Cool. Nice idea.
UPDATE:
While all the attention was given to align the V wheels, a very significant detail slipped through. In case we use the 40x40 V-Slot (or any other 40x40 extrusion), the stock holes on the Y plates will not align! They are spaced at 24.15mm and not at 20mm that the 40x40 expects. Also drilling two new holes on each Y plates is not an option as the new ones would slightly overlap with the old ones.
Therefore, 40x40 could be a good choice as long as one is willing to build their own Y plates. Hey, does anyone here have a machine that can mill aluminum? 
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Rather than modify M5x80 (or longer) screws, better to use all-thread rods which most hardware stores will have.
Discussion of this here: http://www.shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/Double_Makerslide_X-Axis
Answering to myself 
…actually, since the Y plate has two holes and two slots for mounting the MakerSlide, the mod for either of the 40x40 solutions can be done by drilling. Keeping the two (round holes) as guides for squaring and expanding the slots by 2.65mm (towards the round holes) should suffice.
This could be done on a spare set of Y plates (total of $37) if we want to save the originals.
Here is the cad with the dimensions. The holes and slots in question can be seen bellow (top right corner).
@WillAdams good point.
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In order to keep this thread on topic, I started a new one on the Y-plate mod, since this is a prerequisite for the 40x40-extrusion-based solutions discussed here.
You will also find
- mounts for a Y-max limit switch
- and extra holes for solid V-wheels as an upgrade path to Y-axis 40x40 V-Slot (i.e. Y-axis stiffening)
I named it “universal” as the original idea was to make it compatible with MakerSlide, V-Slot and C-Beam (the latter is not included yet in v1).
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Jeff, I absolutely love the work space you have designed for your X-Carve. Having the side table for the computer is a great idea. That is why I love this site and the graciousness of the people that share ideas. Thanks
Thanks Grant. I’m very happy with my table, and closing the pull out computer draw prevents dust from other projects getting to it. (saved on space in the shop as well.)
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I had considered clamping them together on spacers and filling the gap with two part epoxy mixed in a bottle with a spout. Probably waaaay too much time mucking around with old boats…
Or at least too much time smelling the epoxy!!! 
Lacquer thinner more likely…riding herd on a bunch of maniacs in a high volume laminate furniture and fixture factory was probably not helpfull. haha
Seeing all of these solutions got me thinking, so I came up with these 3D printed spacers. I used the CAD files to create the profile, and then fine-tuned it by printing tests on my XYZ DaVinci. I ended up having to offset the profile by about .5mm all around, and made another small adjustment to the tabs that lock into the channels. The result is a snug fit that should stiffen up the X-axis considerably. Not as much as you guys using steel and aluminum plates, but more than stock, and I don’t have to modify the makerslides with holes for bolts.
I printed these 1" long at 50% infill and .3mm layer height and they are VERY rigid, while still weighing very little. I’m sure they could be printed at 100% infill to achieve even more rigidity, but I’m going to try these.
I’m attaching the STL file for anyone else that wants to try these out, just remember that this print works well with my XYZ DaVinci printer, so you may need to alter slightly if printing on a different machine. I can also post the vector profile if someone wants to try milling these out of another material.
x-gantry-spacer-print-final.stl (1.1 MB)
x-axis-spacer-print-final.pdf (43.5 KB)
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i want to try to make them with my xcarve, cuting the profile on 1" thick wood (and later on aluminium !)
edit : 1" will be hard to mill… XD (i usualy use metric… sorry ^^)
I really like this idea. Thanks for sharing!
Great idea, but you might still want bolts on top and bottom just to wedge the adaptor tight to the makerslide.
Haven’t played with my x-carve for a while as I have slowly been insulating and redoing the inside of my garage and it currently resembles a clustered table with all sorts of random stuff on it. These seem like a great idea. I don’t have a 3D printer but will probably be recreating a few of these on my bandsaw or also attempt to mill them on my machine when I get it cleaned up. Thanks for the great idea .
Tried this modification and it works wery well.
I did not remeber how yours looked so mine came out a bit different.
Mine are thinner, 5mm. Made five of them and distibuted them along the extrution.
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I just wanted to share how I did the gantry upgrade. Instead of dismantling the makerslide I used my self-centering hole jig, which clamped perfectly onto the rails. Once I got up the courage to make the first hole everything went really smoothly. I did the 1/4" hole and then reset the jig for the 11/32" hole for the furniture bolt cap. The trickiest thing was getting the wire fed back through after all of the bolts were in until I realized I could take the bolts back out and feed the wire through replacing them as I went. So everything is set back up and running smoothly.
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Just the check, are these 4.14mm or 3/16"? I know you said you used the cad files, but I already pounded in some 3/16 that I want to bust out of there.
Here’s the 40x40 V-Slot with OpenRails inside the X carriage. 3mm spacers and a little slot expansion on the Y plates did the trick. Also shown here with a bunch of other mods.
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