Leveler feet for sliding table saw

[mark mcfarlane]

The floor shims I am using to flatten my sliding table saw top aren't working out great.

The machine eventually moves off the shims, possibly due to vibration, probably due to flinging the slider too hard to the end of its range. The machine can also tilt off the floor onto two legs if the slider and feeder are are both swung all the way to the outfield side,... Then maybe the saw doesn't sit back down in the exact same place.

I've exhausted my brain looking at various types of feet/pads for something that will fit my CU300 Classic - max weight is about 1700 lbs with the feeder arm, feeder, and a full sheet of plywood onboard. Threads for mounting bolts are M12 * 1.75, but the mounting bolts look just tack welded onto the frame and I'm not sure how reliable the attachment is.

Anyway, anyone ever try the Airlock wedge-type adjustable height antivibration pads. They seem like they would work well and they would only lift the machine 1 5/8" off the floor. I don't really want a 4.5" lift that something like Zambus casters would apply.

https://www.zoro.com/airloc-leveling-mount-4-000-lb-cap-2-1132-in-13000256/i/G2804252/feature-product?utm_source=google&utm_medium=surfaces&utm_campaign=shopping%20feed&utm_content=free%20google%20shopping%20clicks&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6fG3isWl9gIV8RXUAR2hEAEvEAQYASAB EgJ6CfD_BwE

[Kevin Jenness]

Can you bolt your machine to the floor, or fasten some locator blocks to the floor around the legs and shims to keep them in place?

My Paoloni is lighter than your saw and it stays in place on shim plates. Maybe less "flinging" the slider and reeling in the power feed head for less leverage are in order. I would be nervous if my saw were tilting up on two legs.

[Jeff Roltgen]

Mark,
Just put these under my SCM, and couldn't be happier. They are nice, large, good looking levelers and are M12 thread. Price is super friendly. Just ordered another set for my wide belt sander:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XXWK5KP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you're willing to try these with the original welded nuts, or have someone reinforce the welds, you really cannot go wrong. At the lower setting, they lift the table less than 2".

jeff

[Pat Rice]

474949
I got mine from McMaster-Carr

[Tom Dalabon]

Mark,
I have the same machine and tried the Zambus castors. Had 3 of them bolted in and the 4th nut was not tack welded very well and snapped right off. I don’t want to weld them as the paint will get destroyed during the process.
I was thinking along the same line as you, but the cost is a little hard to swallow. It will be interesting to see the responses that you receive.
Good luck with your decision.
Tom

[mark mcfarlane]

474949
I got mine from McMaster-Carr

Thanks Pat. FWIW, these aren't metric.

[mark mcfarlane]

Mark,
Just put these under my SCM, and couldn't be happier. They are nice, large, good looking levelers and are M12 thread. Price is super friendly. Just ordered another set for my wide belt sander:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XXWK5KP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you're willing to try these with the original welded nuts, or have someone reinforce the welds, you really cannot go wrong. At the lower setting, they lift the table less than 2".

jeff

Thanks Jeff, that certainly is a good price and I like the idea you can get them with a shorter 2" bolt, that would require less lifting of the machine, although I'd probably have to lift it 5" anyway to recut the threads, there is a lot of 'crap' in the bolts. Maybe from the weld, maybe from the finish.

Do you know what the thread pitch is on these legs?

Thread pitch isn't specified on Amazon. M12's come in 1.0, 1.25 and 1.50 thread pitches.

I am still worried I may have the same result as Tom with the bolts snapping off, they really weren't attached with care.

[Warren Lake]

tons on the net of people who make them out of hockey pucks and threaded rod. Going to have to deal with it just have wood below most now and the table saw was hard to level. Frame below is stiff and ridged so had to get many types of shim material. Feet would be better as finer adjustment. The feet up above that pivot will that work? Ive put used hockey pucks under machines and they feel good.

[mark mcfarlane]

Can you bolt your machine to the floor, or fasten some locator blocks to the floor around the legs and shims to keep them in place?

I could bolt it to the floor but would rather not. That would require some kind off hoist that I don't have access to, ... I guess I could epoxy some bolts into the slab outside the machine base and use some brackets to attach the machine... Thanks for the idea.

My current shims are a combination of materials, including some sheets of paper. I got the machine top very planar when I first leveled it.



...Maybe less "flinging" the slider and reeling in the power feed head for less leverage are in order. I would be nervous if my saw were tilting up on two legs.
True that.

