[Tom M]

Paul,

Call me anytime. If I’m not there someone will take a note and I’ll call you back.

Email me your contact info.

info”at”mathertops.com

Tom

[Paul Bingham]

Tom,

Ph: 902-866-3182
Cell:902-441-0332
Email: paul@hummingbirdhollow.ca

41 East Uniacke Rd.
Mount Uniacke, NS
Canada
B0N 1Z0

Usually the cell phone is best as I am in and out of the office.

I will call later today.

Paul

[Paul Bingham]

What thickness MDF spoilboard do you use. How often do you resurface it (if you can)?

[Mark Urbaniak]

we use .75 MDF, I only set my depth to -.005 so I only have to resurface once a month or so,

[Tom M]

We go 3/4″ and plane to suit your job. They do last awhile.

[Andy Graves]

3/4″ and resurface about once a month or so. We set the surface everyday, so the SB last a while.

[Patrick McGrath]

Investigate rail system CNCs as well as flat bed ones. With the rail system you can cut your sink cut-outs and drainer grooves with the surface of the material face up and at the same time use an under cutter to make a location rebate for sinks and fascias. You also don’t have the hassle and expense of spoilboards.

[Jon Olson]

1 1/8 inch thick

[Jon Olson]

Do you guys paint the edge of your spoil board to help increase vac suction?.

[Tom M]

Jon,

Silicone wipe.

[Jon Olson]

Tom just plain old silicone and wipe?

[Tom M]

When we remember to, yeah.

Why not? Just as easy and I think it would seal better, wouldn’t it?

[John Cristina]

Jon, plain old silicone works best on those edges plus you can use it right away if you switch the SB in the middle of a shift.

[Paul Bingham]

The machine I am considering is the AXYZ 4014 which has a nominal 60″ x 14′ table but has an actual cutting width of 58″. This precludes putting two 30″ sheets on the table side by side and cutting them both at the same time. To do that I need the 5014 and the additional cost of the wider machine. Is there any real time advantage or other advantage to loading and processing two sheets at once. It seems the time to load would be twice as long and the processing would be twice as long negating any real advantages, or am I missing something. If it’s a three sheet job I’m into two cycles with the machine anyway.

[Tom M]

Paul,

You need to consider cost, but much more importantly, you need to consider how you will be working your tops after machining them on the CNC. If spending more, and giving up valuable floor space (including an increase in infeed area and possibly outfeed as well) will actually allow a less expensive production time, then the money and space is very well spent. Sort of penny-wise, pound-foolish, I suppose.

I’m not a production shop as a rule, so this won’t be the same for everybody, but our sizing of the table (an AXYZ 7012, if I remember correctly) is about 80″ x 147″. Why is this good for us? For starters, it’s about right for fitting through a 36″ doorway. And frankly, I’d rather my guys not carry pieces even this size into a house. With solid surface it is not necessary to do this, so why would you push your guys for it?

When we prep a top for the CNC, we draw up what we need for build up, deck, splash, and cove, and nest it into a sheet that we preseamed for it. In this case, more width is even more valuable than more length. So we preseam a piece that includes all of these elements and cut it out in one shot, with very few butt seams for build up assembly. I was stunned to find out how much nit picky time was eliminated this way. It sped up a process that no one liked doing anyway. That’s worth money and real estate, if you ask me.

Tom

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