Greg Watson's pin table!

[Don Corbeil]

Just wanted to give a shout out to member Greg Watson. I just received the pin table that he designed, and it's a great table, a real asset to my Speedy 300. Everything fits together beautifully, easy to move in and out of the machine, and, and the pins he ended up going with are just ideal. The table fits in my 300 work space like a glove, and is very solid. Very happy! I've attached a few pictures. Thanks Greg for all the work you did in putting this together!


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[Greg W Watson]

Don thanks for the shout out, I couldn't be happier with how it turned out and the pins that I designed are my favorite part

[Mike Lysov]

Both pins and blades tables looks good on pictures but in reality they are both can be a big pain. At least that's what happening to me sometimes.

The problem with both of them is is that small cut out pieces are falling between blades/pins turning 90 or less degrees, being stuck there and stay on a way of a laser head. If the head catches them it may drug the whole panel or make some real damage to the laser.
They only work well when blades/pins are located very close to each other and for a pin table when pins are very short(1-2cm maximum in height). Or when pieces you are cut out are much bigger than the spaces between blades/pins.

I have one laser(Spirit GX) where I always use a honeycomb table but with pins inserted into honeycomb sells raising material about 1cm from the honeycomb. The back of cut outs are clean even with the honeycomb table being very dirty unless the beam hits one of the pins under the job pass. That's was the reason I started using them as there is no sanding required at the back.
But sometimes when I cut the whole panel fully nested with a lot of cut outs in one go it may happen that some parts of the panel can drop down at some point(s) of a work area because all pins supporting it are located under holes for cut outs.

For those who have a metal or aluminium base for a table and wants to use pins there is a cheap way to create a pin table. using these aluminium rivets.
https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB12sv9P...ts-b-font-.jpg
The only big job here is to drill holes in a table base for them.

I do not use them because I do not want to drill so many holes. Instead I am using screwdriver bits as pins. They are perfectly fit into my Spriri GX honeycomb table cells.

[Bill George]

I have used a honey comb insert on all three of my CO2 lasers so far and never felt the need for anything else. Not a honey comb made from light fixture grills but a real one. When cutting acrylic I just set up on some small ceramic tile to reduce the flash back.

[Greg W Watson]

Yeah I didn't need it either until I had to cut some acrylic mirror. You don't need it until you do and making do without it when you need it is a pain

I have used a honey comb insert on all three of my CO2 lasers so far and never felt the need for anything else. Not a honey comb made from light fixture grills but a real one. When cutting acrylic I just set up on some small ceramic tile to reduce the flash back.

[Keith Downing]

There are certainly workarounds for every obstacle. But a pin table does serve a purpose: to allow you to accurately and consistently support your work while cutting without having to deal with any flash marks from the laser hitting the honeycomb (or solid) table underneath.

BTW, Mike L: Maybe English isn't your first language (?); but if you can, try to proofread your posts. I couldn't really understand what you were trying to say.

[Don Corbeil]

Both pins and blades tables looks good on pictures but in reality they are both can be a big pain in an ass.

In reality it's been working great. The abundance and spacing of the pin holes allows a great range of flexibility in support area, so even with pieces that require many tiny cuts, I have not had a problem. It even supports super thin paper very evenly, and without any of the flashback I used to get with the honeycomb table. In fact I haven't used a honeycomb in a long while.

[Mike Lysov]

BTW, Mike L: Maybe English isn't your first language (?); but if you can, try to proofread your posts. I couldn't really understand what you were trying to say.

It is not Keith, but I did not think it would be so hard to read and understand. Most mistakes in my post above either a typo or my keyboard. Sometimes it just skips some letters. I will run spellcheck next time before posting.

[Mike Lysov]

In reality it's been working great. The abundance and spacing of the pin holes allows a great range of flexibility in support area, so even with pieces that require many tiny cuts, I have not had a problem. It even supports super thin paper very evenly, and without any of the flashback I used to get with the honeycomb table. In fact I haven't used a honeycomb in a long while.

They are great Don, just there are some jobs where they can be a big pain.
I just wanted to add a bit about their disadvantages so everybody who wants to build one or invest in buying it know what they can expect from it.

I also forgot to add that air assist contributes to all these problems a lot. It is actually air from a nozzle turns cutout pieces around and makes them stuck inside their holes. So if air pressure is very low or there is no air assist at all it probably will never happen.

[Robert Bonenfant]

I want one :-) - I would have to make a custom one, dont have a speedy. Is the table made from aluminum ?? Ive cut metal on my router before but never made a ton of holes like in this fixture. It is a great idea though We currently use a slat table but this looks alot more effective.

[Michael Henriksen]

Why spend so much money. Just use the laser to cut a lot of holes in a sheet of MDF and insert a lot of nails. I've been using this for years. On larger parts that could potentially flip I normally have a tiny (0.4mm)line break to retain the part. I'll post pictures later if anyone is interested?

I don't like cutting on honeycomb. It gunks up fast and there is a lot of smudging on the downward facing side of the materials. With the bed of nail and good air pressure I have no staining on the MDF and poplar plywood I cut.

[Scott Shepherd]

Greg's work on the pin table is fantastic. Pin tables have a very specific use and if you don't have that need, then you might think it's a waste. However, if you do have the need, then it's a fantastic tool. Remember, we have a lot of people with a lot of very different types of work on this forum. Just because your work doesn't justify the use of one doesn't mean other's work is the same.

Greg's pin design is key to making this a great table.

[John Blazy]

Totally agree with all - even those that love pin tables - Its a love/hate relationship. Works great when really needed, but scrap falling between pins while cutting, then torquing your finished part out of focus just slightly is a real problem. Its all situational, all part and material specific.

I'm kindof with Michael on this one - I made my 24 x 30 pin table with a nail gun and 3/4" plywood. All the nail tips are in same flat plane after minor tweaking. Only took an hour and several clips of nails (1" space between). A well done pin bed like Greg's appears to have tighter pin spacing, so well worth it, as well as moveable pins. I also milled 1/2" slots between rows of nails for ventilation.

[Michael Henriksen]

Because they are cheap to make I have several with varying nail spacing to suit the job at hand. I once made one to suit a specific cutting job to ensure the beam would never hit a nail and parts would drop clean through.

[Jeff Heinrichs]

I am a huge fan of this for a lot of reasons.

I purchased an optical breadboard with M6 threaded holes with precise 25mm spacing between all the holes. I purchased a couple dozen 3" pins to hold the pieces I engrave. Let me just say I spent many hundreds of dollars for it and still think it was well worth the money. If there was a cheaper option I would like to pursue that in the future.