My step-daughter’s econ class (high school) is doing a project where they have to startup a business. The teacher gave each team $200 (out of his own pocket) to get started & her team decided to build skateboards.
Used the Maslow to cutout long board decks and the kids did the logo creation, finish sanding & routing. Turned out great!
Well done! Project of the week, for sure!
Wow! That’s awesome! This is kind of exactly what we dreamed Maslow would be used for 
These look great! Really cool project 
Could you possibly share your findings on the accuracy of the cuts at the extremes please? It looks like there’s a little bit of jitter. Was it that bad? How close were each of the boards to one another in terms of their final size?
Thank you for the kind words.
The accuracy at the left & right edges was pretty rough. In fact, the outermost boards ended up not being usable. I think if I had a 12’ top beam rather than the 10’ I would have been able to get the outer boards done cleanly. The worst by far were the engraved logos on the bottom of the boards on the outer 2. The combination of sled drag, chain weight (to the opposite side of the machine) and geometry not being favorable to pull the opposite side chain tight means the bit was very prone to wandering during the cut. Once the sled was 6" in from the edge, the issue went away. The other boards themselves were very consistent and came out beautifully.
I ended up cutting 3 more on a second sheet of ply on a second run. I moved the ply over (off the edge) and re-positioned the layout in GC to work closer to the center of the Maslow. (I also spent an hour to re-balance the sled top-to-bottom before the cut) These 3 came out perfectly and I just about pressed play and walked away. The system worked great & the cuts were perfect.
I used Fusion 360, GC 1.21 and FW 1.21.
These are awesome! I saw the 208 and understood the refrence immediately. I grew up out in the Sun Valley area and still have family out in Boise. Truly beautiful work and a perfect project for the Maslow.
Very cool.
The kids did the naming & logo design. I’m just the lowly CNC operator, CAD/CAM guy and donut delivery boy on the project…
So, a crucial contributor!
Normally I’d be the beer delivery, but since this is a high school project…
Thank you for your valuable feedback. I have the Maslow kit bought and I’ve setup my Bosch router (I’m in the UK) with the z-axis kit from here. Waiting for the space to build my frame -just moved house and I have a 18’x10’ shed ready to go up once the base is sorted - so this definitely helps with the decision to go with 12’ top bar. Thank you
That’s amazing! Such a cool project. I also love the entrepreneurial aspect of the story. To truly be an econ class though, each team should have to give $220 back to the teacher and a free skateboard.
I think the teacher was expecting his initial investment back from each group, but the kids get to keep the profits. Pretty cool for sure.
Very cool. You’re going to love it. A few things that I did that has made a huge improvement in overall accuracy was to make some tweaks on the z-axis for my Rigid R22002. I don’t think most of those will translate to a Bosch, but one that was huge was just lightly lubricating the router sleeve with a silicon-based (not petroleum) lubricant. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LDFURY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1) Since the worm gear for z is only on one side, the router tends to bind. I didn’t want to use anything that would attract dirt, so I used silicon food-grade spray lubricant very lightly and that’s helped a ton.
There are some great posts about a 12’ top beam out there and there are trade offs to going bigger. (chain sag)
Another thing that I’m going to correct shortly is an improved sled that has lower friction than just the sanded plywood I’m using now. Not sure if that will be melamine, HDPE or PTFE yet. I have a good source on cheap HDPE so I might start there. (https://www.webstaurantstore.com/18-x-24-x-3-4-white-poly-cutting-board/20318241.html)
Great find on the cutting board material. I will probably buy one to convert into a sled also. There is nothing wrong with what I have, but always looking for ways to improve. Their shipping charges are outrageous on this site. Costs almost as much for shipping as the product. $19.78 for ground shipping (cheapest offered)
I agree. Shipping on these isn’t cheap. I did just purchase 5 of the 1/2" boards for another project. I ended up face milling these with the Maslow. Turned out great as expected. The 1/2" boards were very very strong and stiff, so I would imagine the 3/4" version would make an excellent sled.
hdpe without a stiffener will warp over time.your sled will develop a cup shape in the middle where the router is bolted to it
Even a piece as thick as 3/4? That’s pretty amazing. Good to know though & I appreciate the input!
I’ve got a 3/4" HDPE cutting board that has warped like a potato-chip over 5 years use.
Wow. I would never have guessed. You guys just saved me a bunch of time. Thanks for the feedback!
Would 1/2 inch board on half or 3/4 inch sled be ok? Counter sunk holes slightly over size, filled then sanded flush. Just a thought that might stop the bowing. But then I’m thinking the difference in expansion properties might make it worse!
