Glowforge in a drawer

I’d been wanting to do this since we got it. Just finished venting it under the countertop this morning.

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Very neat!

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Looks great, though I fear what will happen if you open that hinge any further. It’d be easy to damage your door against that countertop.

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Looks good and functional.

Check that there is more than enough slack in the black ribbon cable. There has been a lot of speculation that the black ribbon cable near the hinges is too short or was installed without enough slack on some machines. Many of the cables have had to be replaced. Opening the lid to 90 degrees may, or may not, cause the cable to rub against the metal edge, or maybe pull at the connector. No one knows for sure since the company replaces the cable without comment. Others have speculated that the failures could be related to corrosion of the ribbon contacts.

I have no real opinion though I never open the lid more than 45 degrees. I’m risk adverse. Also less stress on the hinges.

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That is the maximum it will open in the picture and the slides are 28” full extension, several inches more than it needs to clear.

I designed the cabinet structure specifically for this drawer.

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Rpegg - I wasn’t aware there was a common issue with the door cable. I just inspected it and it seems to clear the full open position just fine. I’ll keep an eye out for that thanks.

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Honestly would have been done 2 weeks ago if not for having the itch to craft the countertop myself.

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I’m thinking @PrintToLaserdid this exact thing a couple years ago. You and he should compare notes. Sure looks like a fine job!

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Nice setup, and great job on the countertop as well. The whole workshop looks like an organized person’s dream.

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It is beautiful. Well done!

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Looks really nice, but I’d be concerned about airflow for the unit, as it draws a lot from the right side, and the drawer side/lip looks like it’s blocking the area the air has to flow from the side to the intake holes on the bottom. And even if that’s not an issue, there may be greater risk of over heating in an enclosed space. (Though maybe you’ve drilled holes in the shelf & on the uprights on either side to improve the airflow?)

Also hope that the drawer hardware has enough strength to prevent any racking or loss of rigidity for the shelf itself–it that starts to bow, the unit will also, and you’ll notice problems with the fit of the lid since the case itself isn’t rigid & relies on placement on a rigid surface… (but looks like the shelf itself is thick enough to stay rigid).

And hope the vent duct doesn’t suffer any ills with moving the tray in & out often!

But it’s a great concept!! And really cool counter, too. And I like having my unit lower, too–so much easier to load/unload material.

Excellent.
Great minds think alike!

Waiting on the glowforge…

Notice the lack of clutter, as opposed to…

Full-extension 500 lb. rating.
Now, get to laserin’ and clutter that place up! (what is that countertop material?)

That’s an outside wall there behind the forge that you vented through? Very elegant job there. :sunglasses:

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very cool

@PrintToLaser
Nice little shop you have there. I went with 100lb slides, thinking that was more than enough even with the drawer.

My wall just to the left is an outside wall so I vented that way. We’ve had the glowforge for a couple years now, it just always irked me to dedicate so much countertop space for it. I plan to have drawers beneath it to hold supplies. I spent a couple months planning everything out in Google Sketchup.

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Wow!
Is a really great ideas for out-of-the-way storage and protecting it from damage.
Nicely done!

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Yes - think in terms of cubic footage instead of square. When the solution dawned on me, it was a revelation. :no_mouth:
Because of limited space, I was struggling with where I would put it… but I would have it. Entry into the world of a Computer Numeric controlled laser beam is still VooDoo to me.
I am omnipotent To the materials I feed my laser.

Nice job on that studio to unleash your creativity in.

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The counters are gorgeous. I want to come do my forging at your house :heart_eyes:

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I love the counter top! Would pain me to cover it up! Very nice set up!

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Got to test it out over the weekend making xmas stuff. Working out great.

@bansai8creations - You seem to have a lot of concerns there. Tested both pulled out and pushed in, seems to get plenty of air. I’m additionally building a vent from the next room to pump cool air to it during the summer. I watched the first couple of test jobs to see if there was any racking, didn’t notice any. 3/4 inch wood shelf can handle about 300lbs before bowing 1/4 inch at a maximum of 36 inches, no concerns at all on bowing. I went to mount flexible straps on the venting but after laying underneath it and testing it back and forth quite a bit, I realized I didn’t need anything to keep it out of harms way.

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I’ll post another picture when I’m done. I got all the shelves and started the doors over the weekend.

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I am happy your design is working–it’s a great concept & nicely made–glad you’re thinking about it and testing & finding it’s working really well for you!!

But I did just express concerns/things to consider as enclosed spaces can trap heat/limit air, so as long as you have good airflow thru the shelf/cabinet, you should have good performance & life & not get overheating errors!