My X-Carve should arrive in the next 2 weeks and I would like to be prepared to assemble it right away. I had thought about building a table that I could easily disassemble and then reassemble when I wanted to use the X-Carve but from some of the posts I have read it would seem that that may be a bad idea. I have a feeling that may knock the X-Carve out of alignment. Any opinions?
I have a small work shop - one bay of a 2 bay garage - and almost everything is on casters or mobile bases so I suppose I will do the same with this and just move the car outside when I want to use the X-Carve.
Is there a minimum size table to put the XC on? I’m thinking that I could build a slide out drawer under the table to hold the laptop I will be using. Should there be space around the X-CARVE for upgrade or additional components in the future? How CRITICAL is having the table perfectly level? Any advice will be much appreciated.
Thank you,
…Gord
Check out Steve Carmichael’s fold up X-Carve table. His design works great for me.
I went with a torsion box and a ceiling lift from amazon.
Thank you, Harry. I checked out the video and it looks good but to be honest I’m a bit concerned about turning the XC on its side. Have you had any trouble with that? Also, how concerned should I be with the table being level?
Thanks again,
…Gord
Thanks for the reply, Robert. I guess I can’t ask you about any concerns with turning the XC on its side. 
I have also been thinking about using a torsion box. I do want it to be solid and not have to worry about it warping. I think that would be the best solution. Now I just have to get past my innate laziness and do it.
…Gord
I had a canoe suspended from my garage ceiling for years and now that the canoe is gone that space has seemed so empty!! I think that’s a great idea! Thank you. If I make the legs to fold under the table when it’s lifted I won’t have to worry about walking into them.
You really don’t need the legs, the x-carve works just fine swaying gently in the breeze.
-Kelly
That’s very cool. Thanks for that Kelly. I hadn’t even considered it. So I just need a torsion box. Would you think that 4’ x 4’ is plenty big enough? Or is that even larger than necessary?
Thanks again,
…Gord
I used this Racor 4x4 lift from Amazon , so my table is about 44 inches deep (to fit between the cables), and about 60 inches wide, so that I had space to mount the electronics next to the x-carve.
Oh, and I didn’t put a bottom skin on mine, so it’s more of a “torsion table”. I used what I had on hand, so the top skin is 3/4 oak veneer plywood, and the lattice is made of pine 1x3s.
I have the 1m x 1m x-carve, if you have the 500x500, then you could make it smaller.
Good luck!
-Kelly
My only concern was supporting the x axis when it is folded up. I made a small support that I clamp to the rear of the table to support the spindle and x axis when in the vertical position. I would suggest you make your table as level as you can.
Thanks for the information, Kelly. When you say the electronics I assume you’re referring to your computer; is that right. I will be making my own lift as I’m in Canada and the lift you have sells for about $132 in the US and for about $452.00CDN; that includes free shipping but just how much can shipping really be for something like that??? Anyway thank you for your help.
…Gord
Thank you very much, Harry. I appreciate the time you’ve taken to help me.
…Gord
Ouch, that was the cheapest lift I could find, and it works really well, but even with whatever the exchange rate is right now, I don’t think I’d pay that much for it. It is a pretty simple device.
The electronics I was referring to include, the laptop, but also the emergency stop, the power supply with arduino, the relay to control the router, and the power strip for all of that.
-Kelly
If you’re getting the 1000x1000 X-Carve, I’d suggest giving it at least 4’x4’ with a good torsion box (as recommended by others).
If you’re going to suspend it from the ceiling, you’ll want to make sure it’s level just to keep it from having to work harder to move in one or two directions. Otherwise, you don’t need to worry about level. Your primary concern for alignment is going to be keeping the wasteboard flat and the spindle square to the wasteboard.
There’s not much spare wire, so you may want to consider purchasing some additional stepper wire so you can move the electronics away from the dust instead of storing them on the top of your table/box.
Can’t wait to see what you make!
