Sure, I took about a 4" piece of 1/2" solid rod and welded on a 5/8" nut to the end of it. Then welded them to the underside of the table top with the rod resting against the outside of the 2x2 table frame. Then just used 1" long 5/8" bolts to pull it down to where I needed it. I sprayed some rattle can clear on them to keep them from rusting.
Did you have to push up anywhere? Did you have any bolts up through the center of the tube to bolt the top of table down?
No I only needed to pull down in 2 places. I did not go through the tube anywhere. The 4 “hold downs” I welded on are on the outside of the table frame on all 4 sides, so unless I ram the table top with like a car or something and break those welds, it shouldn’t move.
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I’m not so good on posting images. I don’t even have Powerpoint on this computer. So I’ll try this: Imagine a stop block long enough to cover two DIAGONAL holes on your table. Make two holes in it so you can bolt it down at 45 degrees. Then pull one bolt, turn it 45 degrees (so it’s in line with a row or column) and add a third hole so it can bolt down there. Then connect the second and third holes to form a slot.
Now let’s get tricky. Radius the end with the hole so whichever direction it points it will still locate a part the same on the rounded end. (It can now be locked down at Zero, 45, or 90 degrees. Might be handy to stay clear of other stop blocks.)
Drop me an email and I’ll send you a (crappy) sketch!
How many spacers did you end up using? or the spacing?
I used 6, two on each long end and one on each short side. Didn’t measure, just put them in roughly even spaced.
Thanks for all the feed back!
What size were the holes programmed to cut? Did the laser cut exactly .625" holes, or did you add a few thousandths for clearance?
I’m going to cut the holes in my table for 3/4" tooling on 2" grid pattern. Measuring some pins I ordered from Fireball already, they measure exactly .750", maybe a few tenths less than .750"
My plan is to cut a smaller drill press fixture plate first, program the holes .005" larger and see how it turns out before sacrificing an entire 4x8 plate.
I asked my buddy to cut a few sample holes in a scrap piece of 1/2" steel for me. I wanted him to cut two holes at .625, then a couple at .620 and .630. Then I would bring in a fixture and test the fit.
He said he cut the sample holes so I grabbed my fixture and went to his shop. For whatever reason, he either forgot or didn’t understand what I wanted but he cut 4 holes at .625 in a sample for me. They fit perfectly though so I had him skip anymore testing and just cut them all at .625. Still happy.
I asked this same question a bit ago and Jason said his tooling is undersized to fit in the .625 holes.
Here’s the thread:
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