I need to replace the fill boards on my ShapeOKO Pro XL.
I was thinking of using 3/4 PVC Board.
I know i wouldn’t be able to tram because of the material but that’s not an issue for me
I checked some boards i have and pretty consistent dimensions at 7.69 thickness
Has anyone ever done this? Pro’s and Con’s
Folks on here keep talking about PVC from the Big Box Stores being Foam Core and Not Solid. I use this stuff all the time and for the life of me i cant figure out what their talking about. My experience is that it is solid all the way through. I agree the top surface is smooth and the interior when you cut it is a little rough but it is solid all the way through and cuts very well. No voids or pockets. Usually these boards have one smooth side and one textured side to simulate wood grain.
The “rough in the middle” is foam core. It doesn’t have large voids/bubbles like some foam, but it is definitely less dense than solid core. Solid core has the same density as the surface of the foam core all the way through. I also use a lot of the foam core PVC. It’s much cheaper than solid core, and works great for all the projects I’ve used it on.
I am working on a project with it right now and yeah calling it “foam” is a little odd given most peoples interpretation of the word. It’s foam compared to solid which is heavy and expensive but solid compared to foam packing material.
@baricl why do you think tramming wouldn’t be an option? Seems like it would work just fine other than the mess to clean up. The McFly would eat that up.
and it works well, esp. when one designs the T-track setup around available widths so that the boards only need to be cut to length.
I will note that the 4x8 sheets are much cheaper, even when one factors in cutting losses — if I were using my XL more I’d’ve bought a full sheet cut into thirds, faced off the wood grain if need be and used that.
Only reason i say tramming might not work is once i tried to run PVC board through my plainer and it was a disaster. Chewed up the board and clogged up my plainer. But maybe tramming would work
Made my decision. Went to Home Depot and bought a 2 ft x 4 ft piece of 3/4 MDF for $29.00. More than enough to make a new set of fill boards for my Pro XL. I have a CC file where it would make a complete set but i just decided to do it manually. I ripped up a set of fill strips and then used the drill press to drill the mounting holes and counter sinks. Used one of the existing fill strips as a template. Since the original fill strips were 23.66 in in length and my MDF was 24 in wide i didn’t bother with the length. Just left them at 24 inches and they stick out the back of the machine a little over 1/4 inch but that doesn’t bother me.
Whole job took me about 2 hours. Now i have a new spoil board i can start spoiling again.
Here’s the CC Ver 7 file if you want to automate the process:
If i recall only the 3/4 in is foam core. When i purchase the 1/2 PVC 2 x 4 in sheets it seems to be solid core. 1/2 is cheaper but it tends to cup a little after the finished product.
