That is a very clean work surface @sjj47 ! I really like the block under your router. I’ve been thinking about it since I saw this image and now I realize I don’t want the weight of the router on the springs when not in use.
Here is the main reason why I’m gettin rid of the T track.
We make some very deep cuts 1.5” to 2” deep. To clamp down these pieces of wood I have to use a considerable amount of force. I have had a T track actually pull up a bit towards the ends of the waste board.
This has lead to some stock coming partially loose and the slots to have a bit of a hook at one end.
it tends to be OK if I’m just doing one piece and its fastened down in the middle of the waste board.
In hind sight, I have seen one person glue and screw their T track in.
Yeah, I don’t use the CNC every day. When it is not in use I prop the router up with whatever is handy to take the weight off. All that weight on the springs can’t be good.
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If it makes you feel better; do it. Springs are springs because they are hardened after being coiled. If you find one “stretching”, then that’s a warranty replacement issue. It wasn’t made correctly.
Steven, how do you surface the MDF all the way to the back of the wasteboard?
I have an XXL with a Tee Nut threaded insert spoil board. When I made the first one I made it the full measurement of the Shapeoko Cutting Capability. I realized that when I surfaced the spoil board that the rear part of the spoilboard was not being cut and left a ridge. That was not a big deal until I was cutting a project that was longer than the bed of the Shapeoko. That made the rear of the project higher than the front which is not good. So after I got that project finished I cut the spoil board shorter in the back so I could surface all the way to the back. The Shapeoko can cut past the front rail technically so I just made sure the spoil board could be completely surfaced front to back.
I don’t. I usually work in wood, not metal. Extreme accuracy is not critical to most of my jobs and I can live with the slight inaccuracy of an unsurfaced washboard. YMMV.
When I get around to bigger jobs or pass-through jobs, I’ll take the same approach as Guy Donham describes in this thread.
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