Hello, I just setup my M2 and have cut a few items. I used the standard frame and it works great. 2 questions I have are:
Does someone have a design for an Overhead Cord holder. I would like to have my Z-axis and Router cords to come up behind my frame and drop down from the top.
The second question is that I see in a lot of videos that when someone is down carving that they take the sled and move it up to a holder on top. Any Idea on what they are using to do that.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have used a bungee for the cords hung off a board sticking straight out in front of the beam so probably not the most elegant solution. The sled hanger I used was a lag bolt in the beam.
1 Like
I haven’t done anything for the overhead cords, but I have seen what @Orob has talked about, along with others using a piece of unistrut extended out. The only caution would be to pay attention to running the power of the router next to the Z-motor cable. There have been those that have had “noise” issues with them being next to each other.
As for the hanger, I did the same with the lag bolt, and I just drilled the hole through the center opening of the top L-bracket of the ring where it attaches to the sled.
Here is what i did.
I have a fiberglass rod that extends out from the center of my beam. I ran the z-axis cable along the pole and down to the sled from above. Router power and vacuum hose are run up from the floor. The pole is flexible and allows for the cable to flex if it gets caught on something. As others have said, you want to make sure that you keep the AC separated from the Z-axis cable. The pole is just an old driveway marker reflector I cut down.
3 Likes
did you have to lengthen the z axis cable?
Yes. I spliced in an additional 1.5m of wire to the Z, X, Y axis cables. In retrospect, i should have bought the crimping tool and pins/sockets to make proper extensions for all the time i spent soldering and heat shrinking.
I only recently bought one of these and it’s amazing! Making cables is super fast now 
Totally worth it 
I said to myself, “self, you dont need to buy a tool that you’ll only use once and never use again.”
Two days into my solder-a-thon I said “self, you are a cheapskate…and an idiot”
2 Likes
I think we’ve all said that before.
The life coaches say one should be nicer to one’s self.
1 Like
I had a life coach once……. he quit after the first day.
1 Like
That has got to be the most intricate frame I’ve seen. You’ve got a lot going on there. Mind giving some details?
The Venn Diagram of how I got here is complicated. Suffice it to say the sunk cost fallacy is real. I’m hesitant to share details if for any other reason than that the mistakes I made and had to overcome were epic and expensive. As such they are a bit embarassing.
There are some good ideas in there though that I think with some tweaking by the community, could be good for the community as a whole. Let me think about it.
1 Like
More is learned from failure than from success. Also, the more we can learn as a community the more we can save others from making the same mistakes.
I tend to fall down the rabbit hole as well and try to overengineer everything from the start. Has led to many a mistake.
1 Like
my history with trying to share my designs with the community is a bit …… complicated. there is a lot to unpack and off-load with my frame and overall design approach. let me figure out the best way to do it.
2 Likes
@jonatpridesleap I like your setup too. Any issues with the metal frame? It looks pretty solid. I’ve just ordered my Maslow after two years of waiting for a space to build, but it’s a toss up for me if I should do a metal or wood frame. These days everything is expensive! Those adjustable stays are cool too btw.
Thanks. It is very rigid but there are far easier and more cost effective ways of achieving the same result. This was actualy my 9th??? version of a Maslow frame. The usefull take-away from it is you can build a hybrid frame that consists of a very rigid wooden lower frame that supports the work suface and waste boards. Attached to it is a subframe consisting of uni-strut/super-strut that also supports the beam and motors. The adjustability of the strut really makes the initial set up smooth. I havent found much need for further adjustment beyond the initial setup though.
I really don’t want to start a larger debate on the subject but one thing that I stongly recommend when using strut is to bolt and mount to the “open” side of the C channel as much as possible. Use the T-nuts that are sold with the various strut products and only through bolt when necessary. I can elaborate on it more but when I showed how strut has been used here to an engineer I know from Cooper (manufacturer of B-Line brand strut) she was a bit frustrated that people werent using the product the way it was designed and a lot of structual integrity is being sacrificed for convenience. It’s not a major problem with Maslow but I think if a few simple changes were made, people would see some improvement in the performance of their machines. Especialy where the strut top beams are concerened.
Ok noted. I’m thinking of doing the wall mount with a metal top bar, seems like a good idea for at least the motors. Any other considerations?
Does your setup have the 10’ or 12’ top bar?
I actualy have a 9’ beam. My machine is set up smaller than standard because I dont need the full size. I only cut 4’x4’ or 5’x5’ sheets anyway.
If this is your first frame then I would stick to a wooden substructure with a unistrut beam. If you can live with cutting less than a 4’x’8 sheet then a 10’ beam will suffice. I woul dalso mount the motor brackets to a plate (metal or wood) and then mount the plate to the beam. It will make setting up the motors and chains easier.
Ok that is the plan. Thanks for the help!