The stock feeder mount attaches at the outfield side of the saw. Add a hundred pound sheet of plywood on the slider at full extension and you have a few hundred pounds on an 8 foot long lever arm.

I tried very hard over the last 3 months to not slam the slider but the machine still moved a couple inches. Could be vibration, I don't really know.

[mark mcfarlane]

tons on the net of people who make them out of hockey pucks and threaded rod. Going to have to deal with it just have wood below most now and the table saw was hard to level. Frame below is stiff and ridged so had to get many types of shim material. Feet would be better as finer adjustment. The feet up above that pivot will that work? Ive put used hockey pucks under machines and they feel good.

Thanks Warren. Hockey pucks or old tread tires would probably help lateral movement of the machine but I'd really like to get a better leveling solution, as you suggested with "Feet would be better as finer adjustment"

Can you expound a bit on what you meant by "The feet up above that pivot will that work?" ? I missed something.

[Warren Lake]

I guess pivot a better word. The ones pat posted above thought I saw pivot on them. I have to wonder if the base of the machines can flex, even some of my shims will have compression when stacked with other stuff. I dont think my saw base flexed much as each time I added a shim if it was too much then the saw would rock. I guess it could be tested to see i it does translate to the top at all.

[Charles Coolidge]

Counterweight the saw and discover McMaster-Carr

https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/128/1582/

[mark mcfarlane]

I guess pivot a better word. The ones pat posted above thought I saw pivot on them. I have to wonder if the base of the machines can flex, even some of my shims will have compression when stacked with other stuff. I dont think my saw base flexed much as each time I added a shim if it was too much then the saw would rock. I guess it could be tested to see i it does translate to the top at all.

Thanks Warren, The frame on my cu300 is pretty rigid, it rocks if I shim incorrectly.

[mark mcfarlane]

Counterweight the saw and discover McMaster-Carr

https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/128/1582/

Thanks Charles. I went through McMaster, that why my head hurts. That's where I found the Airloc wedge pads that I am asking about in this thread. I posted the link to Zoro because they were ~$15 cheaper at Zoro.

[mark mcfarlane]

My original question for this thread was:

... anyone ever try the Airlock wedge-type adjustable height anti-vibration pads?

https://www.zoro.com/airloc-leveling...SABEgJ6CfD_BwE (https://www.zoro.com/airloc-leveling-mount-4-000-lb-cap-2-1132-in-13000256/i/G2804252/feature-product?utm_source=google&utm_medium=surfaces&utm_campaign=shopping%20feed&utm_content=free%20google%20shopping%20clicks&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6fG3isWl9gIV8RXUAR2hEAEvEAQYASAB EgJ6CfD_BwE)

Lots of great feedback here but I guess I hijacked my own thread by providing too much information.

[Warren Lake]

I havent sorry if I went sideways there. your saw rocks as well so same thought about not flexing but ive seen it written they do just did not find that and if so its relevant on a slider compared to a cabient saw. I do like the hockey pucks.

Havent seen the air things you talk about. I moved a machine a few months ago and it was the first one ever to be bolted. It also sat on three feet not four.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Mark, I presume the welded nuts are on the inside of the cabinet?

If so, install the feet with a nut against the bottom of the cabinet, this prevents the adjuster from changing height and puts the force on the bottom of the cabinet instead of the welded nut…..Regards, Rod.

[Jim Becker]

Is your floor super slick or something? I cannot imagine moving that big machine so easily off of shims! I know it's already been mentioned, but I'd personally stick with shims that fully cover under the machine corners and physically fasten it to the floor. Yea, that would require some holes in the floor, but...I would not want such a heavy machine that has large moving parts sitting on levelers or casters.

[Charles Coolidge]

Thanks Charles. I went through McMaster, that why my head hurts. That's where I found the Airloc wedge pads that I am asking about in this thread. I posted the link to Zoro because they were ~$15 cheaper at Zoro.

Airloc looks way overkill and may not solve your problem. I was looking at a Haas recently, rapids are so fast it has to be bolted down or it will walk itself across the floor and it weighs multiple times your saw. An object in motion and all that. Definitely would NOT want my saw tilting up on 2 legs yikes.

