We’ve all been there. I would encourage you to think about “perfect is the enemy of good”. If you make a machine, and make a big mess, and end up with 6 box sides that don’t fit together, you will have gained so much knowledge and experience.
Every wood project is going to need sanding and finishing (painting or staining). So even though you have a cnc machine, you’ll still need to just get pretty close. You don’t need a very flat Z to cut out 2D shapes (through cuts). Then you can try some 2.5D cuts and you’ll see where you can and can’t handle uneven Z. Then you can take a vbit and carve out logos or letters or art. Finally, 3D carving with a bull nose bit. It takes a lot to get there, but you can be productive along the way.
I would highly suggest building a table from 2x4s, and build it small, like 24"x36" or 24"x48" work area. It will be cheap, it can be done with hand tools and secured with deck screws. When you get a cnc cutting 2D parts, you can dream your dream table and you’ll have a tool you can use.
I used overly long tubes on my Lowrider for a while. The only issue I saw was a potential for the extra tube to get hung up on something or bumped into.
I built my Lowrider on a solid core door (from the Habitat Re-store). Initially this was a 32x80 inch door…might fit in your car. Just find something to set it on (saw horses would work), and get busy. I bet even a hollow core door would work for the short term, and those are even cheap new…
The back of my home depot has a spot where returned doors are on clearance. I’m assuming someone orders a special door size, and it doesn’t fit, so they sell them cheap(er) there. I have one workbench made from a door like that.
That’s good to know. I’ll bet, with lockdown, there are a lot of people returning stuff, due to thinking they could do more diy than they could. Or, maybe that’s just me.
Can I just add my 2 cents worth here mate and that is just get started. I know what procrastination means but I have had so much fun with my LR 2. My table all went to shizen when I built it as it was out of MDF and the high humidity got it but a simple addition to it with an under table beam fixed it.
The other thing to consider here is that if the thing is a bit wobbly in any axis, you just cut a bit deeper. One more pass of 5mm will cover most things. It really does not matter. You are not cutting out bits of the Falcon 9 rocket.
Also, adding another sheet on the top of it ie a piece of 20mm mdf or 20mm formply etc will help smooth out any bumps/lumps/wobbles.
As I have told my kids over and over, just start off in a direction and when new evidence becomes apparent or a new problem, change your heading slightly. But keep going.
Can send you photos of what I did and all the things I did wrong and how I fixed them if you want to have a laugh.
I’ve gone back through the forum, and I noticed a few posts mentioning that splitting the mdf up into strips won’t make that big of a difference. I think that’s what I’m going to try first.
2x 24” slab doors with 1/2” MDF laminated on each side.
When I feel up to it, I can replace a 24” with a 32”. That’ll put me at spec, full sheet, width, and will leave me with a useable table, either to split, and fill out length, or use as a spare work table.
So easy putting these things together, that I’m adding another, with hardboard top, as an assembly table.
Still have to figure out legs. Thinking about ToughBuilt 700, as they’ll be reusable whenever I get a permanent setup.
What do you do for a spoilboard, and for attaching workpieces?
