1.7*0.74*0.4m Mill / Router building...

[Jonathan]

Sorry but you are gonna be wasting your time using MDF and an accident in the making for sure.

Can you think of anything better to use that's not too expensive? Maybe plywood, but I guess that's not much better. Vacuum table isn't much good for metals. Bear in mind it needs to be about 800x1900mm ... so clearly I can't afford a nice piece of tooling plate that size!

I'm not sure about the epoxy idea either, wouldn't it just crack/crush?

Making collets for router:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m98fPg-_vUU


Not quite sure with what you mean by exiting the belt through the outer wall, diagram?
I agree buying one is probably the safest option! If you're after a really big reduction then perhaps several timing belts and pulleys could work. If each one gives 1:4 (feasible I think) then you only need 2 belts to get close to 50:1. Timing belts don't have backlash, but I'm not sure about stretching. Why do you want such a high ratio anyway? My rotary table is 1:90 and it takes forever to rotate, even with the 70v stepper drivers.