[Bobby Robbinett]

First off why is your saw getting that kind of vibration? I have found things to vibrate when the motors and pulleys are not properly aligned or maybe the motor or pulley are not bolted on well enough. I would check every bolt on the saw to make sure nothing is loose. I would also suggest that you bite the bullet and bolt it to the floor. I have an older Griggio sc3200 and it has no noticeable vibration or instability even with out being leveled properly or bolted down.

[Kevin Jenness]

The stock feeder mount attaches at the outfield side of the saw. Add a hundred pound sheet of plywood on the slider at full extension and you have a few hundred pounds on an 8 foot long lever arm.

Where is the power feed mounted exactly? I looked at pictures of that machine - a combination machine with a small saw/shaper table, right? I can see that there would be little choice of mounting postions. If you keep it mounted you must not use the rip fence much. I use my single purpose saw much differently and mount a powerfeed only occasionally. In any case, if you have that much leverage tipping the saw and encouraging it to move around, I would strongly recommend bolting it down for safety reasons.

If that is not practical you might think about sliding the power feed onto a cart when unneeded, removing the power head, or at least cranking the head in close to the post and rotating it so the mass is over the center of the machine.

I bolted my lathe down without lifting it off the floor. I marked the bolt locations, moved the lathe aside to drill oversize holes, then slid the machine back in place and placed studs in thickened epoxy through the machine base. If I ever move the lathe I will probably just cut the studs off at the floor. The lathe is much better behaved now, even though I had added over 200# of weight to the base prior.

Another approach might be to use Tapcons or threaded inserts into the slab to hold the machine down with tabs that span across the leg base flanges. That would leave a flat floor if the machine is moved.

To answer your question, I haven't used those levelers and can't tell if they would be any improvement over the standard stud/foot type in terms of staying in place. It seems to me your fundamental problem is instability which would be best addressed by hold-downs.

[mark mcfarlane]

Hi Mark, I presume the welded nuts are on the inside of the cabinet?

If so, install the feet with a nut against the bottom of the cabinet, this prevents the adjuster from changing height and puts the force on the bottom of the cabinet instead of the welded nut…..Regards, Rod.

Thanks Ron. Yes, the nuts are welded inside the frame in the extreme corners so one could put something like a Zambus caster on the corners (they have a plate at the top of the caster) and the frame of the machine would carry the vertical load. But this doesn't solve my leveling issue. I don't need to level much, maybe 1/8 on worst corner.

[mark mcfarlane]

Is your floor super slick or something? I cannot imagine moving that big machine so easily off of shims! I know it's already been mentioned, but I'd personally stick with shims that fully cover under the machine corners and physically fasten it to the floor. Yea, that would require some holes in the floor, but...I would not want such a heavy machine that has large moving parts sitting on levelers or casters.

Thanks Jim. The floor is concrete with epoxy and a LOT of solid flakes in it. It has a fairly rough, fine texture. Not slick at all. My shims are multiple layers of wood. One leg has a few pieces of paper in the shim stack to get it 'just right'. There is slickness between the layers of shims.

Maybe I need to build new shims out of solid stock and use external braces to hold down the machine. I could probably get buy with two hold down brackets on the infeed side of the machine.

[mark mcfarlane]

First off why is your saw getting that kind of vibration? I have found things to vibrate when the motors and pulleys are not properly aligned or maybe the motor or pulley are not bolted on well enough. I would check every bolt on the saw to make sure nothing is loose. I would also suggest that you bite the bullet and bolt it to the floor. I have an older Griggio sc3200 and it has no noticeable vibration or instability even with out being leveled properly or bolted down.

Hi Bobby. FYI, There is no noticeable vibration of the saw, I was just speculating that vibration may be part of the cause of the movement I am witnessing over months of daily use.

[mark mcfarlane]

The stock feeder mount attaches at the outfield side of the saw. Add a hundred pound sheet of plywood on the slider at full extension and you have a few hundred pounds on an 8 foot long lever arm.

Where is the power feed mounted exactly? I looked at pictures of that machine - a combination machine with a small saw/shaper table, right? I can see that there would be little choice of mounting postions. If you keep it mounted you must not use the rip fence much. I use my single purpose saw much differently and mount a powerfeed only occasionally. In any case, if you have that much leverage tipping the saw and encouraging it to move around, I would strongly recommend bolting it down for safety reasons.

If that is not practical you might think about sliding the power feed onto a cart when unneeded, removing the power head, or at least cranking the head in close to the post and rotating it so the mass is over the center of the machine.

