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View Full Version : Here is my simple pegobard and cam setup



Steve knight
02-19-2008, 12:22 PM
here is a simple way to hold the odd parts and solid wood. it's not perfect as I have had things come loose but thats more me then the setup.
I make different size cams to keep from having to use scrap wood between them and the material. the bolts can turn in the cams (I changed that after I made the star nut hole) so you just screw them down and your good to go. I used cheap zinc threaded inserts that should not damage the bit. I wanted to sue brass but they have gone up to . 80 each since there are about 130 in the board that would be too much. the fence is bolted on and easy to replace and true up. I find this setup for solid wood far easier to get working then vacuum. it is easy to do the whole table and it is removable.
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s266/knighttoolworks/cnc%20jigs%20and%20parts/pegboardjig1.jpg
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s266/knighttoolworks/cnc%20jigs%20and%20parts/pegboardjig2.jpg
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s266/knighttoolworks/cnc%20jigs%20and%20parts/pegboardjig3.jpg

Michael Kowalczyk
02-19-2008, 12:35 PM
Hey Steve,
Really neat idea for light weight fixturing of blanks. Do you have any problems if you cut all the way through your parts? I would think that without vacuum, tabs/bridges, 2sided tape or some other means of holding the finished part down, they would chatter or get airborne. What do you think?

Steve knight
02-19-2008, 12:41 PM
I use tabs or onion skin if I cut through. the one real problem is sometimes things won't stay flat. I made some clamps to hold things down but I found the hard way they need clamped from two sides. so I need to modify the fence for some clamps. but usually if possible I use a my nailer with a couple of brads. if I am cutting through I zero on the board then raise the bit to the right hight and zero again.
that way I can cut say .75 and I am cutting on the surface of the board.
I keep this screwed to the table. I could use a vac but it is in place so much I tend to forget to turn the vac on.

Michael Kowalczyk
02-19-2008, 4:33 PM
Yes I know the feeling when you get a warped board. Even with a dedicated spoil-board on a 5' x 5' table with a 5hp Busch Vac Pump pulling 25 inches of Merc, some 1" Hickory still won't sock down with out a little persuasion. Once it has been cut out and trying to do the flip side is even more challenging because now you have even less area to seal off and pull it down. A reversed and recessed grid with 1/4" neoprene seal gets it done.

For me clamping is not a good option. It will get in the way, take up too much space on the table and more planning so you don't collide/crash.

On small runs I can see where this might work well but I count my Blessings that I am able to design fixtures/spoil-boards that use vacuum on everything we do, SO FAR.

One day hopefully I want to make my own POD table; kind of like a Carter Pod System and make it easily removable by 1 person using a lift. So much more can be done for edge treatments, horizontal aggregate tooling applications, and if done right I think it can be a quicker Chip to Chip turnover or as I like to call it here "Green to Green" meaning the time it takes to hit the "Start" button(which happens to be green), cut the parts, remove parts and scrap, clean table, reload material and hit the "Start" button again. That is how I get a true gauge of how many parts per hour.

Steve knight
02-19-2008, 11:58 PM
I do a lot of one off's so this setup is great for that. but the idea is versatile and the fellow who go me started used it sometimes with a vacuum setup too. it's got some good holding power when needed if you do it right. you can use scrap boards between the cams and wood to keep from hitting them. though hitting them may not be a big deal.
I had these wooden boxes I had to hollow out. of 1" beech. I did most of them on my vac setup. but they tended to cup since the bottoms were thin and the beech tended to leak vacuum anyway. I had to cut 4 more and I just got this setup going. it was actually faster since the wood did not have to be perfect and it stayed the first time.
so now most of my solid wood is held on it. I can hold smaller pieces and save wood.
one trick I have found with a vacuum and solid wood is to seal the vac side with some yellow glue. like the beech I was lucky to get 10" of vacuum but seal the back with a super thin coat of yellow glue and I have 26" of vacuum.
but something that this can so is hold oddball shapes like non straight materials and round things.
I like to use vacuum but it can be a pain in the rear.
how do you get away with using 1/4" foam? I get too much jiggle with anything over 1/16"