My Buddy Arrived

[COBOB]

I finally got this thing. I am sure you all remember what it is like with the wait.
The day started off real bad. The crate was bigger than the lift gate on the truck that delivered it. That was real exciting. No doubt about the quality of the packaging, that crate was built like a tank. That was yesterday. The electrician just left this afternoon. I had him drop the 20 Amp circuit from the ceiling. That worked out real good so far.

I have a couple of questions for you good folks though (at least for today, I am sure there will be many more in the near future).

I bought a PRS Standard BT32. I have seen photos of this machine and it looked like there was a 24 X 32 piece of plywood mounted on the powerstick. It is definitely a 48 inch powerstick. I was a bit puzzled when I got the crate open. It has a 43 1/2 in the X by 40 in in the Y piece of 1 inch MDF bolted to the powerstick. Is this some new configuration?

I assume the machine is not going to traverse that distance so am I just as well off fastening a 24" X 32" spoilboard in the center of the table?

Also, please look at the pictures. Is that pocket on the table there for a reason?

Thanks,
Bob

[cowboy1296]

is that a new are used unit. mine is a year old and certainly did not look like your photos when i got it. my 48 inch power stick had no board attached to it and i had to create my own. since i work with thicker stock rough cut slabs, the taller your spoil board is the thinner the stock that you can use.

[kartracer63]

Hi Bob,

Congratulations on receiving your new Buddy.

I'm certainly not an expert on these things, but I'll help with what I can.

It looks to me like they've already attached a MDF spoilboard for you. My 48" Buddy came with two pieces of plywood laminated together as my table. I then added a piece of MDF for my spoil board.

The plywood table they attached to my powerstick was 24" x 48" (roughly). It really didn't need to be any bigger than that because you're limited on your X and Y travel by the limit switches. Looks to me like they just gave you a little extra table surface to accomodate clamping and such. The pocketed area, if I was to guess at it, would be a nice little compartment to keep your collet wrenches and different bits you might be using on a regular basis.

As far as the length of the Powerstick... it'll always be 2 feet longer than it's designated length to accomodate the travel needed to reach the limits of your carving area because the table moves under the gantry rather than the gantry traveling over the table. My 8 foot powerstick is actually 10 feet long in order to give me 8 feet of carvable surface.

Good luck and have fun!

[COBOB]

Rick, it is brand new, right out of the factory.

Eric, thank you for the info. That MDF is attached directly to the powerstick, no plywood under it. I guess it is just a design change. I am planning on putting another piece of MDF on top of it as a spoilboard. Good or bad idea? I realize I may be limiting my Z height.
I kind of figured the table was just large. I like that. I do want to put T Tracks in the spoilboard.
I really appreciate the good information guys. Thank you very much.
Bob

[kartracer63]

Bob,

It looks like it's two pieces of MDF laminated together on your table.

I'd still put an additional spoil board on if that's the case.

I kind of like that pocketed area for tools and bits. I've always got stuff sitting on my table that could fit right into that compartment.

I use David Buchsbaum's Cam Clamps for most of my hold down needs.
http://welcometothesandbox.com/
He's got a link on his website on where to buy there right T-Track (if I remember right). This hold down systen has really worked well for me and my Buddy.

[COBOB]

I like that. Pretty elegant solution for holddowns. And I didn't know about the T Track place referenced there. It is a lot cheaper than Woodcraft.
Thanks for all the great information.
Bob

[myxpykalix]

the square hole is where you place your cigs and beer:D

[COBOB]

Now why didn't I think of that. So excited to have the machine I forgot all about beer. Please don't report me.
Bob

[CNYDWW]

Well where does the whiskey bottle go?

[COBOB]

There is a whiskey bottle holder on the gantry. I am still looking for a place to put the router (GRIN).

[tlempicke]

Could that be for an indexer?

[COBOB]

Hi Tom, beats me. I have never seen an indexer but I guess it could be.

[Brady Watson]

That tray is just an area to put wrenches, collets and/or bits if you so desire.

I would definitely add another MDF spoilboard to the top of that so that you can surface the entire area without 'pocketing' the original one. The support board/spoilboard combo on the BTs leaves a bit to be desired, but it is the way it is so for safety reasons. You REALLY don't want to get a finger caught in the support rollers! The downside of tacking another piece on top is that you just lost another 3/4" of travel in your Z...

Bear in mind that you are not stuck with the original setup forever. If it was my tool, I would roll with that setup until I got to know the tool well enough to machine a replacement for itself that just covered the area that the machine can reach. Just unbolt the original and pop on a new setup. It will take some time to do right, so go play and make stuff before you get overly concerned about replacing it. You'll want a good 3/4" support board, like MDO and a 3/4" piece of MDF GLUED to the top of the MDO. Don't use wood screws.

