New to the forum, and I did search the forum to see if this topic has been covered and didn’t find anything. My apologies if this question has been asked before.
So… like many on here I am waiting for my Onefinity Foreman. I am in the process of building my table. It is going to be 69x80. The frame is going to be 16 gauge steel - similar to the Kreg Universal Bench base. (Legs will be heavier steel) I’m not really sure how to upload an image, but here is the link Kreg Bench
The difference is I am going to run 80" 16 gauge stringers roughly 12" on center across the short side of the frame and I plan on welding everything together.
From what I have seen on You Tube and read about on here, most people seem to be putting 3/4" material over the top of the frame or torsion box and then another 3/4" waste board on top of that.
I am here to get your thoughts on mounting the 1F directly to the metal frame or maybe on top of a wooden spacer mounted to the frame AND then just put the waste board on top the of the frame… nothing extra.
I am confident that the frame is not going to move or flex. That leaves me only having to worry about swell or warp coming from the MDF or plywood I use for the waste board.
My inspiration was watcing a guy on YouTube test the QCW.
Thank you for reading this and even more thanks to any comments you might be able to offer.
Hi @SteveM ,
I wouldn’t get hung up on this too much; you can always add spacers later.
I think most people do a table top (either a layer of plywood or a torsion box) simply from construction logistics. That way you can put a consumable spoil board on it and still have the structure in the future when you need to replace the spoil board.
Since you are welding up a table that already provides a stable platform I think you’re safe to mount a spoil board directly on top of it. You can always change it later if there’s an issue. Here’s a couple of other considerations:
The Z slider has many mounting points. You didn’t mention if you’re doing a spindle or router, but both also have a bit of vertical adjustment (the spindle offers more). So you can accommodate a variety of situations
I started with a plywood top, and mounted a spoilboard above that. However, I found this limited my Z space under the spindle; I ended up putting spacers under the Onefinity feet to raise it an inch
So what you are going to machine is important to consider
Also consider how you are clamping/mounting work to your spoilboard. I use 3/4" bench dogs and they have a 1" post, so they’d bottom out with only a 3/4" spoil board (my dog holes extend into the table top)
There is flat, and then there’s FLAT. Double check things when you’re done welding them up; you might have a bit of warp that would lead you to have a thicker top to give you room to surface properly
In fact for checking I’d clamp on the OF temporarily and pull some strings over the bed, riding on the rails. This will give you a good sense of how the entire thing is laid out. I didn’t do this and I could have saved a bit of my spoil board by shimming the mounting feet on the right side, my plywood was not as flat as I thought.
At the end of the day, whatever you do can be easily redone, so don’t sweat it too much ;-}