QCW - Any reason to not have surface under it same dimensions?

[Aiph5u (Aiph5u (not affiliated with Onefinity))]

Hey Gil,

I wonder that you haven’t found the answers with the search function, as this was discussed thourougly and is asked (and answered) frequently.

@Aiph5u

See also dust boot overhang (front and rear),

The QCW frame is not where the workarea of the machine is. While at the front you have the milling motor (router or spindle) and also the dust boot protruding the QCW frame beyond the front edge of the frame, where there is no wasteboard but only air, there is a portion at the rear of the QCW frame that the bit will never be able to access. You can make your wasteboard slats much shorter in the rear for this reason. You will not be able to surface this region when you want to surface the wasteboard.

For the Woodworker (80 x 80 cm workarea, (32" × 32")) dimensions, you can use the Journeyman links below, you only have to subtract 40 cm (16") from the Journeyman (120 × 80 cm workarea (48" × 32")) width. The depth is identical on Woodworker and Journeyman (two Y-35 rails).

The new PRO Series dimensions and footprint are like the Original Series and the (no more available) X-50 Series, but have a slightly longer stepper motors, and they have the 30 mm drag chains on X axis and left Y axis like the Elite Series.

@Aiph5u

X-50/PRO Journeyman and Elite Journeyman have the same footprint. See

• Journeyman Dimensions and Table Size

The differences are the protruding stepper size and the protruding drag chains, but if you follow the link to “space to reserve around the machine”, there remains no difference.

@Aiph5u

I remember I made a post with recommendations on space to reserve around the machine the other day:

• Dimensions for building a table for Standard and Elite Journeyman (Cable and Vac Management to start off – Post #14 by Aiph5u)
• Space to reserve around the machine
• Drag chain width computation

But it is not fair to link you to this after your table is already built

See also here and here.

Note that if you bolt the QCW frame down to the table top, you will loose its biggest advantage, the use of the Any Surface Leveling Feet. For such a gantry-type machine to work accurately, you not only need to ensure rectangularity (“squared”) but also coplanarity (“not twisted”). The Any Surface Leveling Feet (now included with QCW frames, sold separately in the past) are the easiest way to ensure coplanarity.

Have you ensured that your machine is rectangular (“squared”) (bar gauge) and coplanar (“not twisted”) (fishing line method) .

In both cases if it is not accurately adjusted, not only you can get parallelograms instead of rectangles, but also workpieces with a twisted surface. Surfacing the wasteboard will not help against lack of coplanarity (twisted machine base), the machine will only reproduce the twist on the workpiece surface. Also if any of both is not accurately adjusted, the Y movement can block.

I think one way to secure the QCW to a table, besides and anti-slip surface, is something like this:

• Stop QCW frame from moving while still being able to adjust levelers