Surfacing Table Page -1-
SurfacingTable080916 Copyright 2008 ShopBot Tools, Inc
Surfacing Your Table
One of the first things you'll want to do after getting your ShopBot together and running is
to smooth your work surface. Here are a set of general procedures for surfacing your table.
There are several ShopBot Commands you will learn about in the process …
You will want to make sure that you followed the instructions to square up your Z-axis
before you start. The smoothness of the surfacing you do will depend on the Z-axis being
perpendicular to the table. However, don’t be too disappointed if your surface has distinct
tooling marks. After you've finished this surfacing, you will actually be able to adjust the Z-
axis with even more precision because you will have a tool-defined, flat plane to measure
against. The larger diameter the cutter that you use for surfacing, the less time it will take.
But a wider cutter makes it more likely that you will have tooling ridges from the process
and increases the load on your router. A .75”- 1.25” diameter bit will probably work well.
This little project is going to generate a lot of sawdust. We’d recommend you get your
dust collector hooked up and running before starting the actual cutting.
The instructions use values appropriate for a table that is exactly 96” X 48”. If your ShopBot
is a different size, the table surface slightly larger or smaller, or you are working in mm,
just replace the ‘96’ and ‘48’ with appropriate dimensions for your table (for example ‘32’
and ‘24’ for a BT). NOTE: If you are using a router bit that does not have a blade for
plunging, you need to plunge to the cutting depth outside of the material, and move into
the material. The instructions will give you suggestions on how to do this.
By this point you should have the table surface material mounted on your ShopBot. You
should have attached the support board to the table with the carriage bolts (recessed)
included in the table hardware. Now, attach a sacrificial board to the underlying support
board by countersinking drywall screws. If you can find them, plastic screws countersunk
are a good option. If there are warps in the sacrificial board, check to be sure that all the
screws are tight.
The table surfacing routine will use the
C
ut Rectangle [CR] Command (with pocketing) in
the ShopBot Software to run a surfacing bit over the entire surface of the sacrificial board.
Remember: The [Esc] key will back you out of a command that you don’t want. Hitting the
Spacebar or the "S" key (and Remote Stop on a PRSstandard) will stop the movement of
the carriages without shutting down power to the router or spindle. The E-Stop on a PRSalpha
will stop movement of the carriages AND shut down power to the spindle/router.
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