A Better, Stronger X-Carve, With an Aluminum Bed & More Upgrades

[@7711gman]

awesome!!! I used button heads for mounting it so I didn't have to countersink my holes.

[@unperrier5998]

still using that table saw sound, love it mate.

[@RANDALLOLOGY]

Every time he moves that sound, the Jetson's get a royalty for it. Lol

[@DavePageGA]

I still chuckle when I hear it.. make me want to "complain" about the sound the drill makes... just hear the new sound he uses for it.

[@machinist7230]

Agreed, he should keep it, its become his sctick, like This Old Tony snapping barstock, or AvE's interesting vocabulary.

[@avieshed8646]

genius approach using the jetson's car sound instead of the saw.

[@MonkabooProjects]

I have always used a power drill to tap my holes. I am a rebel. Great video. Now to watch the extended version. Thank you again!!

[@jutulporten]

Loved that magnet trick! Great video as always!

[@daveeckblad]

really enjoying your linking up the RPM of the drill through your quick cut edit at 3:28

[@versonova]

you had me at upgrade my xcarve - I just got mine and its been fun putting it together and now i see this - dude you made my jelly - sweet build thanks for sharing.

[@reginalawson8008]

Super sleek with the aluminum, high end looking and easy to keep clean as well. Great build, fab with the magnet. As always, thanks for sharing! :)

[@1matthewnj]

You are a true inspiration, wish I had your patience to try and do this!!

[@bruceabe3139]

Wes.....love your videos....Warts (out of focus) and all. Keep up the inspiring work.

[@C3DPropShop]

Dude, that magnet trick. 🤘

[@rickeywesterman9120]

Awesome job and a very good video. Im a machinist by trade and understand everything you had to go through to make and assemble that bed. Good Job!

[@RonByg]

That Jetsons saw table sound, gets me every time!

[@donfillenworth1721]

Those are sweet upgrades to your CNC! Making me jealous. Thanks for sharing.

[@brianmagnusson7498]

At 8:50 when you’re talking about you didn’t countersink that to me was classified as a test fit so you didn’t waste your time countersinking. Good idea . 👍

[@Ronsparks1006]

OK, the magnet trick made me hit the subscribe button! 😂 I'm liking this build a lot.

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Pure skill, pure talent, pure enjoyment. Thank you sir. 👍😀

[@SeraphimKnight]

glad to see the laser saw back at it! also glad there was nobody here to bet on how many holes you'd tap before breaking the tap because I'd've lost lol

[@RazzmatazzMahana]

I'm convinced - you are a wizard!

[@MakeBrooklyn]

That looks super rigid and sturdy!!! Also, from the sound of it, you might want to check the gravity inverters on your table saw. They sounds like they might be in need of service.

[@thevillageinn]

You need a microstop countersink. Like tapping with quality taps, countersinking holes might actually become fun.

[@billyjay4672]

Nice job Wesley. Cool.

[@keithlane4343]

Very lucky you made it through all that tapping using a "snap -32" (aka 6-32 tap) . The ratio of dia. and TPI makes that tap the weakest tap / dia / thread configuration. Very cool machine upgrade.

[@machinist7230]

I LOATHE 6-32. Anytime i get a job with 6-32, anything going down more than 3/8" gets drilled only, and handed off to second ops, where it gets done with tapping arm which have clutches in the tap adapter.

[@fffbti]

Thanks, great video. I am still wafting between an x-carve or going to a CNC router parts machine.

[@aaronporter2180]

If you are doing more basic things and don't mind upgrading as you go the x carve is a really good option. The weakest points IMO are the z-axis and the y-axis but they can be upgraded for 200-250 ish. If you want to do a little more serious machining and you have the money the CNC router parts option is great.

[@fffbti]

@@aaronporter2180 Thanks! Like I said I am still in the information gathering process and every bit helps.

[@right.howdoimakethat6519]

these new taps seem to have you dancing with joy. One might say that you're _tap dancing_

[@furthernorthfab]

The aluminum base plate is a nice touch. I put out a video on my channel a few weeks ago with an 1800x1000 upgrade.

