I`ve been building this thing on Saturdays since November, and I`m finally at the point where I can spend a day finishing the mock up, mount an indicator, and see how everything looks. Up to this point I`ve used a 12" machinist`s square, fishing line, and a master level for measuring haha.

I went with the solid gantry design because I really don`t need a 200-300lb mass moving around in my tiny garage, as both my roommate and I are `clumsy drinkers`. It`s a design that can be easily adjusted and overbuilt. The actual travel is 24" x 27", but the table is 24 x 24, that way I have room to machine something of the side if necessary. The static table is 60" long.

The base has seven 5"x 1-2" wide cross beams (cured and hand planed basswood) for support going across width-wise and 4 or 5 layers of birch ply glued into a very heavy, strong table top. The base also consists of several layers of birch ply laminated together. The cross beam (or what I call my Y - axis since the machine is pushed against the wall) Is made of several mixed hardwoods laminated like a cuttingboard and channeled out for a low-profile clearance on the rails. There is a huge space behind this beam that would make excellent real-estate for stiffening and squaring this axis to the base, as there is plenty of clearance to the table. The z axis is WAY sturdier than I expected it to be considering it was an on the fly design and frankly, there`s just too many screws, not enough clever woodworking joinery (this will change very soon).

Electronics are from CNC Router Parts

- Nema 23 stepper package with MX3660