Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] very cheap (read: free) bases for your next gantry project

I'm looking for a base for my machine now. Have you worked with the
material? What do you use to cut it? I don't need anything that big.

Greg Kamysz



skykotech wrote:

> I may have stumbled across a vast resource of nice ridid extremely
> flat surface plates for those of you building cnc gantry mills.
>
> 1" thick 2.75 foot by 4.5 foot slate that is precision ground to .001
> inches. You can get these from your local pool table dealer for free
> because they come in matched sets of 3 (cut for transport from a
> single piece that is precision ground). Sometimes one of the pieces
> will break in shipment or something and the other 2 slates will be
> stacked in a growing pile in a dusty corner of the pool table dealers
> back room or thrown out back with the garbage (like my dealer does).
> Most of these have lots of holes drilled around the perimeter that
> could be used for bolting on linear THK rails or whatever. You could
> also drill more holes fairly easily since the slate is only 1" thick
> (which means it weighs about 120 pounds versus many hundreds of
> pounds for a granite surface plate from enco.
>
> Just an idea.
>
> Rick