I bolted my lathe down without lifting it off the floor. I marked the bolt locations, moved the lathe aside to drill oversize holes, then slid the machine back in place and placed studs in thickened epoxy through the machine base. If I ever move the lathe I will probably just cut the studs off at the floor. The lathe is much better behaved now, even though I had added over 200# of weight to the base prior.

Another approach might be to use Tapcons or threaded inserts into the slab to hold the machine down with tabs that span across the leg base flanges. That would leave a flat floor if the machine is moved.

To answer your question, I haven't used those levelers and can't tell if they would be any improvement over the standard stud/foot type in terms of staying in place. It seems to me your fundamental problem is instability which would be best addressed by hold-downs.



Thanks James for your response. The stock feeder is mounted on a massive articulating arm that is attached to the middle of the outfield side of the table as seen in attached photo. The articulating arm was purchased from Minimax. Expensive but very well built. I can easily reposition the stock feeder to put most of the mass near the middle of the machine if I remember to do so. Sometimes my brain farts and the machine lifts up on two legs.

474984

Tapcons would probably be enough to keep the machine from sliding on the floor but might not hold if the machine wants to tilt. I'm not a huge fan of Tapcons, I've snapped off my fair share of heads.

Luckily I bought a new tap and die set to fix a problem with the scoring assembly height adjustment so I'm all prepared to cut threads in the sides of the machine for brackets.

Right now the consensus seems to be to bolt the machine to the floor, in which case I'll be milling new shims that are a little larger than the one pictured below.

I was in a hurry when I built the shims thinking I would go back and put leveling feet on it later. That's was 2 or 3 years ago.

474981474983

[Jim Becker]

Maybe I need to build new shims out of solid stock and use external braces to hold down the machine. I could probably get buy with two hold down brackets on the infeed side of the machine.

I would try this first for sure. You can measure your existing "just right" shims with a caliper and then mill something to the exact thickness you need at each corner.

[Kevin Jenness]

Now that I see how the feeder is mounted I feel even more strongly that the machine should be bolted down. If the support and feeder arm were rotated all the way out (I'm sure you don't, but still) I can easily imagine the machine tipping over. At least the mounting postion allows for using the full width of the tables when cutting sheet stock.

That looks like a nice power feed. It appears you have to reposition it whenever you switch over from saw/shaper to jointer/planer, correct? One more reason I prefer separate machines, but that's another story.

[mark mcfarlane]

I would try this first for sure. You can measure your existing "just right" shims with a caliper and then mill something to the exact thickness you need at each corner.

Thanks Jim. That's my plan. I think I'll try new shims first and be more careful with the feeder position and try not to slam the slider and see if the machine stays put.

[mark mcfarlane]

Now that I see how the feeder is mounted I feel even more strongly that the machine should be bolted down. If the support and feeder arm were rotated all the way out (I'm sure you don't, but still) I can easily imagine the machine tipping over. At least the mounting postion allows for using the full width of the tables when cutting sheet stock.

That looks like a nice power feed. It appears you have to reposition it whenever you switch over from saw/shaper to jointer/planer, correct? One more reason I prefer separate machines, but that's another story.

Worse case scenario I've had is tilting the infeed side of the machine a couple inches off the ground : Feeder extended at outfield side and cross cutting a 4*8 sheet of plywood with a lot of wood to the right of the blade. I think I can make this cut with the feeder in the position shown in the picture, or just slightly tilted away from the J/P.

I do reposition the feeder all the time to 'get it out of the way' but it easily glides to 'wherever' on that stout assembly.

My problem isn't moving the feeder, its remembering to move it. I just need to be more conscious of where the feeder is before starting a new cut.

[Charles Coolidge]

Seeing the saw and floor, I'd go with leveling feet as per my link to McMaster-Carr, and to protect your floor but also keep the machine from walking I'd squirt a blob of silicone calk under each foot then it won't go anywhere. Still leaves the unbalanced issue to deal with. If you don't want to sink bolts into the floor and bolt it down then I think the only other option is to counter balance it with weight.

