Hey Everyone,
I already have a Carvey but I’ve just ordered a new-spec X-Carve (1000mm). Whilst I wait for it to arrive I want to prepare a dedicated work area for it.
I wanted to ask advice on the size of the work area others have built / used for their X-Carve.
I know that some people have built torsion boxes, it looks a lot more work but I’d do it its worth the extra effort, I like hear peoples thoughts.
Cheeky I know but I’ve seen some really good worktables that people have built here, is there anyone prepared to share their plans ? I’m using Fusion 360 as my design tool of choice.
Really looking forward to getting my X-Carve and staying involved with the community.
All the best
John
I’ve seen some absolute works or art as tables.
Me, I bought a Bar Table from Ikea (1200x1200 bit above waist high). I built the XCarve on top of a sheet of ply screwed onto the table. Added some T Tracks and put 19mm MDF between them as sacrificial surfaces (with threaded inserts for additional clamping options). The electronics (because there was no fancy X Controller) were all put in a box secured to the front of the table. I have a “noose” in some string hanging from the ceiling which holds my vacuum hose when I’m using it. My dust boot, is a piece of ply, with a strip of 2mm rubber secured around it with a hose clamp. Slits are cut in the rubber so it can travel over things as I work. I also made some side shields out of hollow cell polycarbonate sheeting which are kept in place by magnets glued inside the flutes. I’ve both a shop vac that runs through a Dust Deputy as well as a commercial dust sucker.
What I’m trying to say, is that you don’t want to get too bogged down in building a massive workplace. All you need is something reasonably stable, and if like me you’re short on space, you can put it on wheels so you can move it around. Mine is not pretty, but it is all highly effective, cheap to replace and very very robust. Your mileage may vary of course…
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John,
A Torsion “box” doesn’t have to be much work, I built mine in less than two hours using materials I had on hand.
I put box in quotes because mine isn’t really a box, it is a top skin of 3/4 plywood, and a supporting latticework of pine 1x3.
I made mine in two pieces (because the plywood I had was already ripped down into 2 foot widths), then leveled them and screwed through the 1x3s to make a work surface that was about 54 inches by 48.
I ran the 1x3s through my table saw to make sure they were exactly the same width, then I pre-drilled, glued and screwed long 1/x3s along the long edges of the plywood. Then I filled in between them with 1x3 crosspieces cut to fit, making sure everything is square and secure as I go.
It went very quickly, and in the end I was happy the plywood I had was only 2’ wide. If I had 4 foot wide plywood, I wouldn’t have ripped it down for this, but handling the 2 foot sections was much easier.
Good luck!
Kelly
Hey John
I built mine on some cheap kitchen cabinets I got at Home Depot and this worked really great for me. Lots of storage underneath and cheaper than I could build from scratch. I used 2 twenty inch cabinets 24 inch deep in front and slide my shop vac in the back which sets on 2 X 4 legs
For the top I built a torsion box, my thinking being anything you do to keep the machine from flexing is a good thing. I used a sheet of 3/4 inch birch cut in half and 1 x 2 for the insides then ran a strip of 1 x 4 around the outside. Not counting shopping time and finishing time (one coat of urethane stain and one coat of clear satin) it only took about 4 hours to set the cabinets, build the top and put it on.
Is a torsion box necessary, probably not. But they work really well and are easy to build so why not. And you never know, that table may end up being used for something else some day. My granddaughter’s dresser top started as my grandfather’s workbench out in the barn.
Have fun making stuff.
Enwetock
I also just ordered the updated 1000mm xcarve. I am a “newbie” as this will be my first entry into this type of world, so I humbly admit I will need a lot of help. Any insight as to tips and tricks to assist me in the set up the area in my garage before mine ships (in a couple weeks I am told) would be extremely helpful. Right off the bat, I see lots of people state that this creates a large amount of dust, so having it enclosed would probably be a good idea with the ability to run a shopvac inside while in operation. I’ve been trying to read as much as I can, but a lot of it is a ways down the road for me. Would prefer not to have to rebuild/relocate this a number of times if I don’t have to.
Thanks in advance.
-Geno
*Edit Going through the post listed above, thanks!
