[sonicwonder2000]

I'm in the midst of building a belt-driven cnc based loosely on the Solsylva design. With the price of steel being what it is, I'm considering making the gantry, cnc body, and rails out of metal and placing the whole thing atop a wooden table. In the pic below, I'm considering making the blue box out of wood.

Will the wooden table cause a degredation in the performance (accuracy & repeatability) of the router? Would I be better off spending the extra $$ and building a steel table to place the router on. The white "guts" will weigh about 175Lbs so will still be moveable if necessary. Building the entire thing of steel will raise the weight to well over 500 Lbs - i.e. not transportable.

Thanks for your input.

[BobF]

A well built wooden table should cause no degradation. Make it flat and level you should be fine. When I want mobility, I install casters and leveling jacks. I install the jacks so that they can lift the table off the wheels slightly. This prevents the table from moving as well as allowing you to level it on most any floor. Just raise the jacks to lower back onto the casters and move it where you need.