Apologies if I missed it in this thread - but did you buy your aluminum bed from somewhere or is that self-built? I would really like to upgrade from the stock MDF but am having a hard time convincing myself to make my own.
We sell one at: https://shop.carbide3d.com/collections/accessories/products/shapeoko-threaded-table (note that it is no longer anodized black). There are 3rd party options, and some folks have made their own.
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Hey @lostapathy here is another option https://www.ohiodieselparts.com/product-page/shapeoko-xxl-fixture-table-custom-metal-aluminum-plates-600-mounting-points
You might want to consider using 5/8" ATP-5 rather than the 1/2" used by Ohio Diesel Parts if you do make your own.
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Any particular reason why?
The 5/8" and up is held to a higher flatness standard. 0.005" vs 0.015" for thinner ATP5.
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Ah, got it. Seems counterintuitive since the thinner sheets are more likely to be sensitive to flatness deviations considering the deviation is a higher percentage of the total thickness.
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I wonder how much price difference there is between the two and if someone offers the 5/8in with threaded holes. Already the cost for 1/2in is a large chunk of the price of a Shapeoko.
You can get quotes from a metal supplier like Industrial Metal Supply for ATP-5 “Aluminum Cast Tooling Plate” if you like.
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Yes I guess I could price the two types of metal plate but it is not machined with precision holes like those from Ohio Diesel for example.
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If only Saunders Machine Works made a plate for the Shapeoko. 
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Yeah, the plate not quite the size of the Shapeoko XL (38" x 16" x .85") is worth ($2K) which is more than the Shapeoko XL, of course this is also thicker than 5/8in.
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Midwest Steel and Aluminum (www.midweststeelsupply.com) generally has decent prices and has doesn’t play “contact us for prices” games.
38"x16"x0.5" is $95.54 right now, and 5/8" is $113.71.
IIRC, the Shapeoko needs mounting holes underneath the Y rails, so it can’t really mill the base itself, at least not in a single setup. You could probably do it in a couple setups, but alignment could be entertaining. I have a 1/2" ATP5 baseplate on my HDZero (Luke’s toy that was discontinued when he joined Carbide). It was relatively easy to mill, but nerve-wracking. My base plate is roughly 55"x39", which made it a bit pricier than a Shapeoko-sized plate, and it was the first big thing I milled with the new machine.
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Echoing the experience with Midwest - got a 1/2" piece of ATP5 for my XXL shipped for just shy of $300. My local scrap yard quoted $30 more for dinged cutoffs of MIC6.
5/8 would have been slightly more, and I mused on the flatness improvement, but I will still have a wasteboard on top that I will flatten out. It is, in any case, substantially more stiff than the stock MDF and steel cross-straps. Conjecture: I suspect Vista Metals’ manufacturing process between thickness lines of ATP5 is not different; merely that it’s easier to guarantee flatness in the vigors of transit with thicker/stronger material.
I intend to drill and threadmill my plate with my machine to ensure that squareness is identical to that of my gantry and frame. Initial experiments with a drill mill from ebay are promising; by contrast, regular drill geometry at router speeds is a nonstarter.
I don’t see the mount holes for the plate to the frame to be especially crucial - The stock MDF mount holes don’t appear to have had any shaft contact, and my expectation is that we’re relying on clamping force and friction, rather than fit of screw shaft vs bore.
Also intending to attach some strips of Peel & Seal roofing sealant to the underside of the plate to suppress resonance. It’s a car audio enthusiast trick.
PS: Midwest has, in previous years, done sales for Black Friday and other occasions.
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I just priced a Cast Aluminum Tool & Jig Plate (ATP 5)]
Size: 5/8 23.0000 41.0000 56.58 lb for $165.75. The size of the Shapeoko XL wasteboard. It is a very reasonable price, of course there is the price for shipping too. I would like to have the holes drilled and tapped like those from Ohio Diesel, something you cannot easily and precisely do without a larger CNC.
Edit: I guess if you were to tile the wasteboard running it sideways (3 tiles), you could drill the holes on the Shapeoko.
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I’m getting closer to doing this as well, but I don’t know that I’d want all those holes. Obviously, I’ll need the holes to mount it to the frame. Then I think I’ll have the SO3 mill a few mounting holes for a supplemental wasteboard. I’ll just tap by hand.
Still not sure how I’ll drill the mounting holes.
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I am planning on ordering a plate from Midwest Steel (just 20min from me) and then measuring out and drilling and tapping the mounting holes manually. I don’t see why I need them precision milled.
For the wasteboard on top of that, I’ll manually drill holes in the corners and center to affix it to the plate underneath. Then mill holes for dowel pins and clamps with the Shapeoko.
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Maybe we should move this wasteboard discussion in another thread.
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meanwhile back in the titans of Metals SO3 thread you have split the atom, delivered hyper super quantum computing turned the stock SO3 into a 25 axis mind melded machine lol.
I love this thread, i love the talent and i love the way it inspired my to buy a small plate of 6015 aluminium place it on my wasteboard, design a small little key ring design. and then chicken out again! damm i just seem to have this mental block to metal… strange but true i will break it!
keep it up guys your thread will empower me!
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Well boys and girls:
Order Contents
Cast Aluminum Tool & Jig Plate (ATP 5) (ALI58)
Size: 5/8
Quantity: 1
Width: 39.5000
Length: 42.0000
Price: $274.35
Item Total: $274.35
Order Totals
Subtotal: $274.35
Shipping (Ground): $69.43
ORDER TOTAL: $343.78
I pulled the trigger on my wasteboard upgrade! Should arrive Tuesday 
I went with a solid wasteboard as I will put it up on a huge angle plate and mill the 1/4-20 holes and mounting holes on the top with a large horizontal mill 
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