There have been a relating to removing/retaining the adjustable feet that come with the Shapeoko, and whether or not using a ‘foam’ bed would be better, but I would like a little clarity on what ‘foam’ means.
I appreciate we’re not referring to shaving foam here, but I think there may be a transatlantic difference in what ‘foam’ is.
I don’t need a torsion box as the machine is mounted on a solid workbench.
This is what I’ve found over here, so could someone tell me if the 9-lb density would do the job, please?
A few months ago I built a torsion box to set my Shapeoko on. When I moved my Shapeoko to the torsion box I removed the leveling feet and set my machine on a foam insulation pad.
This site above is in the US but you can reference what type of foam and research the properties if you are interested in doing something similar.
The reason I went with the foam is my Shapeoko XXL was sagging in the middle. I had put a 3/4 inch block in the center but that was not enough. Removing the leveling feet and putting down the foam underneath gave the Shapeoko XXL even support. It has been several months and I am about ready to build a new waste board due to my old one being so scarred up. When I make the new one I will level it and hopefully the new waste board will be close to level before surfacing due to the foam support.
I also have an XL and did the same thing but I dont think an XL benefits from the foam because there is no central support in their frame like the XXL. The XL does not weight as much as the XXL. For the time being I will leave the foam under the XL but if I move it I will put the leveling feet back under it.
What you want is something solid enough to hold the spoilboard level and stop it sagging in the middle. Rigid insulation foams are pretty good at that, softer foams will likely not do much for you.
It’s certainly more effort than foam, but if you like having a place to squirrel away your frequently used tools, another option is to use square steel tubing from your local big box store to provide some support/rigidity.
I attached the tubes to the existing steel members using pop rivets (5 per tube IIRC), painted them black to match the Shapeoko’s look, and found some suitable end caps on Amazon. 2” tall tubes would’ve provided even more stiffness, but these 1.25” tubes were more readily available, and my beam bending calculations said this was going to do well enough… Certainly much less than the deflection of the X rail. I haven’t noticed any deflection in my wasteboard whatsoever in the last 5-6 months since I’ve been using this.
Why place the tubes in pairs? Easier to work around the existing hardware.
