My new waste board and other upgrades

Edited with updates from farther down the thread.

So, with some help from some other friendly people. I was able to start my new waste board project! I went with mic6 aluminum plate, .313 thick. I layed out, drilled, and actually used a router with a bushing and jig to get the mounting holes on the perimeter. With that, I used the CNC itself to spot drill my hole layout. I went with a 1" spacing with a 31x31 row pattern. Making only 961 holes to drill and tap… What did I get myself in to… Haha

New Z axis upgrade from cnc4newbie, utilizing the inventables dust collector brackets.

Collapsible keyboard and mouse shelf utilizing the existing drawers.

Engraved shelves!

Mist coolant upgrade!
【The Best Deal】OriGlam… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071DXGGP4?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

11 Likes

Tap away. But make sure you have a few spare taps, a bit of lube and a drill to make it easier.
This helps too:


New toy to help me process a few hundred of:

5 Likes

Nice. Yea, I’m a machinist, so I think I can get through all the holes on 1 tap… Knock on wood… Or metal… Haha

1 Like

I’m curious what that Mic-6 plate ended up costing you. I can’t seem to find it for a reasonable price around my parts.

and I do not envy that tapping session, lol.

Yea, wasn’t cheap. I ordered it through work and had to have it shipped. Was still cheaper then a local place that has it. It was a little over 200.00. I could have gone with .25 thick, and it was like 170 shipped. But I wanted the extra thickness for stability and for the threaded holes. Let the drilling and tapping begin!

2 Likes

nice jig, absolutely essential. It’s always a pita to tap small threads since you have to be so careful with the small tap. I love tapping 3/8" and larger (and honestly do my best to avoid anything less) just so I can use power tools.

That jig is epic. Three thumbs up. (Provided the holes are straight).
$200 is still cheaper than what the Misumi cost me.

lol, wow. I’m curious what exactly you were doing drilling holes in piano wire! :slight_smile:

sounds like you needed a jig!

lol I have done exactly that many times!

I saw landing gear. Instant interest. Must see a post from you @AngusMcleod

Yea! What the heck! Haha… No worries!

1 Like

Yea, I had considered the misumi t track. But I wanted to stick with tapped holes. Wanted to have the combination of either hold down clamps or cam style. With a 1" grid, I shouldn’t have any issues with clamping any size pieces.

so, how far have you made it?

With a cam you can just add spacers. I use low profile cam clamps for quick setups.

Didn’t have a lot of time today. Went to the cabin for the weekend. Got 5 rows drilled, and 2 of those tapped. 31 holes per row… Man there’s a lot of holes… Haha

Dang… Got all 961 holes drilled! And 5 rows tapped… Holy cow what did I get my self into! Lol! I’ll pace myself the rest of the week for tapping the rest. That’s the time consuming part… Although drilling took quite awhile.

2 Likes

boy, it sure is pretty though.

Were did you get those 8 Y axis side plates

I made them. Pretty simple. Ordered 2" wide Flat stock, .160 thick from McMaster Carr. Cut to length and drilled the 4 holes.

P/N 89015K252

Soooo…when will you skim that beauty? :rofl: