Ok, pin tables are expensive, so I am going to build my own pin table, but thought I would throw out what I was doing to see if anyone can tell if there would be a problem with what I am planning. Or a better way. I am going to make a base out of .5” Corian, but many materials would work. 12 X 24 because it works for me. I will use the laser to mark out a grid of dots 1” apart. And mark dimensions on some of the rows for easy use. Then I will drill holes in a drill press so I get consistency. I do not need to drill all the way though for my plan, but things might change in the future. For the edges I will attach a strip of corian about 2” wide that sits over the edge 1” and above the rulers. Then I can put holes in this for pins that are taller to use as edge stops.
So far so good. But instead of pins for the bed I plan on using marbles or steel balls. I do not know which is better.
With the grid turned on and the spacing set to 1” I can easily see on the design on the screen where I need to put the balls to stay out of the laser path. Total cost should be really low.
Now the questions are, what am I missing? just seems to be too easy.
And how high does the material really need to be above the bed.