Bought a "new" table.. woot woot!

[parrotlady]

Hey all,

Just thought I would share that I bought a new to me torchmate 3 table (5x10'). Much bigger than what I set out to buy, but it came with a new hypertherm 1250 torch, computer, 2 air dryers and all the bells and whistles. It is in pieces right now and I am feeling slightly overwhelmed with putting it together.

Looks like I have many nights of banging my head against the wall wondering what I got myself into

April

[jeeplogic83]

Congrats April,
It will be one of the most grin inspiring and rewarding things you have done also one of the most frustrating and hair pulling. Ware a helmet for the head banging. Don't expect that you'll be cutting out family portraits right off the bat start simple and work you way up. After 4 years of doing this my self I still have a blast doing this.
We will expect to see a web site soon.
Have fun.

[eibmal]

Good luck April.

[fitzy]

First off congrats on the purchase I'm a tm 3 user had one for 3 years now and love it one piece of advice is to get you a bottle of lock tight and put it on all the bolts cause they will work loose after a while from all they back and forth. But enjoy

[Scratch]

Congratulations on getting the new toy.... er... table. Is this your first CNC table? I thought the way you've been posting that you already had one. You must have just been doing your homework and pre-studying I guess, good idea! It's really cool to think of all the cool stuff that can be made with these things! Oh yeah, and don't get discouraged on that learning curve. It gets easier every day.

Have fun and make sure to take some "before" pictures so in a couple years you can remember what it was like to have a clean table!

[parrotlady]

Thanks guys! No, I didnt have a table, but paid for shop time and used one at a local shop. Got tired of paying the shop rate, so I thought I would bite the bullet. The things that I am not overly confident on, is the cutting speed, and all of that, and the physical components and maintenance of the machine, as that was always done for me. The software I am quite confident with.

I have enjoyed looking at it so far. I wont let my husband or anyone else touch it.. He says he is surprised I am not scent marking it

Right off the bat I have to change the gantry around so that the high side is more toward the wall, and so the machine "homes" toward the other wall. As it stands, I am looking at the back of the wires when I enter the shop and I would need a stepladder to retrieve any parts. Oh well, I suppose if it were easy, everyone would do it right?

Thanks

April

[AnotherDano]

I'm really happy for you! Now the machine will be calling you at other than 'scheduled times' ~ like late at night and holidays. Mine does. Inspiration has no clock.

Tweak & twiddle is the key. The maintenance should not be daunting so don't let it be a worry. Keep her clean and you'll have no problems that you can't figure out. Remember; 99.9% of your answers are right here at the Spider. It won't take long to figure out how to ask the right questions.

Best wishes,

Dano

[Loyd]

Congrats April! Roll up your sleeves you will be proud of yourself when done.
Loyd