Martin, hanks for your pm. It sounds like you are well on the the way to breathing new life into your "beast". Well done.

I made my vac table using 2 sheets of pvc (20mm & 6mm) which works really well. It does need several spaced out fixings to ensure it is flat, but that would be no problem with your slatted table. It only took a couple of hours to design and rout out and is only 26mm thick.On my small machine it has made a world of difference to the finish (much less sanding etc.) as the material, mainly thin ply which is never flat, is sucked down tightly to the bed over its whole area, whereas before I was trying to push the material down close to where it was cutting. I cannot believe the difference the vac table has madeeven though I have lost a bit travel.

Look foreward to seeing some of your new signs posted here. G.