Hey guys, thought I would start a thread showing my lowrider 2 build I have begun today. Thus far I have busted open the package and sorted through everything inside. I took the time to assemble as much as I could tonight, but still have to pick up my 304 stainless tomorrow and build a table to truly get everything going. I ordered all of the parts from Ryan and am excited my printed parts came in black. Also, kudos to Ryan for a great transaction, as the order was smooth and delivery was quick. I am sure I will need some help along the way, and I hope you guys will chime in when needed. Take Care
I do have a quick question already…I have scoured the website and see on the original lowrider the rambo case mounted on the side of the x carriage plates. On the lowrider2, where does the mini case mount in proximity to the lcd since they are linked via physical cables. I am sure it is a simple answer, but the pictures don’t show it.
Looks good so far. Mount the board anywhere you can. I have the hose on one side so I put the board on the other. I have some pictures in the build thread, I guess I need to get some in the instructions, and of Instagram or twitter if you want a quick peak.
Ok, just went through all 13 pages of the build thread. I found the picture showing where to mount the board. I plan on picking up my 304L stainless today on the way home, and then will start the table build this weekend. I have been remodeling my wood shop over the past two weeks where the lowrider2 will be housed. It is a 30x45 wood shop, insulated and heated. When I bought the property it had only a walk in door, but I spent the last couple weeks opening it all up. Now, I’ll have a full overhead door and walk in door to access the building. Just got the siding all put up last night after adding the overhead door. Here’s a pic of the shop
You can check the social feeds by clicking the icons at the top right of the page, no account needed, or media drop down/social. I was not a big fan of them either but it does seem to be the easiest way to make small announcements or just keep track of whats going on.
That is a nice shop. And I appreciate the lack of instabooktwits. At some point, we’ll all go back to having our own wordpress blogs, and only the tech savy will be able to share pictures of their lattes.
Haha. Truth be told I am very tech savvy, I just don’t like being addicted to social media . So frustrating news, I stopped at the local metal shop, State Steel, to pick up my 304l stainless today and the 20’ stick had several curves/bends in it . Evidently they had to special-order it from one of their other factories and when they shipped it with a bunch of other steel they must have strapped it down and bent it. So instead I had to leave empty-handed, and they ordered me another piece of tubing which won’t be here till Tuesday.
Also, what size cable management sleeve do you recommend to cover the motor wires?
Hey guys I’m probably going to build my table this weekend to handle 4 by 8 foot sheets of plywood. How exact do my tolerances need to be? As in I assume dead flat is ideal, but I see lowrider builds using ripped plywood and such for the frame, so I just want to be sure I am building it strong enough but not overbuilding as well. Suggestions? Thanks
I built a very basic torsion box for mine with a frame made of ripped plywood. I cut several 2mm depth holes in several places and I was ±2mm everywhere. I only have a 3’x4’ cutting area though.
How flat is going to depend on what you’re doing with it. Carving using V bits is probably the most sensitive. Through cutting in plywood is the most forgiving.
You can’t really be picky with the stainless. The guy told me stainless arrives like that all the time. It almost behaves like a hybrid of aluminum/steel. It has the gumminess and corrosion resistance of aluminum but the strength of low carbon steel.
It isn’t easy transporting a thin walled 20’ tube without it bowing. I got really warped pieces and was surprised how easy it was to bend straight.
I’ve seen dimensional structures for low rider tables on here before, and they seem to work. A planer isn’t really going to straighten one though, you’d need a joiner for that. I wouldn’t mess with it though. Your work surface is the MDF and it only cares about where it touches on the top. I think the time would be better spent trying to flatten the top of the frame after its built than planing them before assembly. Some of that might be just shimming legs.
That’s got me thinking… What if you surfaced the frame with the low rider before attaching the MDF? That would be fun. Then there’s a question of the rails. Barry used unistrut, which would be straighter than a 2x4…
So you build a 2x4 wall, being careful not to put screws in the top 1" or so.
You adjust the length of the legs so it doesn’t follow the shape of your garage floor. Unless you have a perfectly flat garage floor.
You add a few angle pieces, so it’s square (3,4,5 rule). At least one short side and the two long sides.
You attach unistrut to the long sides.
You build the low rider on the unistrut.
You surface a 96"x48" area of the frame. No need to cut air, so you get to practice some CAD/CAM.
Install the MDF.
I think that would be pretty straight. And if it moves around as it dries, you’ve got the cam to flatten it again.
Damn Jeff, that’s a really good idea! Garage floors are rarely flat. There’s going to be some slope to the door, or a floor drain. Also, don’t forget, the lowrider v2 belt holders are also a hard end stop, which takes up some space. I don’t know if the length calculator takes this into account. I need to extend mine out about an inch now. I can’t quite get the endmill to the edge of the table anymore. So far it’s not been a big deal, I haven’t had to cut anything the full length of a sheet of plywood yet, but I know when it do, it’s going to bite me.
Yeah, the idea on the planer was to ensure my dimensional lumber was equal in height/thickness and to remove the rounded edges. Then would use the jointer to level it all out on the edges. Either way, the intent is to build it right.
All this said, I do like the idea of superstrut or similar.
