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What type of bed/spoil board?

Discussion in 'CNC Mills/Routers' started by Ryan Turner, Apr 21, 2017.

  1. Ryan Turner

    Builder

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    I don't post here much if at all but if anyone could help I'd appreciate it.


    So I've done a little search and there seem to be quite a few options out there and it's a bit of a minefield and I can't decide.

    Options are...

    Vacuum bed,
    Bed with threads sunk in to it.
    Bed with grooves and clamps
    Rows of extruded aluminium.

    Any other options?

    Has any one got any thoughts on what's the best and any links to making them?

    I currently have a simple MDF spoil board but I'm not that happy with it. My Router is an ooznest OX 1.5m x 1.5m so I don't want to go and make a huge amount of effort for something that's not very useful


    Thanks :)
     
  2. Joe Santarsiero

    Joe Santarsiero OB addict
    Staff Member Moderator Builder

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    What do you not like about mdf?
     
  3. Kevon Ritter

    Kevon Ritter Veteran
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    It's not the MDF he has a problem with. It's the lack of hold down solutions. Since I'll be making multiples of everything, I am making specific spoilers for each product, but you can't really do that with such a large machine. For lighter cuts, I've considered using HDPE with a grid of threaded holes. What I don't like about MDF is the instability.
     

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  4. Rick 2.0

    Rick 2.0 OpenBuilds Team
    Staff Member Moderator Builder Resident Builder

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    Have you considered bench dogs and cam clamps?


    And if you can wait a bit, I've got an inexpensive knockoff of the festool cam clamps worked out just haven't had time to get it into presentable format.
     
    Aeneas likes this.
  5. Limine3D

    Limine3D New
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    Right now, I am using mdf, but have found that here in nc, I have to replace it once every couple of months because of the humidity. Thinking about using some of my scrap aluminum extrusion to make a bed once I finish my next build. This way, I might save myself some moolah in the long run.
     
  6. Ryan Turner

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    Unless you have your mdf really well regularly supported it can bend under force quite easily. Stood on its side it can permanently bend under its own weight which makes storing large sheets a pain. It's also highly susceptible to moisture.

    I am thinking plywood is much better option due to its construction. It's much less likely to bend.

    Thanks for the video I'll take a look.
     
  7. Ryan Turner

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    I will give this a go! Nice solution. It beats running grooves in the spoilboard.
     
  8. Kevon Ritter

    Kevon Ritter Veteran
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    To be fair, anything unsupported is a bad idea. You have to design as a whole, not in pieces.
     
  9. Kevon Ritter

    Kevon Ritter Veteran
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    I can't see anyone getting much life out of it.
     

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