Perishable table layer

[kenc]

I discovered a cheap and easy (read that; lazy friendly) material to use for a perishable layer when doing through cutting with the Romaxx's aluminum table: hardboard pegboard!

www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/6YE32


The holes are spaced on a 1" x 1" grid, which lines up perfectly with the spacing in the Romaxx alu table.

I cut the large sheets into smaller squares and rectangles with my table saw, so I have a whole stack ready for any size job.

The holes are just a hair over 1/4" in diameter. I'm using four 1/4"-20 by 1/2" socket head cap screws to affix the pegboard to the alu table, setup takes under 30 seconds. You can then use longer SHCS to affix clamps to your working material. Or double sided carpet table, which I discovered works amazingly well (everyone always talks about it, now I know l) on the pegboard.

Best,
Ken.

[bjenkins]

Hi Ken,

That sounds like a nice method especially if you use the aluminum table top.

I have a different top and last night I tried a small piece of thin wood veneer as a spoil board. I wanted to cut through a 3 inch square that was ¾” deep and I left tabs to keep the part in place after it was cut. I only wanted to cut through by .03” and it worked great. I think I will look for some cheap thin material like this at the home improvement store. Maybe they make some cheap counter top material. () I didn’t hold down the spoil board separately but instead I just laid the part on top of the veneer and held it all down together.

Bill

[romaxxcnc]

On the aluminum table, always make sure to set the router bit, by moving the mount or the body of the router, so the bit cannot reach the table. With Z axis all the way in the Z- direction the cutter should still have clearance. And remember to tighten the collet with sufficient force to keep the cutter from pulling out as the helix of the cutter will do, if they are helical flutes.

Ron

[bjenkins]

I have never thought of this. Of course I'm a noob. It's a simple technique but I've been putting the bit in and haven’t considered making sure the bit can't touch the table. Duh! ha I'm not sure I can achieve this with a few of my long reach bits but I'll give it a try.

Thanks,
Bill

[georgemyers]

Ken, Great idea on the peg board. Will give that a try.

Ron, Great tip, wish I would have thought of that before the extra "accessories" I now have in my top.

Bill, don't feel along, the idea never crossed my mind.


george