Morning, apologies, work has been manic! Designers love to leave everything to the last minute and then need everything delivered yesterday! Not that Im complaining...well....maybe a little lol..

I build everything, bit of a Jack of all to be honest and the work changes relatively quickly. One week I can be building a Stitch and Tape canoe, another Ill be building a set or Estate gates for a Manor house, then I could be building exhibition furniture, making magic tricks for a magician, bar fit outs, feature walls in hospitality suites, gazebos, Shepard huts...the list is pretty endless to be honest. Work is weird in the UK, you can specialise but I get bored with that and British people tend to spend money on one thing and then 12 months later its something different. Two years ago everywhere you went there were inflatable hot tubs, everyone wanted a pergola to sit under and a deck for surrounding it, now you cant even find a puncture repair kit in a shop. That's how I have the workshop set up, to be able to turn my hand to anything, its stressful at times but it is enjoyable.

In terms of my current setup, please see the below pictures. The main issues Im facing at the moment are a vibration in the long axis as it moves one way, Im pretty sure this is an issue with the motor as its driving both sides. The fix I thought of was to install a new independent motor on each side but that brings issues with the way the chain drive is set up. There is also flex in the Gantry when it moves away from the bit if that makes sense, the issue is probably split between the gantry flex and slop in the VWheel/angle iron set up. Both of which led me to think about replacement but by that point I figured I would rebuild the machine. The frame is all 25mm MDF. The Z Axis uses 6mm steel plate for the backing which is fixed to 20mm unsupported rails. All of which go into the MDF. The motors are direct drive to the chain which I know now isnt a great idea. The machine has worked great for what it was intended in the first place, times change and so do needs. All that being said, if you can see something obvious please let me know as Im still learning lots!

Just to throw another thought into the ring, in your experience, what are your thoughts about 4x4 vs 4x8. I could build a much stronger 4x4 (than what I have) while still running the 8x4 for the bigger jobs, most of what we do would fit on a 4x4. Rails etc are much cheaper in the UK under 1500mm or so, just a thought. Might make continuity less of an issue with the workload and it might remove some of the stress if things take a while to figure out. We do have space for an additional 4x4 if needed. Again, just a thought.

In terms of the ply, Ive spoken to my sheet goods supplier who can source C face grade, solid core birch for around £68 a sheet, or they offer a smooth Phenolic laminated Birch for £90 a sheet. great prices for the UK. I think Ill only end up using 2 or 3 sheets anyway so would probably look at the Phenolic faced. The supplier sent me over the spec sheet for their phenolic, let me know how this compares to your F17 ply. With the faced ply, say for example I made a torsion box for the Gantry sides with 18mm, would that be a better option than going for a solid 5 or 6 ply lamination for the same width?



Machine Pics -