I just bought about 22 feet of THK HSR-35 rail with 4 carriages brand new for $100. :cheers: One piece is 72 inches, the other 2 pieces are about 98 inches.

Now, I have been toying with the idea of building a mid-size gantry out of 80/20 and linear shafting, or maybe IGUS rail, or even drill rod/skate bearings, but I just placed a piece of 1515 80/20 on top of this rail and it is a perfect fit...even the mounting holes on the rail are a perfect fit for the 5/16-18 bolts used in the 1515 8020 t-nuts I have.

So...Do I close my eyes and cut a piece of the 98 inch rail in half to make the x axis of my 4' x 2' router? (I have some much larger rails and carriages if I ever want to build a 4x8 router). It seems almost a crime to cut such nice long rails, and they are a bit stout. I almost wonder if the 8020 is worthy of such rails

Would 1 carriage on each side of the gantry on the x axis be sufficient since they are such large carriages?

Opinions?