I am going to need an enclosure for the table on this mill. I could build a
fairly low wall enclosure that would help "some," but I don't think it would
have the level of containment that I would like. Alternatively suppose I
could build an enclosure that encompasses the entire front of the mill and
rest on the floor. Something with partially sealed shower doors that I step
inside of to setup a job.

Neither really fits my needs. One that set inside the table would
substantially limit my choice of vises, as well as my Y axis travel to some
degree. One that was short enough to have limited affect on Y would not
fully contain chips or coolant when doing fast machining or using a face
mill.

One that sets on the floor and encompasses the entire front of the machine
would be much more expensive, although probably simpler to build. I would
have to add a floor sump of some kind though, and I am not really crazy
about cutting a sink sized hole in the monolithic slab. It would also take
up a lot more floor space.

The one design I thought of that might work is one that extends outward to
the front of the table about 8-12" and back from the table an inch. This
would give me nearly full use of Y and not limit my choice of vises. I could
also extend the front and side panels up more than 2 feet for plenty of chip
and coolant containment. My son even suggest a fold up two or three section
rear panel so I could raise it if I have to lower the knee, and fold it down
when I raise the knee.

My problem with the last solution is that I don't see it being rigid enough
and solidly mounted enough to hold up and not shake during some types of
machining without screwing it to the table. That is, drilling and tapping
the front and back lip of the table to solidly and physically attach the
enclosure to the table. I had considered laying the base of the enclosure
over the lip and making a clamp to bolt it to the table without drilling and
tapping, but the lip is the same height as the surface of the table. This
would again limit my choice of vises.

If I hadn't been chastised by "real" machinists about it I wouldn't hesitate
to drill and tap the table to facilitate my solution. Especially since there
is already a cast iron parts and tool tray attached to one end of the table
by the same method. One that looks to have been installed or atleast sold
originally by Hurco as it has the same aged Hurco blue hard paint. However,
I have been chastised to "NEVER EVER EVER CUT OR DRILL THE TABLE EVEN BY
ACCIDENT," by real machinists. This leaves me with a bit of a quandry. I can
theorize and even visualize compromise solutions that are clamped near the
ends and left floating in the middle, but my gut tells me when I am making
multiple short rapids it will shake apart that way.

Suggestions?

I would otherwise build something like this ~
http://tinyurl.com/boltedtotable ~ with taller walls on the front and
sides, and add a collapsible or foldable wall of some kind on the back. My
table does not have a convenient T-Slot in the front as the one in this
picture does or I would already be building it.