I still hate the cheap hollow aluminum table that came on my little CNC
Router. If I were going to use it solely for wood working (and I might) I
would probably throw an MDF table top on it, and forget about, but
occasionally the Taig and the MaxNC are busy and I need to do some small
project in aluminum, so a wood table would suffer from oil and/or other
coolants.

I considered one of those aluminum t-slot tables on ebay, but they aren't
all that thick. I considered making my own out of aluminum thicker, but
there isn't much Z travel on this machine to begin with.

Cast iron seemed like a good idea, but the stuff is expensive domestically.
I'm not sure we have many foundries left to cast it here.

Then I had a thought... why not order a replacement table for a desk top
mill. Its already mostly machined, and pretty square and parallel. Just
flip it upside down on the big mill and cut a couple slots on the bottom to
fit on the base of the router. Don't even have to remove any of the rest of
the bottom machining as long as it clears the ball screw for the gantry.
Two of them off a G0704 would give me a 4" overhang on the front for
mounting a 4th axis drive and still have most of the machine envelope clear
for other work. The G0704 tables are listed as replaceable parts for a
little over 200 each. That's no more than a similar area solid aluminum
table, and a heck of a lot more rigid. Seems like it would work with very
little machining from crate to use. So what obvious better solution am I
missing?

On Mon, 13 Aug 2012 18:57:28 -0700, Bob La Londe wrote:

I still hate the cheap hollow aluminum table that came on my little CNC
Router. [snip]
I considered one of those aluminum t-slot tables on ebay, but they aren't
all that thick. I considered making my own out of aluminum thicker, but
there isn't much Z travel on this machine to begin with. [snip]
Then I had a thought... why not order a replacement table for a desk top
mill. Its already mostly machined, and pretty square and parallel. Just
flip it upside down on the big mill and cut a couple slots on the bottom to
fit on the base of the router. Don't even have to remove any of the rest of
the bottom machining as long as it clears the ball screw for the gantry.
Two of them off a G0704 would give me a 4" overhang on the front for
mounting a 4th axis drive and still have most of the machine envelope clear
for other work. The G0704 tables are listed as replaceable parts for a
little over 200 each. That's no more than a similar area solid aluminum
table, and a heck of a lot more rigid. Seems like it would work with very
little machining from crate to use. So what obvious better solution am I
missing?

I think it sounds reasonable, but how much does the added weight
matter? http://www.grizzly.com/products/Drill-Mill-with-Stand/G0704
says table size is 7-1/8" x 26-5/8" which I imagine weighs 60 to 80
pounds.

--
jiw

The table doesn't move on this style cnc router. The added weight would just be a positive I think.

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I still hate the cheap hollow aluminum table that came on my little CNC
Router. If I were going to use it solely for wood working (and I might) I
would probably throw an MDF table top on it, and forget about, but
occasionally the Taig and the MaxNC are busy and I need to do some small
project in aluminum, so a wood table would suffer from oil and/or other
coolants.

I considered one of those aluminum t-slot tables on ebay, but they aren't
all that thick. I considered making my own out of aluminum thicker, but
there isn't much Z travel on this machine to begin with.

Cast iron seemed like a good idea, but the stuff is expensive
domestically. I'm not sure we have many foundries left to cast it here.

Then I had a thought... why not order a replacement table for a desk top
mill. Its already mostly machined, and pretty square and parallel. Just
flip it upside down on the big mill and cut a couple slots on the bottom
to fit on the base of the router. Don't even have to remove any of the
rest of the bottom machining as long as it clears the ball screw for the
gantry. Two of them off a G0704 would give me a 4" overhang on the front
for mounting a 4th axis drive and still have most of the machine envelope
clear for other work. The G0704 tables are listed as replaceable parts
for a little over 200 each. That's no more than a similar area solid
aluminum table, and a heck of a lot more rigid. Seems like it would work
with very little machining from crate to use. So what obvious better
solution am I missing?



What if you made a table from 11-ply hardwood ply and covered it with
Formica?

"Tom Gardner" wrote in message
...

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
I still hate the cheap hollow aluminum table that came on my little CNC
Router. If I were going to use it solely for wood working (and I might) I
would probably throw an MDF table top on it, and forget about, but
occasionally the Taig and the MaxNC are busy and I need to do some small
project in aluminum, so a wood table would suffer from oil and/or other
coolants.

I considered one of those aluminum t-slot tables on ebay, but they aren't
all that thick. I considered making my own out of aluminum thicker, but
there isn't much Z travel on this machine to begin with.

Cast iron seemed like a good idea, but the stuff is expensive
domestically. I'm not sure we have many foundries left to cast it here.

Then I had a thought... why not order a replacement table for a desk top
mill. Its already mostly machined, and pretty square and parallel. Just
flip it upside down on the big mill and cut a couple slots on the bottom
to fit on the base of the router. Don't even have to remove any of the
rest of the bottom machining as long as it clears the ball screw for the
gantry. Two of them off a G0704 would give me a 4" overhang on the front
for mounting a 4th axis drive and still have most of the machine envelope
clear for other work. The G0704 tables are listed as replaceable parts
for a little over 200 each. That's no more than a similar area solid
aluminum table, and a heck of a lot more rigid. Seems like it would work
with very little machining from crate to use. So what obvious better
solution am I missing?



What if you made a table from 11-ply hardwood ply and covered it with
Formica?

Kinda defeats the purpose of using a sacrificial wood table (like MDF), but
if it was surfaced in place first then ... nah... still have both
irregularities in glue application and thickness of laminate, and you
couldn't mount any parts on it without penetrating the surface. It's a neat
thought though. Drew me in for a minute.

I was thinking of something similar for a machine cabinet. MDF with
bathroom board glued in place and caulked at the seams. I already have one
MDF machine cabinet, and I really like the way it kills noise. So far I
have just used rubbed on cutting oil in that cabinet, but I was thinking if
I painted it with epoxy resin I could use flood coolant in it.