Water Table ?'s

Brian1

I am planning on building a water table soon but have a few questions about the design. I dont want to overlook anything so I figured I would get some input before I cut any pieces for it. First of all I have a 4x4 built off the original table plans. I plan to build my pan so it fills the entire space between rails so roughly 56" square. I have a sheet of 1/8" steel that is the right size so I think I will build the pan out of it. It was cheap from Craigslist and has a layer of paint on it so its not the greatest for cutting nice parts out of anyway. Right now I plan to make it 2.5" deep and use 1/8"x2" slats that sit 1/2" above the bottom of the pan so they are flush with the top. The slats will be divided using 3 slat spacers, 1 in the middle and the other 2 about 2" in from the sides. What thickness should these be and should they be flush with the top of the slats? Im thinking 1/8" for these as well. I may make tabs and bolt the dividers to the pan or just stitch weld them in, I havent decided on that yet. Spacing will be 1.75" between slats, is that too close or a good number? I found an example of the slat spacers that I am planning to use, see attached photo. The small arcs on the bottom and the space under the elevated slats should allow for even filling of the water. Lastly, the slats will run parallel with the rails to allow for easy sliding/loading of sheets of material. Drain will be a ball valve near one of the corners. Probably 1" pipe but I havent bought the parts for that yet. I will be using a homebrew plasma quench as well to keep the rust down. Any other tips or issues to avoid? I am open to a complete design change as well, thats why I started this thread. Thanks

jeepsr4ever

Your on the right track. We put a 90 degree break in our slat holders for 1/8" flat bar. We also open up the slots to .150" due to the U shape of the final slat array. You may want someone else to bend up a pan for you so all you have to do is weld the sides or you may risk warpage.

Brian1

Great, thanks. I was figuring on about a .155" opening so good to know it works for the u-shape. I am going to make a small test piece before cutting out the larger slat holder just to make sure it is what I want.

I will update as the build gets going

jeepsr4ever;130410 wrote
We put a 90 degree break in our slat holders for 1/8" flat bar.

I am not picturing what the 90* bend is doing?

jeepsr4ever

The 90 degree bend is so the slats are supported on the bottom part of the bend and not but the bottom of the slot.

Brian1

Now it makes sense. That is the better way to do it, I was concerned with the slats holding the weight of a big sheet with only 3 small points of contact holding each one up. If I do it that way what is the better depth to make the pan in order to use a standard width slat straight from the steel yard, 2" or 3"? I see the pans you make are for 3" slats, Im just concerned about getting too high and reducing the z axis travel with the original table frame. If I remember right the top of my current table grid is about 2.25" above the table frame.

Brian1

Got my pan made, went 3" deep, and cut out a small slat spacer to test it out. Put a 2" slat in it since it was all I had a small piece of, slats will be 3" tall. Getting close but ran into a problem with the motor on the x axis so I cant cut the slat spacers or any more parts. Its stalling out and throwing everything off

jeepsr4ever

It looks about right remember the best cut is on the right side of the plasma beam.