[Bill Dufour]

My vertical air compressor would rock on startup and shut down. So I stopped by the side of the highway and picked up several pieces of recap treads from big rig tires. I made sure it had no steel wires. Put one under each leg and no more motion. Easy enough to find several of a similar thickness, about 3/4". There rubber is harder then car tires so it does not sink in much at all.
You could bolt/screw a wood shim in sandwich to adjust level.
Bill D
Bill D

[Bill Dufour]

I do not like those large diameter anti vibration feet. The large diameter is more likely to slide on your slick floor. Some thing smaller similar to the link has an aspect ratio that is less likely to slip due to higher psi. I would not worry much about the m12 thread. metric is almost always the same unless they call it out as oddball thread spacing. m12 should be 1.75. I see no reason it would not be standard. Buy a m12 bolt and see if it fits before buying the feet.
Easy enough to cut down a longer stem if needed.
Bill D

[Pat Rice]

474992
This has really worked well for me.

[Carl Beckett]

Thanks James for your response. The stock feeder is mounted on a massive articulating arm that is attached to the middle of the outfield side of the table as seen in attached photo. The articulating arm was purchased from Minimax. Expensive but very well built. I can easily reposition the stock feeder to put most of the mass near the middle of the machine if I remember to do so. Sometimes my brain farts and the machine lifts up on two legs.

474984

Tapcons would probably be enough to keep the machine from sliding on the floor but might not hold if the machine wants to tilt. I'm not a huge fan of Tapcons, I've snapped off my fair share of heads.

Luckily I bought a new tap and die set to fix a problem with the scoring assembly height adjustment so I'm all prepared to cut threads in the sides of the machine for brackets.

Right now the consensus seems to be to bolt the machine to the floor, in which case I'll be milling new shims that are a little larger than the one pictured below.

I was in a hurry when I built the shims thinking I would go back and put leveling feet on it later. That's was 2 or 3 years ago.

474981474983

I have never seen a feeder mount like that, thanks for the pic Mark.

I assume it swings the other way for using the planed so it is out of the way.

Then when using the feeder on the shaper, what keeps it from swinging? Are there rotation locks?

(I thought I would mount my feeder to the top surface but seeing yours makes me think there may be a better way....)

[mark mcfarlane]

I have never seen a feeder mount like that, thanks for the pic Mark.

I assume it swings the other way for using the planed so it is out of the way.

Then when using the feeder on the shaper, what keeps it from swinging? Are there rotation locks?

(I thought I would mount my feeder to the top surface but seeing yours makes me think there may be a better way....)

Carl, the arm assembly swings freely every which way, there are no locks on the articulating mount. If you look at the feeder picture you'll see a piece of plywood mounted a few inches beneath the table top with four black bolts just behind the shaper. This is something I built to secure the articulating arm when running the shaper. I think I got the idea from either Erik Loza or Sam Blasco, its been a few years.

I've only used the feeder in two positions: 1) at the shaper where it is locked into the bracket I built, and 2) on the jointer with 3 of 4 wheels on the outfeed side.

When used on the jointer I positioned the articulating arms so they were up against the machine (similar to the current picture) and the feeder stayed in place. I was surprised the feeder worked as well as it did for jointing. I had three 6" wide 4/4 cherry boards that were 12' long that needed to be jointed and thicknessed in their 12' lengths and the feeder worked much better than I expected. There's no way I could have hand jointed them by myself on that short bed machine.

[mark mcfarlane]

Seeing the saw and floor, I'd go with leveling feet as per my link to McMaster-Carr, and to protect your floor but also keep the machine from walking I'd squirt a blob of silicone calk under each foot then it won't go anywhere. Still leaves the unbalanced issue to deal with. If you don't want to sink bolts into the floor and bolt it down then I think the only other option is to counter balance it with weight.

Thanks Charles. The silicone blob is a great idea. I am still concerned that the mounting nuts welded to the body will break free, as experienced by Tom Dalabon earlier in this thread.

[mark mcfarlane]

I do not like those large diameter anti vibration feet. The large diameter is more likely to slide on your slick floor. Some thing smaller similar to the link has an aspect ratio that is less likely to slip due to higher psi. I would not worry much about the m12 thread. metric is almost always the same unless they call it out as oddball thread spacing. m12 should be 1.75. I see no reason it would not be standard. Buy a m12 bolt and see if it fits before buying the feet.
Easy enough to cut down a longer stem if needed.
Bill D

Thanks Bill. I was able to get an M12 1.75 bolt about a third turn into one of the nuts from the bottom side. The only nut I can see has 'crud' in it (either from the weld or the finish) and I'd have to lift the machine 5" or so to recut them. The other three nuts are inside smaller spaces with no top access.

