box for the LR that sits on top of the assembly table or saw horses and stores against the wall when not it use.
If I go the dual-purpose approach I would want to remove the LR when not in use. How much trouble is it to remove and reattach the Y belts when setting up the LR? I’m planning on using unistrut on the sides.
If I go the separate top approach I imagine I’d need to make something to hold the gantry onto the table when storing the top on it’s side?
Last question is why there’s a 4" max table depth recommended. Do the ends of the gantry underhang the table sides? If you’re using unistrut for the sides does the depth matter anymore then?
Ok, I lied. Actual last question. With everything being through-cuts, is there any point to surfacing the spoilboard?
It’s more than twice the work on that job, but if you compare that to having a huge machine year round, it makes sense to deal with the pain. The trick is that you cut some holes in the board and into the spoil.board with the cnc. Then when you move the board, you align the holes with a dowel. You can’t quite double it in one go, because your machine needs to reach the holes in the first place. If you made it 4.5’ then you could make it work for 8’, no problem. You also need to have room and support the board while it’s hanging off the edge.
Mine are screwed into wood. 2 -4 screws and I could take them off. Or I could cut the zip ties. The screws would eventually wear out the wood from unscrewing.
Yep. It could be something as simple as a block of wood clamped in the right place.
If you’re using unistrut, there’s no max. Some.of the parts hang below the rails. So the rails have a 4" max size.
Nope. I’m already leaving…
Fine.
If your bed is 10mm closer to the router in the middle than the edges, then you’ll need 10mm longer bits to go through, and you’ll need to run jobs that cut 10mm deeper. This could be from an unlevel table or from the sag in the gantry. Surfacing takes care of all of that. That being said, you can build it within 10mm tolerance, IMO. If you’re engraving, it needs to be less than 0.5mm or so error in Z. If you’re through cutting, you can easily tolerate 5mm.
I’m at work, so would a good guess be that the YouTube link is to a certain episode of Teen Titans Go!?
Yes, I turned 51 this year, and I immediately thought of TTG… I also have Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and some of MLP:FiM on deck as well as OG Scooby-Doo, Speed Racer, Johnny Quest, un-remixed Looney Tunes, etc… I may grow old, but damned if I’ll grow up!
Oh, it’s there, along with Phineas and Ferb, Murphy’s World, Gumball, a bunch of older shows like Misadventures of Flapjack, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Chowder, Dexter’s Lab, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Invader Zim (did you catch the movie that just came out on Netflix?), Sym-Biotic Titan, and some newer stuff like The Dragon Prince, Love, Death, & Robots (actually an anthology), Trollhunters (RIP, Anton Yelchin), and more anime than I can shake a stick at (mostly one or two-season fringe stuff, I could never get into the “popular” titles).
