I’ve got a 4x2 S5P. I have an 4’ x 2’ MDF panel I need to make some cuts in. How do I hold the workpiece? There are T-slots available to the left and right side of the panel, but all of the hold-down clamps I have are either too long or too short to allow engagement with the workpiece. What to do? 
I could print some clamps of a usable length – is there an alternative I’m not considering (I’m still very much a newbie to CNC).
-M.
Double sided tape or painters tape with CA glue should work well for that situation.
You will be surprised at how well the tape and glue work if the surfaces are flat so the glue is contacting both pieces of tape.
I use painters tape and super glue for most projects. Your project is rather large but you dont need to put the painters tape all over. Try over the perimeter and down the middle on the spoilboard. Then measure and put corresponding on the back of your material.
If you have any parts that will be cut completely through (contours) be sure to use tabs. On smaller projects I dont use tabs because the painters tape holds things quite well. However I am covering the whole bottom of my project and it is not practical to cover a 4x2 piece. So 2" tape around the perimeter and down the middle. Do not overlap the tape, cut it and but it up against each other but not over each other. You will be surprised how well painters tape and super glue will hold a project. Just have your spoilboard and material clean.
Mark out some locations that do not get cut, and put a screw into the MDF and Wasteboard at those locations.
Double sided tape.
Super glue.
Make clamps that work.
Hold down screws
Or. My preferred method. A vac table.
I struggled with the painter’s tape and CA glue method simply because with a full panel on the table I found it was really hard to get the tape on the underside of the workpiece and on the spoil boards that lined up without a lot of elaborate measuring. What I finally elected to do was one of Ryan Quick’s suggestions: make clamps that work. I printed extensions to allow me to extend the T-track out beyond the ends of the table.
The extensions are printed from a carbon-fiber based filament that is quite stiff and strong. I added a hole for an M6 heat insert thinking I’d secure the extension in the track with a low-profile flathead hex screw, but it turns out the fit in the track is snug enough that whole arrangement is solid after tightening the clamp to the t-track nuts.
-M.
Thanks for that photo and tip!
For using tape & CA glue, I’ve always just aligned the tape as central on the bed slats as possible between the T-tracks, making sure the ends of the tape are further than the stock so they stick out a bit. Then align the stock upside down over the taped bed but ensuring that it is flipped front/back vs side/side, visibly align the tape on the bottom of the stock with the tape ends on the bed, apply glue, flip stock front/back & weight it down. I always try to get the wider, close to 2", painters tape - helps to have a fair bit of buffer width for unexpected shifting & prevent any glue from squeezing out between the bed/stock.
I like your solution for making the bed clamps useful at the edge of the T-track!
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