[FoxCNC1]

Does it matter if the table top/spoil board is not 100 leveled prior to surfacing?
We all know MDF sags a little bit etc. and I having a hard time leveling my cutting surface.

I am wondering I am just wasting my time and should just surface it and let that, take care of the leveling.
I also bough a spindle tramming tool which I plan to use.

[louieatienza]

Does it matter if the table top/spoil board is not 100 leveled prior to surfacing?
We all know MDF sags a little bit etc. and I having a hard time leveling my cutting surface.

I am wondering I am just wasting my time and should just surface it and let that, take care of the leveling.
I also bough a spindle tramming tool which I plan to use.

Well, you'll ideally want everything dialed in first, which will greatly reduce the amount of material you have to remove. If there's sagging you potentially have other issues like needing to add reinforcement. Even a couple pieces of angle iron would help.

[FoxCNC1]

Well I got everything as close as I can for now using the tramming tool I bought from Edge technologies.
I think that once I add some more members under my table, I should be able to do a better job. But needless to say, I am sure my machine will cut even better now w the little adjustment.

[ger21]

You should level the table first, then surface the spoilboard, then tram the spindle. In that order.

If you don't level the table, it will never be flat. You actually need to level the linear rails, not the table itself.
If the rails aren't level and coplaner, then the machine bed will never be flat.

[FoxCNC1]

True. Thank you.

[Goonk]

I'm confused, are we talking level or flat here? Or both?

Tony

[FoxCNC1]

I'm confused, are we talking level or flat here? Or both?

Tony

Both. You level the spoil board as much as possible, the. You flatten it. (Let alone the whole machine should be on as flat as floor as possible and leveled (think frame).

[ger21]

If you only level one axis, it's not flat.
We're really talking about being flat, but you also want it to be level. If it's not level, it takes more power to move uphill.

It's easy to have a table that seems flat, but is actually twisted.

[Goonk]

Thanks. I never really worried too much about getting mine perfectly level. I have to move my machines around now and then and my floor is not flat at all. My frame is 2x4's and has casters on it (only engaged when moving). All of my woodworking machines are on bases and I have never thought about level. I am getting very little movement on my dial indicator as I move across each axis, so I guess things are ok. Another thing to look at....

Tony

[ger21]

I am getting very little movement on my dial indicator as I move across each axis,

Your machine can have several inches of twist in the table, and the dial indicator wouldn't show it. When you surface your table, it becomes equidistant from the Z axis. But it's only as flat as the machine's rails.

[louieatienza]

Thanks. I never really worried too much about getting mine perfectly level. I have to move my machines around now and then and my floor is not flat at all. My frame is 2x4's and has casters on it (only engaged when moving). All of my woodworking machines are on bases and I have never thought about level. I am getting very little movement on my dial indicator as I move across each axis, so I guess things are ok. Another thing to look at....

Tony

What you want are the two rails the gantry rides on to be parallel AND co-planar. Otherwise like Gerry mentioned, you'll have a RULED surface that's normal to the Z axis at everypoint, but not necessarily be flat.

If therails are not o-planar, it's still possible to get a glat surface, though you'd be putting unnecessary stress on your LM system that would lead to premature and uneven wear...