Use the second machine to build the first!

[Madclicker]

This is a twist on the usual "use the first machine to make parts for the second".

Background:

We went through 3 hurricanes in 5 weeks last year. I was flipping a property at the time and had an active contract that kept getting stalled because of the storm damage. Upside was the beginning of this year someone gave me a hurricane damaged doublewide. Stipulation was that I had to move it, demo a Florida room and carport and prep the lot for the new home. Ended up being a new flip project. I more than paid for the day labor for the demo from the Al i sold to the crusher and ended up keeping several very nice windows, sliding doors and some very nice structural and cage Al that I'm gonna make my second machine from.

I say second machine, because of what I've learned on this site. I want my first machine to be MDF based and smaller than the Al based table I started with. Learn on the cheap! I always intended my Al machine to be a cnc eventually, but I built it to originally be a glue-up and outfeed table for my table saw and router table. I cut all the pieces for the final design but didn't put it all together at first (see the first pic of the skeleton). It worked well for the many months I've used it, but now that I want to make torsion boxes, the old slop won't do. I had (est) .020 droop between the 4' spans for the 3/4" melamine MDF. OK for the cabinet work I was doing, but not good enough for torsion boxes.

This is my first post, so I'm gonna see how it goes....won't be my last!

Steve

[Madclicker]

Don't have the pic attach thing figured out. Help?

[spalm]

Welcome to the Zone.

Your Mom had good taste in naming children.

Show us your stuff, we can probably help. Anyone from a town called Lakeland deserves a break from all the storms.

Edit: Click on the Manage Attachments button to upload a pic. It has to be 800 X 600 or less, and less that .5meg in size.

Steve

[Madclicker]

Steve,

I don't know yet how to post the pics i have taken....oh, smaller pics only

[2muchstuff]

Are the pictures downloaded from your camera into your computer yet.

[Madclicker]

OK, trying this pic post. This is my original glue-up table. Also serves as a great outfeed table.

[Madclicker]

yahoo!

[Madclicker]

I moved the top onto the router/saw table to do this.

[2muchstuff]

See how simple that was. Now you have to keep us posted with all kinds of pictures.

[2muchstuff]

To stiffen up that table for router use, I would add some diagonals between the legs and table, a couple more cross pieces under the table top and maybe a second piece under the other lenghtwise piece for support of the rails and gantry. Just an observation.

[Madclicker]

yep, gettin easier. here's how I joined the outside corners. Ripped the flatbar from the 3" square tube. You haven't lived till you did a kickback with Al on a tablesaw.

[2muchstuff]

Freud makes a nice multi tooth blade designed for non-ferrous metals.

Hope it didn't kickback into you.