just another plasma build and then some :)

As i started working on the table i started to think about how i was going to do the mounting holes and locating dowels for the cross sections on the table. my first thought was just to hang them off the side of the table of the mill but after looking closer that was not an option since they were too long for that approach. so it was on to plan B. after looking at the head on the mill i came to the conclusion that the head was going to have to be set on a 90 degree angle to get these parts made so i had a plan. well things were not that easy since when the head is on a 90 and the table is all the way up you run out of travel to get to where you need to be on the part. ideally some 2-4-6 blocks would have come in handy but i don't have them so i had to look around for something on hand to get this project moving forward. i have to say this build has got me into some weird set ups to get this thing moving forward

spent a little to much time tonight working on things. i still have to go out tonight to do the night shift at my regular job still have a ton of work on the table and still need more material to finish the basic frame but i have enough to frame to a point where i can put the gantry on to test my fits on things. hopefully buy the end of the week i will have the gantry off the floor at least. what i did put together went together as planned and was pretty easy to assemble. just a few quick pictures to show some progress anyways.

well the gantry slides up and down the table just fine the table is square as planned but the sag in the middle was not expected so i had to step away from it to think about it more. it would have been an easy fix except driving the gantry from the middle creates a problem for all the easy fixes. just checked something out before posting and think i have a solution but needles t say i will need more material again. the plan is to bolt some flat to the piece i have the rails attached to and make a i beam out of what i have already. hopefully that makes the top more rigid to do what i want to do. seeing things together i think since i will have things apart i am going to shorten my legs some. seeing it together seems a little to high. the casters threw me off but i can fix it fairly easy so might as well get it right while it is apart.

good thing every thing is bolted together and not welded otherwise i would have really messed myself up.

hopefully this works out and i can get back on track. i hate unseen set backs but i guess it's to be expected since this is my first stab and i bigger machine.can't win them all

i tried to work on things as soon as it got light out but froze my butt off until the weather warmed up some. It was not bad today but this week coming is going to get a lot colder. was trying to get what i could done anyways.

i managed to fix my table height issue and ended up taking about 6" off that and like that part much better, i was only going to add another set of casters in the middle of the table but decided to add the other 2 i had for better support like that choice as well added some cross braces in the middle and bottom area those work well.

so once i rework all the top slats and sandwich all that between some 3/4 x 3 hopefully i have something rigid and i get myself back on track.

from the top down 6" or so is still a work in progress but here is what i got so far.

not the best pictures but enough to get an idea

my new best friend for the next few months

i have a rather large kerosene heather but the cost of heating oil has gotten to the point where it is way to expensive to use. and honestly the noise level of the old heater vs the new propane one a very sizable difference no doubt., the old one sounds like a jet engine taking off to the whisper of this new one

i did manage to get some more material and of course anther box of SHC screws. been re working the top slats but those are taking forever to mill down to the same width. the whole Idea of my rework requires those to all be equal. i did not bother the first time around with the bottom side thinking that side would not matter but was proven wrong in my thinking.

i have been keeping rough tabs on material weight as build this table and with what i just bought that's another 450 lbs of steel to throw at this table. i am roughly at 1,000 to 1,100 lbs just on this table frame this thing is turning into a beast to deal with for a one man operation

just some progress with this thing. after adding just the layer across the top and getting it bolted down properly has done wonders for how solid the table feels at this point. so once i get the bottom layer drilled and counter bored to mount it should be rock solid. it's pretty solid now but i want it right. so until i am completely happy with it i will continue to throw steel at it until i get exactly what i want

this is taking forever but with over a 100 tapped holes and over 200 drilled and counter bored holes i knew it would take me a while.

the drag chain was just motivational for me to see sitting up there i still have to attach it

I find your deign interesting in that you have opted for solid bars instead of the conventional tube method. I am looking forward to seeing the end result.

no mystery to my bolt together design. i'm not a welder pretty much sums that part up in a nut shell

Sure would make it easy to get a flat pack made and sent to you from China. Assembly Required!!

the only way to get thing accurate is to machine them. when you think about squareness it is pretty simple when the ends are square and all sections are exactly the same length.

i have yet to indicate one thing in since everything important has a machined boss to locate it or dowel pins to locate things.

i have plans for more than one function as well so the only way to get what i want is to make it myself. the linear rails and ball screws i had imported in just because they were in the price point i wanted.

and i don't have a fork truck or crane at this point so sections i can move around are a plus for me

i think designs by people are based on what they have to work with. i have never seen anything like i am doing so it becomes interesting to some