[@keithlane4343]

Agreed. Broken 6-32 taps have scrapped many good parts. It takes a little more time, but I prefer to thread mill.

[@Queenswara562]

In short cut you are Brilliant all the best

[@nutsandbolts3729]

Now that was great upgrade!

[@cradd00]

That's a great idea with the aluminum plate. Huge upgrade over the MDF wasteboard with trying to keep everything flat and square. That's the great thing about an open source product. Another great upgrade is to ditch Easel and use V-Carve Pro. Easel is too limiting, and V-Carve Pro is pretty simple to catch on to.

[@taciolps]

What is the measurement of the X-axis aluminum structural profile?

[@davidschneider7969]

A nice build/hack of the existing machine. The Z-Axis hopefully cures some of the flex that the X-Carve has. The 1MX1M units have two other locations for excessive flex, the X gantry member with it's associated mount flex and the v wheels. The issue with the X gantry is the extrusion itself, it twists in use with even light loads and will go out of square as it relies on the week side plates that run on the Y rails. The new Z system adds more weight on the gantry - and will wear the v-wheels and eccentrics out faster. You can address those issues with ball guides mounted to the top and bottom of the gantry beam and building thicker gantry to Y-axis rails plates with some structural reinforcement that keeps the beam straight and square to the table. I estimate that the cost for that modification is about the same for what you did to the table.

[@RANDALLOLOGY]

Some day I would love to build a CNC machine. Shure can't go out & buy one when on a fixed income. Yours is now an official professional machine, also with your logo on it makes it bonafide. Lol

[@MakerAlex]

I wondered if putting in the risers would compromise the frame stiffness, and it appears from this video that it did. At 11:45, it appears that there is a LOT of visible wobble in the gantry. Can you comment on that?

[@WesleyTreat]

The risers also act as stiffeners. They strengthen the machine. What you're seeing was the table shaking.

[@graveurgraveur2691]

Great job! and thanks for the magnet trick.

[@markwilson8118]

I need this whole set up built

[@exhempknight]

Dunno if you do a lot of countersinking, but you'd likely benefit from using an aviation-style countersink cage. Granted, you'd have to buy the 1/4-28-threaded countersink bits, but they're piloted, and the cage is depth adjustable to 0.001". Consistent, repeatable, accurate, and FAST countersinking. You can also get counterbore bits for them.

[@WesleyTreat]

I have one I use for the rare occasions I need a countersunk rivet, but I could use a bigger one for general use.

[@mistressmuskielures5283]

Phil do you have a drawing available for the aluminum plate that was cut by OSH Cut

[@donaldasayers]

Don't worry about the black anodized strip. Do what I do, cultivate reverse OCD. Deliberately put one insignificant detail out of place, put one brick in the middle of a stone wall, put one thing the wrong way round. In the end it becomes therapeutic and best of all it bugs the hell out of other people.

[@gregi5964]

How do we get DXF file?

[@MiniLuv-1984]

Good work, some great ideas too - thanks for sharing.

[@TurgayUrla]

Thank you for sharing.

[@AzmyAnything]

Great video. Are you able to give the dimensions of your aluminium sheet? I'm currently in the process of doing the exact same thing, including the TBD risers, which have been ordered. I know that the risers make the bed slightly narrower and if I'm to get a base plate laser cut I'd love to have the accurate new dimensions! (in mm if possible!) Many thanks from across the pond!

[@WesleyTreat]

Thanks! See the link to Phil's site in the video description.

[@paulstaf]

Love your "Jetsons" table saw...

[@JohnColgan.]

Awesome build. , It's so popular, many others have copied the idea now.

[@bentheredonethat9296]

Great content thank you for info. I'll be super upgrading my Xcarve

[@jamesazotea9458]

Is there a reason that you used a metal panel rather than MDF?

[@eatenkate]

Yay! You're back! And listening to Talking Heads! Good times (:

[@garagemonkeysan]

Cool video. Love your editing. Great design. : ) Aloha!

[@goodcitizen4742]

Hi, Is there a way that you could share the file that you used for the aluminum plate. I am going to install the same set up that you have in the video and will purchase from OSH as well. Thanks.

