So my M4 arrived over the weekend and im going to start the frame building and assembly this week.
I am looking for some input in 2 areas, if possible.
The first is wasteboard, with plywood being ridiculously expensive right now i was looking at cheaper alternatives to allow for (at the very least) the first wasteboard to be in expensive to replace after calibration and first number of potentially off cuts.
My options are osb, particle board, mdf, melamine board or ply.
Osb I dont like because manufacturers use cheap filler and glue which can dull cutters very quickly.
Ply is expensive (minimum $50 a sheet).
MDF, Melamine and Particle Board I have no idea, can anyone give any insight to the pros and cons outside of price?
Secondly, has anyone looked into a âfold awayâ type frame? I, like may others, dont have a lot of space to play with so looking to build a hinged frame that i can unclip and fold away. Any ideas or input would be greatly received, thanks.
I think youâll want to start with particleboard, which is the least bit-dulling cheap option. It is also easy to screw your material on to (unlike melamine). And it usually is pretty flat (when stored properly), unlike some ply. The downsides are the smell when cutting, and the wear: you canât use the same screwholes multiple times.
I use old âstone palletsâ as spoilboard, these are 50 mm thick pinewood panels, steel reinforced, used by brick factories. These work really well, but are very heavy. I have attached them on a hinged steel frame that I can pull to the ceiling of my shop, so I can reach the stored plywood behind it (my frame is normally almost vertical).
If you can use ground anchors (horizontal) or wall and ground anchors (vertical frame) you donât need a large frame.
I drew up a fully collapsable frame to take with me to jobs on different locations, with storage inside it for the M4. I have not built it yet so I have no idea if it is stiff enough, but maybe this idea gets you thinking, Iâll leave a link to the post.
Good luck,
For my Maslow1 I used OSB as a base and then attached 1/4 luan plywood (underlayment) on top of that for the spoil board. Itâs worked well and is easy to change out the luan when it gets too chewed up.
Iâm using OSB from my old maslow also. The luan addition is a great idea. I am going to add that to mine too; OSB is a bit harder on the bits, but Iâm also not a production shop so donât mind that too much. (also not using terribly expensive bits)
foam works as well. or a thin layer of foam over osb or other cheap stuff
First Principals
what is the spoilboard there to do.
itâs there to hold your workpiece
it prevents the bit from hitting the frame (which can chew up the frame
and/or damage the bit depending on what is there (think doing this on your
driveway, you donât want the bit hitting the driveway )
be cheap to replace because it WILL get chewed up over time.
if your frame is cheap 2x4s or similar, you could mount your workpiece directly
to them and just replace them when they get too chewed up.
but in general, itâs nice to have a nice flat sheet that you can attach your
workpiece to anywhere.
I used OSB for the structure, but I agree it tears up blades and bits. In my area, hardboard (Masonite) is cheapest 4x8 sheetgood. Its 1/8" thickness is a blessing and a curse- it doesnât add much Z height, but itâs pretty easy to blow through it.
I solved some of the particle board issues by putting 1/4" underlayment on 1/2" particle board. Should be able to reuse screw holes if I am not yanking out the screws.
Iâm realizing that there are going to be some downsides to this as well, so I may actually treat this less like a spoilboard and more just as a mounting surface that I try to avoid cutting into by putting spoil material under my pieces when mounting them. Probably just going to use strips of hard board as âslatsâ with a bit of spacing to truly mitigate how much spoil material I need after reading this thread.
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