I am a new owner of the XXL, and bought the T-Track then went to use a 1/8" bit and realized it still does not reach the bottom with the new Z-Plus. Do I need the base, T-Track AND another spill board? Seems excessive, but I am not above having assembled this wrong. My plan was to use the T-Track as my spill board and replace the inserts as needed. If I need to add an additional 3/4 MDF, then I would probably put it underneath the T-Track
Yes.
The Z Plus has a single mounting point for the router mounting collar. The Belt Drive X/Z has two mounting points one higher and one lower. Depending on where the user installs the mounting collar on the Front Z plate of the Belt Drive Z axis, there are two different operating heights. The Z Plus advertises 3 inches of travel and provides more than that. Your reach is different from that of the lower mounted point of the Belt Drive Z axis. There are 2 options for reaching work when using the Z Plus. A longer endmill or lifting the work up with say a spoilboard.
Also see:
I will have to look at the instructions about the mounting plate, but I seem to recall only one place to mount it. I am guessing that I chose the upper one if my bits won’t reach… (there seemed to be about 1/4 - 1/2" space under the bit).
Back in March 2020 I upgraded to the HDZ. Before upgrading I had seen the Z-Plus advertised but was not yet shipping as an upgrade. The HDZ was mostly out of stock but I put in my email and luckily got one ordered.
I have really liked the HDZ and am glad I did not wait for the Z-Plus as an upgrade, I would still be waiting.
To anyone wondering if they should upgrade to the HDZ I would say do it. I really cannot give an opinion of the Z-Plus because I have never had one but from posts like this one I am glad I got the HDZ.
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Sorry for the slow reply. I had the EXACT problem. I started with the included board, then 1 3/4 inch board, then 2, and it still wasn’t reaching. I currently have the included board, 2 3/4 inch boards and the T Track system to make it reach. It sucks that they don’t give this warning but it’s well worth it.
did you put the t track on top? or did you cut spoil boards to go on top to the t track? because I already had installed the t track, I cut some spoil boards and will have to buy some longer bolts to clamp stuff down. I too wish I knew this ahead of time… I probably would have put a layer of 3/4 down, then installed the t track. It seems the more and more layers you add, the bigger possibility that the surface is not flat. I will probably run a planing operation on the spoil boards that I put on top of my t track.
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