Hey Folks,
Great to see you all and hear feedback.
I am building my enclosure for my 30x30 long mill under my work area due to space limitations.
I am looking for feedback on the 30x30 installation. I am thinking of installing my longmill on a piece of MDF and then sliding that into the enclosure that consists of a 4inch thick torsion box that is 55 x 48. Would this MDF just laying on top of the torsion box cause any issues or should it be mounted to the torsion box? I don’t really want to install the LM to the torsion box. Was also thinking maybe just a strip of MDF on each side to mount the machine and then my MDF spoilboard inside that area to maximize the distance between the machine and the spoilboard. So many thoughts actually and best thought was, lets ask the folks who have the experience. So here we are folks, what are your professional/experienced thoughts?
Thanks in advance, love this community.
Hi Derekh,
Good to see you contemplating options that are a wee outside the punning box. I don’t have a torsion table or anything that closely resembles that. My setup was built around a sliding and rotating construction to keep my options open on having the machine snuck at the wall or smack in the middle of my shop. I started out with the snuck position but last year I needed to make some larger slide and tile projects that needed the machine in it’s smack position. I do not think it will ever be going back to being snuck.
My table is connected to a rotating construction that can slide off the wall to allow the table to actually rotate 90 degrees from snuck to smack and back. The table is fitted with wheels to make rotating and sliding possible. The table is fitted with a slab of 1 inch mahony ply. The machine itself is mounted on a 1 inch thick mdf slab and is not connected in any way to the table.
I choose this setup when I got my longmill a good 4 years ago to stay as flexible as I could. I can literally pick up the mill from the table, throw it in a truck and drive it to another location if needed. Or store it while I destroy the table because I need a new/better setup. I never needed to go that way though. My table is awesome and works perfectly for what I had in mind (flexible setup.)
The one thing I would like to change is the machine mounting. You see, the slides that make it possible to get my table to rotate, are industrial beasts in their own right, they can keep a straight face while I abuse the heck out of them. They wont budge. I still have two of those lying around and there will come a day, I dismount the machine from it’s mdf slab and mount it straight onto these industrial slides. If I will mount them back on the mdf slab or maybe use the table slab isnt clear to me yet.
The freedom that I hope to create with this idea is a machine that can slide off it’s machine bed to work on saaaay.. beer barrels, cabinet/tabletops without having to dismount them or even tree stumps. Anything that fits within the machines footprint but wont fit beneath the x-axis.
And as bonus I can slide the machine out to do some vertical carving without compromising my machine bed, oh and gain an inch of z clearance and a new way to do tiles aswell (no more sliding the material, just slide the machine into a new fixed position.)
To summerise, I think you can go with a seperate slab without mounting it to the torsion box. At least for the time being untill you feel the need for it to be mounted. You can always connect the torsion box to the slab if needed. Amuse your imagination for a wee with the option to have a slide out machine. If not for beer barrel like projects, then maybe for accessibility purposes when maintenance becomes one of those tedious back breaking chores.
Good luck with finding your sweet spot! Keep us posted.
Eddie,
Truly appreciate your feedback and your ideas. Sounds like exactly what I was thinking as well, any big maintenance or projects or such and could move to the top work area and be able to have better access or simplify access when needed. Also like you mentioned this would allow me to have the machine transported, moved, stored, etc… maybe even work outside on a project weekend etc…
Your information was greatly appreciated and will keep you posted on the adventures 
I bet you are aware, but if not. To have a machine that can be tossed around, all the electronics and wires need to be at the slab that holds the machine. This might need an enclosure that is a good feet larger in width.
Sure you have a plan for that and this replie is like duuuuuh, but better duuuuuh than whooopsz, right?
Eddie,
Yes I am aware and your 100% right tho its better to check then be like oh shit when you read the poor guy/gal never thought of it. Especially in planning states Im sure we have all been so focused on the designs etc we forgot something so simple lol.
Same with measure twice cut once lol but always remember those silly cuts are good material for your next peoject. I have to admit there was one piece that I had an opps moment and that piece was taunting me for days and I tossed it because it was the stupidest oppps ever lol