So I am new to woodworking in general and am very confused my dad cut a 3/4 inch piece of MDF and it does not fit Between the rails. The wheels block it from sliding in. we are confused because specs on website said 3/4 on 1000mm and 1/2 on 500mm. Pic
Are we missing something?
You better go back to instruction for work area. Looks like you missed that.
I’m sorry. But i don’t understand how putting the board on rails first changes the height clearance. What step should I be looking at.
I cut my own waste board as well, and I did it after I had most of the rest of the frame together. I just went about 3/16 shorter then the outside dimension of the makerslides, both front to back, and then side to side. I then slid it in front to back and it dropped in just fine. I had the x carriage almost all the way back. I still have to attach it to more of the rails, but for the testing I’m doing right now it works fine.
Oh, I had tried to slide it in from the side, at first, but it didn’t go.
Just a suggestion, but on mine, I wanted to add some T Slot hold downs as well as having the threaded holes, so I bolted my machine to a table, screwed the TSlots to the table, I then “filled” the spaces with MDF.
This means when replacing the waste board, I only replace the bits I’ve worn out, not the entire thing. Often, the replacements are just off cuts from other work. I also have vastly more options when clamping down odd shaped or sized jobs.
The dust shields are strips of polycarbonate hollow cell sheeting. Glue aluminium strips along the bottom, add a rare earth magnet each end, and they’re almost weightless, they clip in and out in a moment, and cost almost nothing.
BTW, these shots were during an upgrade, the finished product is vastly neater. As I say, it’s just a suggestion…
@DavidWestley I did the same thing with t-track, everything is screwed down to the table. I love the idea of just replacing a section if something gets chewed up, I got the idea from a Laguna CNC.
The X axis should have been bigger than the waste board. This allows the Y axis total clearance and the wheels are no where near the waste board. See the attached picture from the Redirecting…
Did you by chance mount the Y axis on the shorter extrusions?
@NickHomrich That is a great looking set up you have there. I intend to do something very similar once I chew up my initial waste board.
That is a beautiful setup, Nick!
@DougBornyk
This T-Track bed is connected directly to the table top. I used 1/8 hardboard and 3/4 MDF cut to fit inside the maker rail, I did not use the center makerail support. I didn’t want a space under the bed, so I made solid to help keep it flat and quite. Then the T-Track and 1/2" baltic birch plywood slats to top everything off. I used long screws every 6" in the T-track to reach threw to the table top to sandwich everything together. The machine itself is also held down to the table top with 12 angled blocks.
Nick - I’m replicating your configuration w\ T-Tracks, it looks fantastic, can you tell me the spacing between the side and the first T-Track, as well as the spacing between each set of tracks…?
Also, if you had to do it over, would you stick with this configuration, or is there a change you’d recommend?
Thanks in advance!
I wouldn’t change anything. I use a leveled waste board on top of the t-track bed, then double side stick my work peice to the waste board.
If you plan on carving your stock directly on the t-track bed (without a sacrificial waste board). Then You might think about 3/4" MDF slats (Instead of the Baltic birch slats I have) giving your more material to do leveling passes with.
Thank you sir! I created my slats 5 3/8" wide, with the side slats 2" (because I’ve go HDPE Y axis dust guards), and used 1/2" MDF instead of plywood.
Really appreciate the feedback, I’m glad I did it as well. Between my torsion box, and using T-Track versus a wasteboard, my bed is dead flat and requires no surfacing, so I avoided that frustration.
Thanks again!
This is what I did last night, put the t track under the bed and screwed it to the table. The top thickness is a stock 3/4" of MDF gotta go in from the top clearance thru the rails and wheels is not gonna be easy mostly you have to lower the machine onto the waste board if it is one piece.
Looking at grabcad model of the mdf it seems the correct size is:
940 mm x 998 mm x 19 mm
It this right? will a 1000 mm x 1000 mm x 18 mm fit?
Hello,
Thank you for sharing your design. I am looking to stiffen my y-axis and wanted to ask where you got the brackets from. They look to be a perfect fit and even have the slots for any adjustments. Are they from a different diy build? Thank you in advance.
I’m interested in the same Y brackets you use for stiffening. @NickHomrich can you tell us where you got them?
I cannot say enough about how well this has worked for me. I have had a 500x500 xcarve and have always struggled with inconsistent height cuts and with good solid hold down.
I did mine slightly different with a layer of Baltic birch cut to fit on the table under the machine (between the front/back frame). Then I screwed t-track down to that birch bed and into the table making sure it was square to the frame. I put MDF in between the rails that is just slightly higher than the t-track. This thing is square, flat and easy to do hold down using some spiral clamps I cut.
All the test cuts I’ve done have extremely consistent height across the entire machine now. It’s like having an entirely new machine.
