woodshop doesn’t allow the cutting of light metals now- which the multiCAM is quite capable of doing so. why would we believe they would allow it on another CNC? especially since metals require OIL.
WS should get a panel saw.
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With Laser, Wood, and Plastics all benefiting from a panel saw I suggest a combo and put it in more of a common area (like by a loading door where material can be cut down for easier moving around the space). Shared expense and frees up the space in the woodshop.
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I think the issue with the Shapeoko is CA has allowed a wide range of materials to be used with this machine with great success. When ownership goes to Wood Shop they will decide what will not be allowed.
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Panel saw was discussed a while ago and was highly sought after. Didn’t have room then, probably do now.
+1 for the panel saw. Lots of folks don’t have the skills to process full sheets on a cabinet saw.
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Michael, I only recently became aware of this alternative to the Kreg Foreman Machine (which I have owned). I like this design better because of the lower angle to avoid pocket shift and I think the router bit will cut a cleaner pocket than a traditional pocket jig drill bit.
Castle machine is demonstrated here:
Note the ability to take the machine to the wood at 7:40 in the video which is a great feature for larger items.
Castle has a video at their site that explains the machine: https://castleusa.com/products/castle-100-pocket-cutter-machine.html
My two pennies, anyway.
Radial arm saw?
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I like this setup and think it could be great for the reasons that you listed. I personally haven’t used a foreman but have lately been addicting to planning out my future workshop.
I’ve been watching numerous Youtube videos lately one of which has made me green with envy. David Stanton’s workshop has most of his work tops (tools/assembly tables/etc) all of equal height. His foreman setup is brilliant as it gives you the larger work area for casework (I personally would benefit a lot from this).
The idea of the quick pneumatic (or electric) clamp has me excited just from a speed perspective versus a screw clamp.
I’m not sure at a roughly equal price point (recently on slickdeals there was a deal for a foreman for $264!) which would be best given the pros and cons of each. And which would last the arduous test of DMS usage/abuse.
I always wanted to see the maker space get one of these!
After a lot of research I think if we built a modified MFT table (a much larger/more stable version) utilizing the hinging track we could utilize the track size we already have and save money (albeit how much?).
I’ve got part numbers for everything we’d need saved in a spreadsheet (the long aluminum extrusions for the back side of the table to hold the hinge, hinging mechanism, etc) that’d probably give users a safer and easier way to square up and do casework stuff.
But I’m not opposed to having a panel saw at all!
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We could also fab a pneumatic clamp table for not too much. It could sit along a wall and be angled flat until usage.
Obviously this will be @Mrksls2 and the committee’s decision, but Andrew had indicated that any (non-toxic) material was allowable as long as there was no cutting oil involved.
I was also thinking of some kind of shop-made cauls for clamping cutting boards.
Shop made cauls would be great for all around usage. I think one thing people making cutting boards are maybe ‘over doing’ is clamping pressure (which may lead to misaligned strips). We should fab up some PVC runners to place the strips on for people’s glue ups.
We should also maybe consider doing a monthly clean up of the K body clamps (and bar clamps while we’re at it) to remove all the dried glue.
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I’d much rather have a pro-grade industrial non-DIY proper panel saw. I think there are a lot of merits of durably manufactured equipment.
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A shaper with a power feeder 
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An arbortech or merlin power carver would be cool. I know we have angle grinders in the workshop but they are just too big for somethings. A festool/dremel area would be nice as well.
i think we need more tables / dedicated stations around each tool. I tend to have to use the multicam chairs or the multicam bed for staging projects with more than one piece for the jointer / drill press. The bandsaws have the same issue.
Would be cool if each machine had a prep table, maybe with some drawers to hold specific parts for that machine.
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After jointing/planing 60 bd ft of 8/4 walnut last night, more tables or carts would be very beneficial.
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yeah, that’s a workout. It would be awesome to have one of those assembly line roller tables next to the planer and an 8ft outfeed table.
It was quite a workout. I was lucky that the lathes were open so I used one of the lathe carts as my staging table. A proper infeed/outfeed table, maybe on wheels, would be quite amazing. Especially if you are working with longer lumber.
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