Thanks Keith Outten - Vector Grid

[Belinda Barfield]

Just a post to say thanks to Keith. A while back he posted a drawing of a Corian vector grid he was planning to fabricate. I elaborated a little on his idea and made one of my own. I love it! Thanks again Keith. :)

If you are interested in taking a peek, pics are posted in Gary and Jessica Houghton's vector table thread.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1359892#post1359892

[Keith Outten]

Belinda,

Your welcome, I'm glad to see someone move the idea forward.
I just checked the pictures of your new Corian vector grid. You have made major improvements to my idea, very nice!

Let us know how it works on various materials. My results were mixed.

[Belinda Barfield]

Keith,

I haven't tried version 2 yet (the one in the photos). I actually sold it yesterday to another engraver.

On the next one I will add edge guides. I didn't really think I needed them but yesterday I was engraving some Ikon metal and needed to run two passes. The surface of the Corian is pretty slick. The blank shifted just a hair from the motion of the machine. Another drawback is that I can't tape down the edge of any material as the tape has nothing to stick to basically. Works beautifully for acrylic though, and works great with card stock.

[Keith Outten]

Congrats of the sale :)

I have had pretty good luck wrapping tape over the edge of my Corian grid. The edge surface seems to hold tape really well and some jobs I have used weight on top of material to hold it down when I have an area that isn't inside the project. For weight I use small pieces of glass or Corian scraps.

For edge guides I had been thinking about either pieces of clear acrylic or quarter inch thick Corian glued to the edge of the grid. The Dupont Corian adhesive will adhere Corian to acrylic permanently.
.

[Belinda Barfield]

I can tape to the edge, just not the top surface. I wish I had thought about using weights, or even dowels.

For the ruler/guides I'm thinking of attaching strips of Corian with 1/8" above the surface of the grid. I'm planning to attach the Corian with clips screwed into the frame and the bottom of the guide so the guides can be removed if necessary. Do you see a flaw in this plan?