Now I know that no one here plans to set one of these things on the concrete for any longer than necessary. I am wondering if anyone has a stand or machine base that they really like for this application, whether fabricated or purchased/modified to fit. Design drawings or pictures for a home made job perhaps?

I had a Grizzly X3 that I had converted CNC at the end of last year before trading up to a Bridgeport. I was really pleased with how I set the stand up for this machine. I used a new red Craftsman tool cart that I got at Sears for $200. I then got a full sheet commercial aluminum baking sheet from the local restaurant supply store for less than $10. I screwed the monitor arm through the pan and through the mdf board that came with the tool cart. This gave me a nice mobile setup that worked well with the mist coolant setup that I was using. Sadly, my only pic of the mill is in the back corner of this photo:

http://www.runryder.com/helicopter/gallery/2598/New_Image.jpg

-Steven Balder

I have just discovered a stand, in China, made for the X3. We have 10 of them that will be here in a few weeks.

Hi - While I am waiting for my X3 to arrive I plan to make a bench. I suspect the small bases that come with the machine would not be as stable as a larger bench and would be best bolted down to the floor - especially in earthquake country! I thought I would weld a frame from angle iron and bolt down a heavy timber top - I suppose about 1.2 m long (47") and around 0.65m (26") wide and 0.8m (31.5") high ? I do not know what the machine base to table top surface height is - so I cannot easily work out the exact ideal height for a 6ft operator. I imagine the PC is best on the bench on the right of the machine? - for those who are right handed. - This is why I imagine it would need to be 1.2m long? I imagine a polycarbonate (Lexan) chip screen between the PC and the machine would be sufficient? then I thought about putting castors on each corner to allow moving it around etc - and jack screws beside the castors to take the weight long term and allow easy leveling. - any thoughts or information very welcome!

The base to table top height is 215mm so you can work the stand height from this.