You will see a lot of carbon as anything pulled from the machine will have it so if a carpet is a feature it is best to be black. You will also need a minimum 8" or so behind the machine to run the exhaust hose,and if it is headed outside either a way to keep the travel short or something like Vivosun 190 CFM minimum blower to keep the exhaust moving on its way.
Can you tell I’m going a little nuts? lol. The feet are literally just poles… You can kind of see them in one of the leveling photos I posted…
I mean the feet on the end of the poles (legs)… or are there none, just the ends of the legs stand on the carpet?
Black plastic caps on the end of each legs. So basically yes, just the ends of the legs stand on the carpet.
I’m starting to re-think my suggestion to ensure the table is flat. Given the legs, the carpet (which almost certainly has foam underlayment), I’m not sure you could get that as solid as I would like.
That’s ok! You just need to get the machines feet to be lined up, by shimming them as was discussed earlier. If the table shifts again at some point, it will be pretty obvious because of the lid alignment, as you are seeing now.
Sorry for seemingly giving conflicting advice.
I can’t recommend a specific alternative, I’m not sure you need to be throwing more money at it. Mine lives on a very expensive rolling workbench from Costco that I just happened to have (I have several pieces from the same “line” and it is rock solid, and flat. Probably weighs 300lb!)
1 Like
No, I appreciate that! I’ll take any thought processes to make this thing run as smoothly as possible. My table truly has seen better days, so my mission tomorrow is to get it as stable as possible. Maybe even just getting a large piece of plywood for underneath it to combat against the carpeting?? I own a very old home so there’s no certainty that even the hard wood floor under the carpet would be level.
As long as I can safely and efficiently cut from my machines, than any table/location upgrades can come at a later date.
That was one thought I had, but you might need to put something between the “feet” and the plywood to ensure they don’t slide around. A small amount of hot-glue would work great.
I’ve got plenty of hot-glue! Fingers crossed the solution can be this easy.
The plywood would make it more stable, but not necessarily flatten the surface. So you’ll still need to shim the machine, but after doing that, it shouldn’t need to be done again.
I’ll say that while you’re out looking, you might hit a resale shop or office liquidation store for a 2 drawer metal horizontal file cabinet.
A) it’ll give you great storage for materials and B) those things are solid.
I wouldn’t buy one new because they are ridiculously overpriced, but they’re common used…
3 Likes
Honestly I think you’re going to continue to have trouble with that table. It just isn’t stable/beefy enough for a heavy machine with moving parts. If there’s any way you can put your GF on something more solid you’ll have far fewer problems with it.
3 Likes
The reason for being velcroed to the wall. I would not trust that table any other way. 1/2 or 3/4 in plywood on the top would make for the flatness you are looking for.
I have a desk that weighs 200lbs sitting on a concrete floor. It’s perfectly level, is rock solid, and completely flat to my straight edge. But the surface is not level enough across the entire length of the bottom runners of the GF. Had to slightly shim a corner of the GF before the lid would sit flush. This greatly affected the overhead camera accuracy and lid closure.
3 Likes
I had an issue with my lid - it doesn’t close properly on one side. it looks like the hinge wasn’t glued
I have officially taken the machine off the table and placed it on the floor. obviously that won’t be my permanent solution but at least I can get an idea of how the hose will flow out of the window and also how much the machine will actually move while cutting before I go about finding a new table.
1 Like
I moved it onto the floor until I can find a more stable table. Due to the carpet I think I am going to look for an old school coffee table. They’re heavy, low to the ground and will be way more stable standing on carpet.
2 Likes
Don’t run it on the carpet. The air intake is on the bottom right. It will overheat.
3 Likes
Still on a table top, just removed the scew off legs and added shims to account for the bowing and the slight difference in flooring slope with how my house has settled (built in 1920s)
This should work for the time being?
5 Likes
Has it made a difference in the lid closing issue?
Sure. It’s really not that critical. If it were me I wouldn’t shim the table top but shim under the GF. But I guess what you’ve done is fine. The lid will never be flush, it wasn’t designed that way. There is a bow in the top center of the glass on both sides of the lid, and the lid does not sit flush on any of the four corners. If the lid sits equally on both sides and closes cleanly, you’re good.
1 Like