Table Covers for Bridgeport Milling Machine

[@SolidRockMachineShopInc]

Nice job Aaron! Steve

[@sundaynobody]

great video! where'd you get the material from?

[@outsidescrewball]

shop improvements are self satisfying, personal and fun....lots of methods to complete this and you made your choice....nice! ATB

[@gareththomson4080]

A nice simple solution to an annoying problem. Great video, thanks

[@DAVE94LIGHTNING]

Very nice. I just designed a set in CAD and 3D printed in ABS. They should hold up pretty well.

[@TAWPTool]

Great project. Thanks for sharing!

[@leriksenbendigo]

Love the Flying Spaghetti Monster shirt

[@AlwaysSunnyintheShop]

Thanks! Hi noodly appendages are always with me.

[@cuttingtooldesigner]

Nice video Aaron. As I was watching I thought of the magnet addition also. Might help with the tendency to slide off to the side. Keep up the good work my friend. Dennis.

[@kylemichael2175]

Aaron, how did the surface finish come out on the cut edges? Was wondering if there was a sharp edge or a burr. Looks good and seems like a good material for covers. I use 1/8 thick clear rubber I cut for my table. The material was originally used as those clear doorway strips you might see hanging over the doorway at the deli in the grocery store or a butcher shop etc. They work great but I goofed up cutting my last piece, so I need to get more or a different material.

[@AlwaysSunnyintheShop]

The edge is actually pretty clean. A little bit of fiberglass fibers sticking out, but not much. And the edge isn’t really sharp, which is unexpected. I suppose some of the resin flakes away and prevents a hard edge. We’ll see how they hold up.

[@rubarb0406]

Aaron, thank you for sharing. Far superior to a T-slot cleaning tool. . . I do have a question. Is there a reason you did not extend the cover so the gap between the table and the DRO scales was protected? I noticed that close to the vise you had addressed the gap.

[@AlwaysSunnyintheShop]

I didn’t want to have these covers overhanging anywhere- too easy for them to catch on my hand as I reach for the vise handle or something and flip them up or just scrape my hand. That foil tape was there when I bought the machine- I need to replace it to cover the full length of the gap, but when I’ve looked at the scale it’s always been clean. You bringing it up makes me want to do it though. Thanks!

[@silverbullet7434]

Look good , that stuff holds up well. Think I'd do like the others and glue some edges on ,should make them more rigid too. I would use a couple magnets underneath.

[@EmmaRitson]

they look good. james is right. wants a groove around it at least to stop things rolling off

[@donmittlestaedt1117]

Thank you.

[@billstanley4819]

Yea, these are nice covers. Should last forever. I made mine out of Masonite sealed with clear lacquer. Shallow wood trays on left and right sides hold small tools, calipers, etc. two strips of wood on the bottoms keep the trays from accidentally getting knocked off. Cheers!

[@thomasutley]

Nice job! I like the other suggestions to add a lip. It will catch debris but might save an expensive cutter hitting the floor. Some 1/4” x 1/4” aluminum bar epoxied front and back would save the tools. Leaving it off the left and right ends will let you wipe the covers down without having to remove them.

[@kenny5174]

I think you need a couple finger holes on ends, to hang them on a hook when not in use.

[@RJMachine62]

Funny, yesterday I was thinking I needed to make some covers for my 10x50 mill table. I might be seeing things but It looks like your spindle nut was loose. That is the retainer nut on the bottom of your quill. It looks like it turned some after you turned on you mill. There should be a set screw to hold it after you snug it up.

[@mrjohnnydrinkard322]

I had it on my mind as well....the algorithm is on overdrive. Good eye , it is loose

[@RJMachine62]

Good video showing what I was talking about. Robin does a great job. kzbin.info/www/bejne/naO4laaKibd6opY

[@AlwaysSunnyintheShop]

I’ve noticed that too but there is no set screw to lock it in place. Just two holes in the bottom face for a pin spanner wrench. The nut moves a few degrees and no more. I’ll have to find a Sharp manual and see if there is a way to lock it, or if this is normal.

[@RJMachine62]

@@AlwaysSunnyintheShop My Sharp manual shows a set screw. It's not on the nut itself but if you drop the quill down, the hole should be in the side of the quill near the bottom, maybe 1/2" up or so.

[@AlwaysSunnyintheShop]

D’oh! Just a little loose. Tightened it up and measured .005 clearance which is apparently fine. Hopefully no problems will come up because of it.

[@bid6413]

Nice project. How about a trim strips around the edges of the covers to keep things from rolling off? I found them helpful on my mill. A last thought, consider cutting the covers into 4 pieces so you can move your vice to either side of your table. Just thoughts. That poor skinless cat. I cannot believe the order and cleanliness of your shop and tools. Amazing.

[@chrisstephens6673]

Yes, as made it does encourage all the wear on the leadscrew to be in a very small length. But then machinists do seem to like symmetry.

[@bertwacaser6719]

Clean looking covers should serve you well also I'm going to get some of those epoxy packets the syringe type can be some what of a waste.

[@tomclark6271]

I'm with Tuna. That stuff cuts fast and super easy on a table saw with a carbide tooth blade. Keeps the glass fibers out of your machine tools.

[@AlwaysSunnyintheShop]

Wouldn’t trust myself to cut the contour with a saw, but I guess I could have ripped them down with a saw. Not sure I have a carbide blade or not.

[@tunafish3216]

I’ve end milled that stuff before it ruins carbide end mills.

[@kirkshirley1319]

The sintra, xpanded PVC sheets.

[@JamesDedmon]

Neat idea, however I’m like a lot of the commentators some sort of lip to hold tools example a spotting drill, drill, chamfering tool and tap, for hole drilling comes to mind. Or I guess you could lay one of the trays you have on top

[@MCEngineeringInc]

👍🏻

[@opendstudio7141]

Sometimes words are not needed. 😉

[@davesalzer3220]

Kinda jenky? I don’t think there’s a more precise way than direct marking like that.

[@MrPatdeeee]

Good job. But then all you do is good.

[@AlwaysSunnyintheShop]

Thank you for the nice compliment. I try to put in an honest effort in everything I do.

[@curtisvonepp4335]

Milling machine table cover's kinda useless your tooling finds its way falling on the floor I'd rather have tooling fall into a T slot where it's safer 😨😁

[@AlwaysSunnyintheShop]

Ha well there’s that. I use my little organizer trays for tools so hopefully I don’t miss having the tee slots open.

[@tunafish3216]

They have plastic t-slot covers that are cheep you just cut them to how long you want them.

[@tunafish3216]

A table saw is faster.

[@curtisvonepp4335]

👍 😁 the problem is maybe they don't have a Table saw 😨

[@MegaRiffraff]

👍🏻