-B

[COBOB]

Brady, thank you for all that good information. I really appreciate it. I think that is exactly what I will do with the table. Attaching the spoilboard with screws was worrying me. It it safe to assume Titebond is the correct adhesive to use? Or is there a preferred adhesive?
Thank you so much,
Bob

[Brady Watson]

Bob,
Regular old garden variety wood glue is fine for this. Slather it on there good & then clamp it the best you can in along the edges. Put the crown of the MDF down (if it has a belly, put it down) and add plenty of weight to it to hold it down in the center. I like to let them sit overnight before unclamping. Then you're good to go for a number of table flattening routines. When you start getting thin on the MDF layer, just surface it one more time & glue & clamp another piece on top...An everlasting gobstopper of sorts :D

-Brady

[bleeth]

If you are going to use a vacuum hold down the method for how to do it is different!
If you think you may add one soon then you may wish to plan now instead of redoing the whole thing.

[COBOB]

"An everlasting gobstopper of sorts"

I love that! Wood glue it is.

I have no plans for vacuum for now. Maybe down the road but I don't see it coming for a long time. I guess I need to learn more about it but don't think it is going to work for most of what I want to do, small parts.
Thanks again for all the god info guys.
Bob

[cowboy1296]

now you are speaking my lauguage.

i copied the idea of the holddown from someone else. their table was actually a little bigger then the spoil board allowing them to put t-tracks in table. i wish i had see that prior to making my table or i would have done the same thing. but here is a link to my hold downs. all parts were bought at rockler, not cheap but good quality.

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12299

when i bought mine, i ordered the 4 ft power stick. the 2 foot came with the buddy which i have absolutely no need for. it was like a waist of 400 bucks. did you get stuck buying the standard table?

[COBOB]

Yes, it came with the 2 footer. I never thought to ask if they would just send it with a bigger powerstick. Oh well, I will get along with this one for now and buy a longer one if I need it. Thanks for the holddown info. I am getting lots of good information. I love the way everybody shares.
Thanks a lot,
Bob

[MattD]

Robert,
Congrats on the new Buddy. Got mine last month. I had a laugh from sharing the same shock of the oversized crate -which could qualify as a real estate in some parts. I have the same PRS 32 featuring the table you show and am also dealing with spoilboard/deep cutting issues.
I mounted a 3/4 sheet of Medex (Exterior MDF) but ran into Z axis height limitation when cutting anything thicker than 3.25" though the specs claim is 5" (I use the machine to cut foam for prototyping). The limited Z axis height has caused the router to top out forcing me to re-Zero the Z axis each time. This issue also involves the working out the depth of roughing cuts in combination with bit lenghts and dealing with interference from the dust skirt. I'm exploring a solution that involves longer bits (4-6"), removing the spoil board and surfacing the factory equiped table -possibly sinking in some "T" slots . My question to the forum is: Are "T" slots cut into the original table a viable option and do you recommend a source? Words of advice: patience and have a budget for exta bits.

[cowboy1296]

if you follow this link you will see mine. there are different kinds on here. i copied this idea from some else's. i liked theirs better because the table was bigger then the spoil board allowing for t-slots to be cut into the table, but my table and spoil board were already built. all parts were bought at rockler, high price but good quality.

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12299

[COBOB]

I think that is a pretty bad situation about the Z travel. Have you talked to ShopBot about it? 5 inches I can live with. 3 1/4 inches is bad news. I hope someone else will come in here and explain this.
Bob

[CNYDWW]

The z clearance assumes the use of a 2" bit. If you're using the spoilboard that currently comes with the stock powerstick. Adding an additional 3/4" spoilboard will decrease the clearance as much. Last thing to consider, how long is the bit protruding below the router or spindle. If he's using a longer bit say 3" below the router milling in expanded polystyrene. We've only got 3 1/4" left. It's just simple math.

Regards
Randy

[COBOB]

Got it. I figured there must be other factors at work there. Not much chance I would ever have a piece of wood that thick. Good to keep in mind though, with foam.
Thank you for that info.

[dana_swift]

I have been using a buddy for about as long as anyone outside the factory. There are several tricks you can do to extend your Z travel and use a thicker spoilboard.

Invert the router mount, then mount the router as high in the mount as you can. You should have a real 5 inches of Z with real bits in real collets above a working thickness spoilboard.

Look at where your Z travel is going and what the physical travel of the mechanism is between its physical limits. My physical limits are something like 9" of Z motion. I get much closer to that than 5" and that is above the spoilboard.

My buddy is a first generation, and the current models may not allow the adjustments I have made. But in my case the Z travel is really nice now.

Hope that helps-

D