[@dscarnes1]

So, how did you feel about the amount of control you had with the power tapping? Would you do this if you were trying a deeper,maybe blind hole? Harder material?

[@theelectricmonk3909]

Can't speak for Wes, but I've done a bunch of power tapping into blind holes in steel - but I use a Bridgeport and a reversible tapping head... For anything over 1/2", I'd be leery of freehand power tapping; the problem is keeping the tap dead vertical. Any wobble/angle and you're looking at a snapped tap at worst, or a wonky thread (where the screw doesn't sit straight) at best. Also, the finer the thread, the harder it is to accurately hand tap. Tapping lube is great, but any fairly thick oil will do. For through holes, spiral point taps (which eject the swarf downwards) are fantastic. For blind holes, you're better off with a spiral flute tap, which ejects the chips upwards. With spiral flutes, you may still need to back the tap up to clear chips, but unlike a straight flute tap, you don't need to do a quarter backwards turn for every full forwards turn. Biggest problem with power tapping a blind hole is knowing when you've hit bottom: The machine will almost certainly be MUCH stronger than the tap, and a broken tap in a deep hole will make you cry. A decent tapping head (e.g. Tapmatic 50x) is pricey, unless you can land on an eBay bargain, but the built in overload clutch will save not only your bacon, but also your taps, and your tears. For a more portable solution than trying to hoik a milling machine around, you might be able to adapt one to fit in a power drill, but you've still got to watch that vertical misalignment.

[@WesleyTreat]

AdeV2 summed it up pretty nicely. For myself, I can't think right now of a hole I've tapped that wasn't a through-hole, so I'm pretty set on buying all high-quality spiral-points from now on.

[@Sprank900]

I love the rain, Here it comes again. The Cult

[@forestbirdoriginals4917]

How much was that plate at the time you did this? I am interested in doing something like this for my CNC as well

[@matthewhyungjunahn]

What was the thickness of the aluminum sheet that you used?

[@WesleyTreat]

1:03

[@matthewhyungjunahn]

@@WesleyTreat doh! thanks :)

[@haxxx0rz]

3:45 Love the Jetsons car sound effect xD

[@WildmanTech]

Don't you love it when you try something new and it works?

[@chrismatus4469]

Very nicely done! Would you be willing to share or sell the DXF file that you provided OSH Cut with to fabricate the aluminum base? I would like to send them this job but I want to make sure I get it right the first time without screwing up the measurements. Thanks!

[@WesleyTreat]

If you contact them directly and reference this video, they should be able to help you. 👍

[@chrismatus4469]

@@WesleyTreat That would be great! Thank you!!

[@chrismatus4469]

@@WesleyTreat Thanks again Wesley. Caleb at OSH Cut was very helpful and I ordered a copy of the base plate today. Were you able to use the SuckItDust Boot with your new TBD CNC linear Z axis carriage? BTW, I cracked open my piggy bank and ponied up some coins to help support your channel on Patreon. Cheers!

[@WesleyTreat]

I've had to make some new arms so the shoe fits. Might make a video on that when I redo them in aluminum. Thanks for the support!

[@seanhoward25]

@@chrismatus4469 If you dont mind sharing, how much was the base plate? Very interested in this upgrade!

[@newzerozeroone]

You should really look a microstop counter sink collar. I use them in aircraft maintenance and they are a god send.

[@cobralyoner]

10:40 I can so relate to this!

[@michaelpollina8034]

Wesley, the alum. Base is beyond my budget right now, so I will just add a second piece of 3/4 mdf. That should work on for a awhile ? Do you answer questions on your patron site

[@WesleyTreat]

I've seen others use two layers of MDF, which should work all right. And, yes, I do try to answer all the messages I can over on Patreon. Thanks!

[@Ideadores]

Dear Wesley, Thank you for this very instructive video, and funny!. I'd like to know if u have some drawings for side plates (X and Y axis), to replace the original weak plates. I bought this machine in 2017, but as I live in Colombia, is difficult for me to get updates, especially right now in the middle of the pandemic.

