I’ve got my T-track from Sienci and cut my seven pieces of 3/4" MDF. Little unsure of the process.
Install the T-track and then fit the MDF around it? Or vice versa?
I’m planning on using 3/4" long #6 screws for the t-track.
Also, how deep should the countersink be on the MDF? This will determine length of screws I need.
One more. How many screws should be installed on each MDF piece?
Thanks
Glen
@Dewey Here is what I did on my table. I jogged the machine to the lower left extents with a V-Bit installed (spindle not running), lowered the V-Bit close to the table surface and placed a mark.
Next I jogged the machine to the furthest upper left extent and repeated the process for the next mark.
Than one more time to the lower right extent. With the three marks take a straight edge and make a line in the Y-axis with your marks and the same for the X-axis at the front of the table. Now you have a reference that is square to the machine.
I lined up my first t-track on the left of the Y-axis line and screwed in the ends first than the from the center out. Take your time lining this one up because it will be your reference for all the other pieces.
Next, place your first slat of mdf against the first t-track than your second piece t-track against that mdf. I placed playing cards between the mdf and next t-track to be installed just to leave an ever so slight gap to make it easier to replace the slats later. Screw down the second t-track and rinse and repeat.
Like I said this what I did for my table. Where the mdf is, is the actual cutting area of my machine. Also double check all your measurements because I only used 6 t-tracks and 5 mdf slats.
For the screws for the mdf I have only used 5 per slat and used the machine to mill out the pockets just larger than the head of the screw (I used Kreg screws) and down so I left 1/4" of stock on the bottom, also ran a tool path for the pilot holes too. This left me with 3/8" of stock above the t-tracks to surface before needing to replace them.
I apologize for the long windedness 
but I hope this helps you out a little bit!
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That’s great! Exactly the advice I was looking for. I notice your T-Track is extended further to the front than the mdf panels. My panels are 48" long on a 48" long table. Will it matter if my T-track is not extended out past the mdf pieces?
I like the idea of Kreg screws. They take a nice bite.
Did you use #8 or #6 screws on your T-track?
Thanks for the advice and Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Dewey
I made my mdf slats at 33¹/⁴"x5¹⁵/³²" and the t-tracks are 36" long. I left the t-tracks longer than the mdf so in the future I could set up a fence for some projects without taking up any of the cutting area of the machine. Another reason behind making my slats the same size as the cutting area was to make sure when I surfaced the wasteboard it would all be the same height (in case I put a board longer than the table on) and not have a ridge at the front or the back of the machine as I surface the wasteboard further and further down.
I used #8 screws on my t-track and one of those self-centering hinge drill bits to make it easy to get my holes centered in the tracks.
Glad to help with the advice and a Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!
HAWWK
Thanks for the advice Hawwk. Just opened the box of the Longmill today. Didn’t get much time on it, but managed to get the Z axis assembly together. Hopefully tomorrow will bring more progress.
Thanks for your help and hope your Christmas was a good one.
Dewey
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Looks great ! Two questions if you wouldn’t mind. 1st question the mdf that your mill is sitting on is it just stock size with no milling ? I assume just the middle pieces in the work area are only resurfaced. Second question when mention dropping your bit down to the y axis to get your starting point did you go to the inside of the track that goes against your first piece of mdf . I am in the process with my new 30 x 48 Longmill and not sure yet how many pieces I’m going to use but possibly want to be able to use the whole work area if needed and using clamps to hold my pieces down and not be in the way.I believe the scienci lab set comes with 8 pieces of track…
Respectfully
Ok issue at hand is trying to determine where to start with the t tracks so when going to the surfacing bit part there is room to do so. I believe you have to be able to come in from the side with the surfacing bit and not plunge. Although I want to maximize my workable work area with my 30 x 48 Longmill…? Any help would be much appreciated ?
Well I believe I got it sort of over thought it some but would like to hear from you all about recommended space how far onto the waste board to set zero since I’m using t tracks ?
@Rowjr
Hey there! Thank you for the compliments first off! To answer your first question, the MDF slats my longmill is sitting on were ripped down to size on my table saw. I purchased a full sheet of MDF when I built the table for my machine, used half for the top of the table itself amd the other half for the risers and wasteboard slats. As far as placement of the t-tracks and wasteboard slats, I brought my longmill to X-0 & Y-0 (with a vbit installed) than ran the spindle up to speed and just barely touched my base piece of MDF to make a dot. Than ran to max Y+ direction and made another “dot”. I than repeated this for the other two corners. That way I knew the maximums of my useable work area. Plus with where the “dots” were placed, i knew that was square to my machine. Than calculated out the width of the slats (minus width of the t-tracks) and screwed my first slat down taking care to make sure ot was placed right on those “dots”, than alternated t-track - slat - t-track - slat etc. As far as the surfacing bits go, you definitely want to ramp them into the cut versus a straight plunge into the material. A good rule of thumb is your ramp should be at least twice the diameter of the bit (1" bit = 2" ramp). Since I used a vbit for the corners of my slats, I know that my bottom left corner is perfect X0,Y0 amd can still surface the entire waste board. I hope this helps you out in some way shape or form and my apologies for such a long winded response! I am even tired after that one!
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