Thank you for sharing that Jenn, I think its a great jumping off point for most people getting their feet wet in CNC. I find that the OF can handle much more aggressive DOC and FR’s than the Shapeoko & X-Carve (even with mods) but to be safe (and save bits/time/material) its always a good policy to test the waters then ramp up once your familiar with the machine.
I tore up a lot of MDF and Maple/Oak when I was learning to balance that line between efficiency/speed/quality and frustration.
lol, or concrete! If you got the blue screws, those are Tapcon concrete screws. Still trying to figure out why they’re shipping those. They don’t make for very good wood screws, not enough bite.
LOL I was scratching my head a bit when my machine arrived as well. Not only do they not do wood well, the cost 4X what a wood screw would have cost. Not sure why OF opted to go that route.
I just put my machine together today and the screws needed at each corner to fasten the machine down came with the machine. Unless you are doing something different, the screws they send out will work.
Yeah, I saw Myer’s video and I wasn’t sure if the securing screws were provided… But thanks for sharing! Sorry for the late reply, noobs have restrictions on how much they can Yak.
I’m a little late to the party, but my last video covered speeds and feed. Just about anything the SO or X-Carve can do will work well with the OF. You can always push it farther thought. Let me know if you have questions.
But they’re a pretty blue color, so they have that going for them.
But without seeing the screws, I don’t know what they are sending out.
Kreg also makes square drive wood screws that are colored blue.
They’re called Blue-Kote™ Pocket Hole Screws.
Are you sure they are Tap-Cons and not Kreg’s pocket hole screws?
The Kreg screws will work, they come in coarse thread only I believe and
can be used for indoor and outdoor applications as they have much
greater resistance to corrosion thanks to the Blue-Kote.
But no, the ones I got are most definitely Tapcon screws for concrete. Those Blue-Kote screws look like a wood thread version of the Tapcon.
I’m not a huge fan of an undersize screw floating around in those 8mm holes. With the lateral shock-load forces induced by changing direction of X & Y during operation, those feet need to be firmly planted to the table! Not a place to use undersize wood screws.
They are 100% Tapcon or an off-brand copy. I received the hex head version. I recognized what they were but used them anyways and I think they are perfectly adequate. I didn’t measure the exact length but I think they were 1-1/2". Similar if not identical to the attached picture. The bit of “slop” in the mounting holes was useful for getting the machine squared up nicely.
Some time ago, someone posted something similar to this, I believe they may have 3D printed them. But they serve to hold location of the base feet with smaller screws. This could be made in any number of configurations, 3D printed, machined from HDPE, etc. This aids in helping the primary screws to do their job of holding down the feet while helping to retain location with smaller screws.
I created them to use while squaring the machine/setting the screw hole locations.
The Y axis blocks fit tightly onto each ‘pad’, and the outer tabs with holes are used to hold the CNC in position(s) during squaring. When the final position is set, a thin hole punch/drill bit/etc… is then pushed straight down into the holes of 4 raised plastic cylinders (projecting up inside the mounting holes) that mark the exact centre locations of the 4 future mounting screws.
Yup, those are concrete screws for sure. Yes they will work but not the correct application for that type screw.
It’s nice that they toss some screws in here but I think I can figure out what’s best for my situation. The concrete screws screws will go in the hardware cabinet with my TapCon screws.
I found those blue screws and decided they werent the right tool for the job. I went with #10-1.5" simpson strong-drive screws that are typically used for joist hangers. I had em laying around and do a fantastic job. I also added some washers.
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