[@WesleyTreat]

I'm sorry, I don't. Those plates come from TBD CNC. You may try contacting them. There's a link in the video description. 👍

[@aaronporter2180]

Man, I'm jealous now with my nearly stock 1000mm x carve. How much did that plate cost? I'm just asking for a friend.

[@my2commoncents924]

I love it! Do you know if the CNC company you used can just re-use your file so we wouldn’t need to do the measurements again? Also, ballpark...what are we looking at price wise to do all the same upgrades? Great job, man!

[@bryanrussell2124]

I'll second that! It would be great if they still have the specs we could tell them to reference, or if you have a file/specs any of us could send to them as well - makes sense if we are going to attempt the exact same upgrades - no sense in recreating the wheel if we don't need to!! Great video!

[@rogert5365]

Wondering about this myself. I would love to do this upgrade to my x-carve and it would make it a little easier if we all have the same dxf file.

[@cjmiles7]

Awesome! did you send OSH the file from "Design by Phil" for the hole specs?

[@WesleyTreat]

Thanks. The idea started with Phil, but I designed it for my specific needs.

[@marekant7776]

I used this kind of tap at work, they work great. You just have clean the ocasionally

[@shawneliason790]

put the drill on hammer. makes tapping holes much easier since it will eliminate much of the stresses and resistance.

[@oldcreepyhouseexplorersclu3657]

Theres a jig that will keep your drill perfect at 90 degrees instead of freehand drilling and tapping

[@bryanmurrell7737]

Wesley what grade aluminum did you use? 5052?

[@WesleyTreat]

That is correct.

[@bryanmurrell7737]

@@WesleyTreat cool. Thanks and nice work

[@Q3Coricoco]

Change the drill to drilling only, if your the torque limit, you will break the tap. I use that tipe of taps with my drill and no problem, 2 broken taps in 5 years

[@pbzee]

how can I get that file you sent to osh?

[@leonardo29098]

Love the waste board. I upgraded from x carve. But I gonna use that type spill board

[@Geeksmithing]

Oh wow, that looks like a beast now! I may have to look into that Z upgrade! See you soon! :)

[@WildmanTech]

I feel your pain on the black extrusion, but the magnet trick is priceless! Are you going to the Good of the Land fest?

[@Claudio-rm4wc]

finally a video of you ... thx!

[@chris-tg6ki]

Most of that z hieght is above the gantry, meaning its unusable. If you flip the whole z assembly around and mount the servo direct to the top, this would give you a floating z-axis and you could add maybe another 2inches maybe 3-4 to your z instead of wasting movement above the z gantry

[@rfdave3980]

. awesome idea with magnet. Monk

[@vlogerhood]

I've...only ever power tapped? Is that strange?

[@mestevep12]

Great video !!!

[@paulbertsch7540]

Use oil on your drill also.

[@mrsandless13625]

I was sure that you were going to start singing psycho driller!

[@WesleyTreat]

#missedopportunity

[@scottwatrous]

That rain is making me want to go play Minecraft

[@donmisener]

Talkinh Heads... explains a lot ;)

[@Grumpyoldtwit]

Should call yourself 'Wesley Treat Fabrications'. Your logo would then be WTF! :-) The magnet... genius!

[@Aminuts23]

Thumbs up at the exact moment of PEW PEW.

[@shelby50411]

Very nice upgrade if you can afford all of that...thats a lot of $$$$$ ...that piece of alum prob cost a fortune lol...I do love the idea of making easily replaceable waste board in strips...thats the way to,do it

[@WorksbySolo]

Sweet upgrades!

[@victoryblisstx]

Enjoyed your video, I work at a machine shop and cut up my plate on a water jet to include the counter sink, sadly there is not much left of my x-carve I have replaced almost every part with something better, bummer tbdcnc is so backlogged, I still have an order sitting in pending status.. I designed and cut my own xyz screw drives, I will say this he has a solid platform bummer he don't farm out his dirty work to a bunch of American factories, I created my kit for about 250$ he charges 980$.. Luke might need to get a water jet table :p

[@edgarmorenomartinez350]

a w e s o m e ! ! ! Great job!

