My CNC Arrived

[Juss1]

I'm using some clamps I milled on the CNC.  The toilet bolts slide in rabbets cut on the bottom of the spoilboard sections.  Adding another toilet bolt and nut allows you to lift the back of the clamp, which might be helpful on thick parts.  I made some clamps 6" long and some others 8" long.  I can see needing even longer ones to avoid clearance problems with the dust boot in some situations.  



John

Very cool to see all your progress so far.  I'm slowly getting mine setup.  Got the spoilboard and grid and experimenting.  Currently just using blue tape and CA glue as hold downs but want to buy/build actual hold downs in the future.

Are the 1/4" ?  holes used for indexing the pieces to be cut?  Will you insert matching dowels in them to but the piece to?  That was my initial thought for mine.

[jteneyck]

Very cool to see all your progress so far.  I'm slowly getting mine setup.  Got the spoilboard and grid and experimenting.  Currently just using blue tape and CA glue as hold downs but want to buy/build actual hold downs in the future.

Are the 1/4" ?  holes used for indexing the pieces to be cut?  Will you insert matching dowels in them to but the piece to?  That was my initial thought for mine.

Yes, I use dowels in the 1/4" holes for X-Y alignment.  I'm still using the 3 axis touch probe to establish 0, 0, 0.  In the future, however, when I want to cut mortises in matching parts, for example, I'll locate those parts using the dowel grid since they are on 2" x 2" centers.  Then when I establish X/Y = 0 on one part the toolpath will know where all the other parts are.  



John

[Juss1]

How tight was your tolerance for the dowel holes? I was thinking of adding 5 thou to making getting them in and out easier.

[jteneyck]

How tight was your tolerance for the dowel holes?  I was thinking of adding 5 thou to making getting them in and out easier.

I made them 0.250, just drill holes.  The up/down cut end mill I used got coated up with MDF residue and the holes ended up sloppy.  Next time I'll use an upcut bit and sand off any fuzz at the rim.  I would drill them at 0. 250, but try it on some scrap first and then decide.  

John

[Lumber Yard®]

I drill .250 holes with 1/4" endmill without any problems. If your machine doesn't have much deflection you'll end up with tight circular holes for your reference dowels... if not you'll end up with ovals that may or may not be ight. LOL The dowels fit tight but you want them tight! I sometimes will need to use pliers to get them out but again you don't want slop.

[jeffss]

   

   
Moving along here. Flattened spoil board, cut grid. Threw on a couple of drawer fronts.  Since I and working via usb flash drive I added a port to the front of the table. Reaching around was beginning to be a hassle. Best $9.00 I spent.

[Juss1]

Anyone care to share pics of how you handle wire management? I'm thinking of buying / printing a drag chain.

[jteneyck]

Anyone care to share pics of how you handle wire management?  I'm thinking of buying / printing a drag chain.

Haven't done anything yet.  Drag chains look pretty but the only place it seems at all important is on the Y axis.  The stock curly Z axis wire does its job fine, and the X axis wire can be installed under the tabletop.  

John

[Juss1]

Here is mine. I have QCW frame installed. Mixed feelings about it. It’s well built but where they put the T-tracks seems strange and the fact that they put mounting holes all the way to the back even though the router can’t reach that far.  It didn’t dawn on me until I ran the spoilboard bit through it. Also didn’t help that the template they give has hole patterns all the way to the back. Now I have a ledge in the back and the sides too since the router can’t reach there either. 

The dust collection is amazing and gets 95% of the dust.  I bought an aftermarket from Etsy and it is very well made. Not only is the brush portion magnetic but so is the hose portion.  Plus they also put a channel so that it directs the suction under the bit instead of the entire dust boot.

As you can see I screwed the the alignment of the numbers on the bottom and had to redo them. I also forgot to select diameter instead of radius for the dog holes so the first 2 came out twice as big before I realized my mistake. Oh well it is a SPOIL board. I was planning on redoing it in the near future anyways

   

   

[jteneyck]

Looks like you're ready to roll.  Those ridges on the sides of the spoil board aren't a bad thing.  You can use them for part alignment.  I actually added a fence back on the left side of my spoil board so I can register plywood panels against it when cutting nested parts.  The ledge in the back, however, is not helpful.  You should be able to route it flush with a handheld router and simple jig.  But you are right, 1F could do a better job in helping customers in how to go about installing a spoil board.  

FWIW, I find the dowel pins extremely useful in making sure parts are square on the spoil board.  The grid pattern, on the other hand, has been of no value so far.  Maybe its utility will reveal itself as time goes on.  

Glad to hear the DC boot works well.  I've had no issues with the stock Suck-it Pro boot that weren't of my own making.  It does a good job of capturing the dust, just with my shop vac, and I like that I can see what the bit is doing.  

So, what's on your project list with it?  

John