Went well, but not perfect. I still get wavy lines when moving from center towards the edges, within 12" of the right or left extremes. I am going to try adding more weight to the sled and see if that makes a difference.
That said, it made a big difference compared to the original 10’ frame which was completely unusable within about 20" of the right or left edge.
try to make the bottom of the sled slicker.
note, changing the weight will affect calibration.
David Lang
congrats on the improvements, even if not perfect yet. How much does your current sled weigh? Double check the spread sheet but Im pretty sure you can go as heavy as about 27 to 30 lbs with that big of a top bar.
to support a heavier sled, you need a higher top bar (to reduce the max tension
on the chains in the top center), not a longer top bar.
David Lang
Thanks @dlang and @Metalmaslow, appreciate the experts weighing in.
@dlang, I am using a kit by Maker Made which came with a pre-fabricated sled. The roundover on the edges is good and the plywood is pretty fine. I did put a bit of dry lube on it, which is a parafin lubricant. It didn’t seem to help all that much. What do you suggest for improving this?
@Metalmaslow, The sled is currently about 24 lbs and I have plans to bring it to about 28 lbs. I could go a bit heavier, but 28 lbs should be the sweet spot in the custom geometry that I have built. I am noticing that when the sled is moving from the edges toward the center within about 12-18 inches from the edge, the cuts are smooth. Moving from the center towards the edge is where I get some wavy lines. It’s not terrible, I will post a photo on my next post.
I got some UHMW in and will be trying this soon.
OT: May i ask which kind of vac you are using so i can look up how “strong” it is? Does the vac system work sufficiently?
Hello,
reading through most of the thread i must admit that its not entirely clear to me which dimensions work best. I would be glad if someone could give me some advise on how to best modify my current frame.
Currently i have an 12" top bar frame with the top bar placed 67cm/26.4 above the work space. My sled is a bit heavy with 13kg/28.6lbs (stock, “old” metal maslow sled with metal maslow z-axis and Ridgid router). The angle of the frame is unluckily 10-11 degree even ive given the instructions/drawings to make it 14-15 degree.
As i dont want to change the height of the top-bar, is it better to stay with a 12" top bar or replace it with a 14" top bar? I need to replace the top-bar anyway as the used alloy is not strong enough.
Thank you!
