Since I received alot of help, ideas, etc. from here i thought i’d share my end result in case anyone can benefit from it.
Materials
T-Track
1/4-20 threaded inserts:
4-40 threaded inserts
Surfacing bit
Process
- I milled out 3 spoil boards from 3/4" MDF. I only machined the profile of the spoilboard and the counterbored mounting holes to accept a 1/4-20 button head screw.
- I then machined 24 holes into the Shapeoko’s basedboards to accept the 1/4-20 threaded inserts. The threaded inserts sit just below the surface of the board so no worries about hitting the steel frame underneath as the inserts are barely over 1/2" tall.
- Mount the 3 spoilboards machined in step 1
- I then machined the 21 holes for the 4-40 threaded inserts into the Shapeoko’s baseboards. These will be used to secure the t-tracks. This could have been done at the same time as step 2, but i chose this order for some odd reason.
- I then machined a couple dozen holes into the 3 spoil boards for more of the 1/4-20 threaded inserts. I did this last vs. including it in step 1 so that i know the holes are all parallel to the machine axis’ even though i left minimal clearance in the spoil board mounting holes.
- Mounted the t-track using 4-40 flat head screws. Rather than cutting my track to fit centered (front to back) of my spoilboards, i mounted them 1 hole back for now and left them full length. I didn’t want to commit to cutting the t-tracks just yet in case i don’t like the setup for whatever reason.
- I surfaced the spoilboard using the linked 1" cutter. The program zig zagged from right to left to right…with .875" stepover and taking .020" deep pass. It took me 3 passes to get it leveled out as the back right corner was high for some reason.
That’s it! Hope it helps those starting out. I feel like this option will provide great flexibility as many have already demonstrated.
Now i just need to start 3D printing my clamps!!
