Hi. What would be the smallest table size that I should consider for the the Pro 5 XXL. I am awaiting shipment and figured I’d have the table built when it arrives. . I have a two-car garage where floor space is at a premium I understrand that the foot print for this CNC is approximately 50 x 50 but i’ve seen recommendations that the table should be 60 x 60". That 10 inches on each axis seems high, but the last thing I want to do is make this machine more difficult to use. I would have access to all four sides as it will sit in the middle of the shop (place of honor), but scrimping on inches could be helpful. Any input would be apprciated. Since I am building the table from scratch, now is the time to decide.
Also any other input regarding the table would be greatly appreciated.
Mine is exactly 60"x60" and fits with just a little spare on each side and a little at the back to allow room for the cables - also in a small 2 car garage (UK).
Originally, I intended the VFD to sit below the table on the shelf but as you can see from the image I had to mount it on the side because the cable wasn’t quite long enough to mount it below.
It would be good to have another 45cm / 18 inches on that cable, or at least be able to order an extension cable!
48.7"x48.7" is the bed size, as listed in the “Machine Travel” on the picture I posted.
They have not been “In Stock” yet. They have been on a pre-order since the release a few months ago. So you can either put an order in, pay up-front, and then they ship when your number comes up. Or wait until they have stock, but that is not a time that has been determined.
I understand space constraints but many have ordered the Kreg 64" X 64" bolt together stand and used their own material to make a top and shelf. Having a little room on the front and sides makes it easier to set tools, calipers, wrenches and maybe a tray to catch bits when the fall from the router during loosening. Having those few inches will not likely be missed in your space but you may very miss not having the extra few inches.
In my shop everything is on wheels. This makes it easier for maintenance and cleaning of both the machine and the floor space. You likely wont move the machine often but if you want to it makes life much easier.
Here is the website for the Kreg. It is $364.00 but I am sure if you shop around you can get it cheaper.
Here is the caster set. These casters lock in both directions which is important for a machine with a lot of momentum. They are $69.00 but be sure to shop around or buy another brand with the same size stem.
Yes, this is the Carbide VFD. You can certainly buy alternatives cheaper from ebay, but then you have to do all the configuration and, if it doesn’t work with the S5Pro who are you going to call?
They are 110v only, but I bought a 3000 watt 220 => 110 stepdown transformer from Amazon. In reality the 2000 watt should be plenty, but I didn’t know that at the time and this was only £10 more.
I know a lot of people in the US are going with the Kreg table kit. That extra 4 inches would actually have made enough difference that space would have been too tight. I also needed to work around other things, like fitting a lawn mover under it, which the Kreg wouldn’t allow.
Add to that, the Kreg kit looked like it was about £300 without casters or top/base so I went with a self build option. The frame was all 2"x4", with parts glued and screwed together to make 4x4 for the legs. The top is basic plywood from B&Q @ £45 a sheet. It took fractionally more that one sheet the way I did it, but I had some spare to work with. The bottom shelf has 9mm ply for the surface.
Add some casters from Amazon for about £15 (will take 400kg) and then some height adjusting small legs (can be seen in the image above) for about £20 and that’s it. My garage floor slopes away so I had to raise the front left by about 10mm and the front right by about 35mm!
Total cost for this was around £170 plus the 9mm ply I already had. You can also see that I had a lot of 2x4 left over (in the front shelf).
Here is the basic frame before I added a couple of extra cross pieces where the top boards would join.
Here you can see why I had to custom build something myself!
The top was made up of 4’x2’ pieces stuck together because this is all I can get in my car. I used Dominoes to join them, but you could just as easily use dowels or other methods. After that I ran a flush trim bit around the edges and round over on the top to make it fit.
Thanks Guy, Im one of these guys that can’t leave any open space unpunished, so I ussually find that designing my own is easier than modifying someone elses. (at least for me).
My grandson works in a shop with CNC’s and suggested that I not use casters. He was concerned that I might change things if I move the table around and nock something out of alignment. (very clumsy), so I decided to go with stationary levelers in the legs.
David, The cut-out for the mower is really cool. I just moved into a large 2.5 car garage from a 1 car shop so that would have been a life saver for me, but now I am good shape (plus my son and grandson now live with me so no more mowing).
@charlie.chisholm Your grandson is right! My table has casters only because I needed to be able to move it in to position and one day may need to move it, but the levelling feet I added raise the entire thing so no casters are touching the floor.
I laser levelled the table before adding the machine. I recommend it.
There is no way I could put this back on the floor (on casters) and expect the machine to remain square due to the unlevel floor.
