Quote Originally Posted by Robin Hewitt View Post
How clever are you? Do you actually need any help? Here is a bunch of stuff, feel free to tell me where to go if I am teaching granny to suck eggs.

Joining two bits of racking is easy, you just put a third piece on top an it gives you the perfect spacing while you nut up.

You want to cut 12mm steel, is that a specific job of a theoretical maximum?

An 8 x 4 sheet of 12mm is a fearsome thing. If you are actually going to be slicing 2mm while planning for 12mm, maybe you want a smaller, less vigorous torch to start with, or have you already been on CNC Zone and been convinced HyperTherm is the only option?

Possibly not because you don't have a monster water bed

It might be too late to mention that you do not need huge motors because there are no cutting forces. The only thing you have to push against is the weight of metal in the gantry when you reach a pointy corner. Weight is your enemy.

If you start using the same motor to lift the torch as you use to move the gantry expect derision.
hi robin,
its in my nature to bite off more than i can chew and blag my way through, bright or stupid?
yes i need help and adviice really, im a first time builder with no expierience of cnc or computers....
iv never even seen r&p until a friend showed me what to order,so yes clamping a piece to the two parts that need joining to get distance right is easy aslong as someone tells you the method of doing it...my original question re.welding rack ...was can i tack it to the frame rather then drill and tapping,its a part that has a sprung loaded gear pushing into it so didnt see any issue??...
iv messed about and built a few narrowboats on the bank without fancy over head cranes or lifting gear so any 8x4 sheet seems easy to handle compared to a 10mm base plate 50ft long.........
everything has always been EYE right as now with this project its 0.5mm is sloppy but ok for a plasma.you never see both sides of a boat at the same time........
i want to be able to cut 10/12mm but also thin stuff like 3mm.....


next part of the build is the x axis gantry..what are the best options for a gantry???iv got some 20mm supported rail and 2m of r&p

thanks in advance for your help..........