As I await delivery of my longmill 30x30, I’ve been contemplating my table and what my current CNC setup has lacked.
I’m planning to do a torsion box base and my thought is I will cut back the apron by probably 4 or 5 inches in say the middle 24ish inches to accommodate a moxon vise for mounting boards vertically. This will allow for really easy CNC dovetails and milling the ends of boards in ways not possible from the horizontal plane.
Any thoughts as to why this might not work out?
Hey Jim , don’t see why not. My cnc sits on a torsion box and works beautifully. The design I followed was one by James of King’s fine woodworking 62 - Extreme Torsion Box Assembly Table, Outfeed & Multifunction Workbench w/Storage - YouTube
As you will see he incorporated a Moxon vise , storage space etc.
I like you your idea , I don’t see any drawbacks right off. Should turn out to be a fun project. I was thinking along the same lines so I could incorporate a rotary axis for my machine.
Andy
I incorporated a moxon vise under my table with a removable strip of spoil board to cover it when not in use. I don’t know if a hidden slot could be done with a torsion box though.
I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
I’m thinking along the lines of making it on the end and having the vise itself level with the table. I’ll install threaded inserts in the top to attach strips of MDF so it can be surfaced with the spoil board so it’s in plane with everything when closed.
The torsion box would just need to be built with a 5x24 cove in the center end to mount the vise. I’d double up the support where it mounts just to reduce chances that mounting the vise introduced any weak points.
Sounds like a solid plan to me. If I ever redo my table I’d like to do a torsion box design. My current table is just 2x4 framing with 3/4" plywood, then 3/4 inch MDF, then my spoil board.