475007

Recutting the nuts could be done, but the nuts may also break loose as they did for another poster in this thread. The nuts really do not look well attached, more like someone at the factory had an afterthought on Minimax's design. Maybe they were put there to anchor the machine for shipping, although they weren't used on my machine, there is too much crud in them.

[Rod Sheridan]

I’m confused, I use the threaded feet to level my machine.

I also drew circles on the floor so it always goes back in the level position after moving it…..Regards, Rod.

[mark mcfarlane]

I’m confused, I use the threaded feet to level my machine.

I also drew circles on the floor so it always goes back in the level position after moving it…..Regards, Rod.


Rod, There are no feet on my Minimax CU300, and people have had problems with the welded nuts failing after adding threaded feet.

I also have registration marks on the floor so I can periodically realign the saw on the shims.

[Bill Dufour]

I saw a nice leveler set up on a mini shipping container used as a covid test site. Each corner had a heavy piece of angle iron welded on about 12" off the ground. Then a trailer tongue jack went through the horizontal leg of the angle iron to the ground. Nice easy crank adjustment at each corner.
For you I would cut a piece of heavy channel 6" long with a hole near each end. Put it flat side up and align one hole with the existing nut and through bolt it. Bolt foot of choice on the other end. maybe use three holes and a foot at each end.
Bill D.

[mark mcfarlane]

Jacking up the machine 3/4" at a time I was able to get it high enough to tap out the nuts and get blurry pictures. I'm thinking I'll try the $10/foot leveling feet from Amazon that Jeff Roltgen just installed.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XXWK5KP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Worse case scenario I guess is a mounting bolt breaks free and I'm out $40.

If the leveling feet work OK I'll anchor the infeed side of the table to prevent it from tipping. The tipping feature came in handy lifting the infeed side of the slider. :)

Hopefully these nuts will hold the weight of the machine.

475016475017475018475019

[Rod Sheridan]

Mark, those nuts aren’t meant to hold the weight of the machine, you’ll need to put nuts on the threaded feet before you install them and then snug them up against the machine….Rod

[Kevin Jenness]

Mark, those nuts aren’t meant to hold the weight of the machine, you’ll need to put nuts on the threaded feet before you install them and then snug them up against the machine….Rod

In this case it appears there is nothing besides the nuts welded to the machine sides. More often there is a gusset of some type at the corners. It would be a good idea to remove the stress from those welds by putting a heavy steel plate "washer" that spans the corner between the welded nuts and the nuts on the threaded stud.

[mark mcfarlane]

I ended up ordering some feet from McMaster-Carr. 4X Higher load capacity than the Amazon ones and some swivel capability which will come on handy as I lower one side of the machine at a time. $68 shipped for 4 feet.

Arrival Friday. I'll try to remember to post back my results.

I could potentially take some of the vertical load off the mounting bolts by putting large, thick fender washers under the machine mounting points. What do y'all think?

Can I still lock the height of the legs using bolts under the fender washers, the fender washers wouldn't quite touch the welded bolts,...

[mark mcfarlane]

Thanks Rod and Kevin, I had the same thought and was typing a response while you guys were typing...

I should have waited to make the purchase.

What would be suitable specs of the steel plate/washer? Any place to source them, like an Ace Hardware? I'd hate to pay another $11 shipping charge from McMaster-Carr.

[Kevin Jenness]

I'd go over to my friend Chelsie's metal shop and have him shear out some 3" x 3" steel plate from his scrap pile at least 1/8" thick and punch some 3/8" holes in them. You might get lucky at a hardware store but I doubt it. At least McMaster Carr saves the drive and is almost as fast.

[mark mcfarlane]

I'd go over to my friend Chelsie's metal shop and have him shear out some 3" x 3" steel plate from his scrap pile at least 1/8" thick and punch some 3/8" holes in them. You might get lucky at a hardware store but I doubt it. At least McMaster Carr saves the drive and is almost as fast.

Thanks Kevin. I found some brick lintel steel in my attic that I saved 'just in case'.

It will probably take a couple hours sanding off the rust with a Rotex, cutting it with a sawzall, and putting safe edges on it with an angle grinder and hand file, but the price is right. I can cut steel shapes to match what I need for my odd-shaped 'legs' (two triangles. two squares,...) with maybe a 3/8" overhang outside the machine.

As one can see, I'm all set up with proper metal working tools :). I do at least have a dedicated metal drill press and some decent bits.

Thanks again, I think we have a good plan.