I sure this has been asked before…
Do most of you power users elect to surface the table slats and not use spoil boards with inserts. Other than having a recessed portion of your work surface, any there any other disadvantages not using a spoil board over the hybrid table. Can we buy replacement boards from Carbide?
My current plan is tram spindle and surface Pro Table, but please yell STOP if you think I am making a mistake.
Many thanks for your advice.
I live near Seattle, Wash. There are times of the year that the humidity warps my spoil boards weekly. I cut to a depth of .001 - .004, so I need accuracy. I level my spoil board weekly.
So that said, I have to replace my slats often. That’s why they call it a spoil board.
I tram my machine once a month, and only once have I had to adjust. Just lucky I guess.
I pick up sheets of mdf from Home Depot, cut and drill when needed.
Hope this answers some questions.
Good luck.
You can certainly make new MDF inserts (or out of other materials as some members have elected to do). Someone modeled some up here 3D model of the Shapeoko Pro wasteboard - #8 by mickeybob, and I think there are other files/info located elsewhere.
I personally haven’t yet surfaced my slats on the 4. If I need a super flat surface I’ll bust out a piece of MDF and attach that then surface that piece. I hop around projects quite a bit, so if you have consistent work, it may be helpful to do something that helps facilitate that.
I think I’ll opt for the secondary spoil board on top. I’m working very close to the lower Z limit so a little height will be welcome. I’ll lose the T-slots but I can always remove the top board if I need to.
I don’t like the idea of surfacing the slats that are bigger than the cut area. So if I make my top board the same size as the cutting area the whole thing will machine flat.
I guess as I get cutting more jobs my philosophy could change to whatever is the most efficient.
Use the painter tape and super glue workhold solution and you’ll be great. I do that with many wood parts and some aluminum too
This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.