[@criznach]

I highly recommend a countersink with a hole rather than multiple flutes for aluminum. It'll change your life! Search 53512 Cobalt single-end on Amazon. I don't recommend that one specifically, but that style. I got mine at Fastenal.

[@kiddiescripterkiller]

You beefed everything up but the Y axis.. Didn't you notice it bouncing around when you were attaching the new z axis? That is the problem with them, the x and y have too much flex. Those x axis and z axis upgrades looks great.

[@WesleyTreat]

I've never had a problem with any bounce in the Y axis. Any movement you noticed while I was attaching the Z was because there were no belts installed yet and everything was free to move.

[@kiddiescripterkiller]

@@WesleyTreat First off, you are a true artist... love your stuff... IC... I thought it was pretty bouncy... More than normal. The reason why I was asking is, I have seen where Myer's Woodshop at 9:52 Was showing how much flex there was in his Xcarve. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m32agaR7paZjh9k And Marius Hornberger modifying his, due to having problems the X and Y and torsion flex problems on the Z. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIKtfKuqmJ2VnJY He bought a sweet sliding table saw from Felder back in 2015 and then after seeing his channel and some of his xcarve videos, Just sent him their new CNC that isn't even ready for sale. Not impressed... looks like the Chinese ones you see on ebay. Reason why I'm looking and asking questions is, I'm building a 26' Uhaul stealth camper/ toy hauler... And instead of a Jeep or car, it will have a portable metal and wood workshop in the back. With 2 tesla batteries for 10.4kw storage and 3.3k bank of solar panels and a backup generator. I only have 8'x8'4"x14' space to stuff everything in there... So I'm looking for a smaller CNC to have on the road... My current CNC needs more room than I want to give up. And it can be a PITA.... lol So I'm looking for something smaller. But I'm thinking maybe biting the bullet and build one from scratch... Kinda would like to at least be able to do a half sheet of plywood so when doing the majority of cabinets I build, I don't have to keep moving the sheet. I need it light, yet strong, plan is to suspend it from the ceiling so I can walk under it, I'm a hair under 6' so I have 28" to play with, then lower it to load a project then lift it back up so I can keep working and not waste my floor space. Or maybe a sidewall mounted, but I'd rather not give up wall space.

[@WesleyTreat]

I also had the machine on a less stable table as I was putting it back together, so it was probably just the table shaking. There was an older Y axis that came with the X-Carve that required reinforcement, but the one they've been selling for awhile is pretty strong. I haven't had any issues with it. You might look at TBDCNC. I know Luke has been working on a complete machine that I'm pretty sure he's going to offer for sale. 👍

[@danh8841]

10.45 thank god someone else is that obsessive!

[@deemstyle]

Why not have the laser cut the proper sized hole to begin with?

[@WesleyTreat]

With material as thick as 1/4", as the laser burns through, the bottom of the hole ends up a tiny bit larger than the top of the hole. Now, if I didn't need to tap it, it wouldn't really matter. But, with a tapped hole, you need a precise and consistent diameter. So, I had them cut the holes slightly undersized, then I drilled them out as needed. All this I learned from OSH Cut, by the way, who helped me determine the best way to get the results I needed.

[@deemstyle]

@@WesleyTreat Ah- thanks for the explanation!

[@ChristianBrink]

"forgot to refocus, clearly" 🤣

[@mikeoverholtz1939]

+1 for the Talking Heads!

[@shelby50411]

Well way more than double spend but you know what i mean...looks nice though..great work

[@johngassmann9581]

Have you listened to Love This Giant by David Byrne and St. Vincent? Pretty great.

[@WesleyTreat]

I haven't heard the whole thing, but I have enjoyed "Who."

[@ManCrafting]

Its called a Shapeoko. 🤣

[@mykalimba]

I love your channel and videos, but hang on just a second... If there's an extra video of you taking the warp out of the aluminum plate, why would I want to buy one from that company? 🤔🤔🤔

[@WesleyTreat]

It's the nature of the material. It had nothing to do with their cutting. You'll only get a flat surface out of something like that with either more expensive tooling plate or with surface machining. 👍

[@GianmarioScotti]

"My First Power Tap"

[@fullwaverecked]

Groovy! See what I did there...