Going to make a threaded wasteboard. I am new and I have seen different sizes used for an XXL supplemental wasteboard. If using a 1” surfacing bit, is it safe to make the wasteboard 3/4” wider than the specified cutting area on x axis? It seems there is no room for increase in Y axis because I would want the wasteboard far enough from front rail during surfacing to not hit it (that would make for a bad day!). And while it is moved away from front rail, I can notch out for bitsetter.
So if my thinking is correct I can fully surface a 32 3/4” x 32 3/4” board that positioned 3/4” off front rail.
My advice since the actual reachable space varies slightly from machine to machine: jog manually to the extreme positions, make a note of machine coordinates, and you will know what the max size can be for YOUR wasteboard (because you need to be able to reach the whole area to surface it, or you will end up with a recessed surfaced and that is inconvenient)
Another consideration here is the size of the endmill which you are using to surface things — someone with a specialty surfacing bit will be able to reach a larger area than cheap folks such as myself who use a #201 for surfacing.
Consider for a moment too that if your spoil board is sitting against the Y- front metal rail you won’t be able to get as many resurfacings out of it. Ala, you don’t want to grind your bit against the metal once the spoilboard is below 1/2” thick. With it moved slightly back from the rail you can get another couple of mils out of it.
Works for some. I used CCs plans. But do make the board slightly smaller than your usable area as if larger, you will have a high spot surrounding your real work area
Hey Rob, what style board are you using now? I worked on my wasteboard today and it got messed up so have to work on another tomorrow. I would love to hear your opinion on what style you now prefer. Today’s wasteboard was my first job on the XXL and certainly a learning experience!!
My unsolicited advice… Don’t worry about making a perfect wasteboard for your first project. Cut a piece slightly undersized, fasten it to your structural wasteboard, face mill, get a load of blue tape and super glue and start something simple you find interesting. You’ll have plenty of time to decide what you really want from a wasteboard.
My 2 cents is the style you prefer is the one that works for you; for example, I have a Festool MFT table so I had a bunch of clever ways of squaring and clamping stock to a grid of 20mm holes spaced 96mm apart. So I said f* it t-nuts and screw down style clamps and went with a cam setup instead.
When i make my next “good” one, it will be slightly smaller. A) The meyer’s spec one can’t be resurfaced easily, at least with my surfacing bit. I think he used a 1.5 amana and I have a 1" whiteside, so there is a .25 rim that i had to hamfistedly carve down, and
b) it butts up too close to the front of the machine; my next one will make sure there is clearance for the surfacing bit to not grind on steel.
I also really only use a few of the t-nut holes a lot, and many never, so a t-track and threaded insert combo instead of a solid grid of them is kind of compelling.
but honestly, i think for the next “season” i will probably just screw down a regular ole piece of MDF and just use blue tape and glue or the new .23 ga pin nailer i got for christmas.
maybe use the laser to grid out some guide rules, instead of trying to tape down things aligned to the tops of tnut holes.
I will take you up on that!!