Cutting Table Upgrade

[kgg]

I had been cuting on a 3' x 8' section of one of my butcher block tables and always struggled with getting an acceptable straight cut for things like straps etc. I didn't want to upgrade to a proper leather slitter machine as the number I do is limited and is for dog leads.

So here is what I done.

I used:
i) 1/8" HDPE is used as a cutting board left over from doing some upgrades in the dog boarding kennel
ii) 3/4" x 3/4" metal 90 degree angle edging also left over from the dog boarding kennel upgrades
iii) 1 1/2" x 1/8" x 8' flat aluminum flat plate which I got at Homedepot for about $38 CAD ( $28 USD)
iv) designed and printed 8 edge supports for the flat plate.

Four of these supports are to hold the flat plate tightly to the front edge of the table. The remaining four supports also hold the flat plate tightly against the tables edge but also extends the flat plate up about 1/2" above the HDPE cutting board. The supports are spaced about 12" apart along the tables 8' front edge and attached to the table on the underside. This mounting prevents damaging the front edge of the table and allows the flat plate to be removed by simply sliding it up and out of the supports for removal.

To cut a straight edge on a piece of leather I simply remove the flat plate then clamp it down on top of the leather and cut along the edge of the flat plate with a cheap dollar store utility knife. Gives a nice clean straight edge.
The next step is to put the flat plate back into the edge supports, push the leather up against the flat edge and use whatever size of flat plate or 90 metal edge I need for cutting.

The result is a nice clean strap with a straight edge.

The two black doodads on the table are what I came up with and 3D printed to provide consistent dog lead handles and end loops for English style kennel leads and standard clip leads made with either rope or leather.  

All comments are appreciated.

kgg

 

Edited October 22 by kgg

[DieselTech]

Nice work. Looks nice. Can we get a overall picture of your cutting table setup. 

Thanks. 

[kgg]

2 hours ago, DieselTech said:

Nice work. Looks nice. Can we get a overall picture of your cutting table setup. 

Thank you @DieselTech.

The first two photo's are the best overall I could get of the butcher block table which is basically half of the 16' long section on that wall of the room. In that room I have about 40' (12.2m) of table used for other things. The butcher block itself is 1 3/4"(44.89mm) thick X 36" (915mm) wide which I use for cutting. Also if you noticed the electrical outlets they are placed 46" (1.17m) above the floor to the top of the cover plates with six separate 20 amp circuits in that room. As a note all my 15 and 20 amp receptacles in the house are at the 46" (1.17m) mark.

The steel ruler in both photo's is 6' (1.83m) long  x  2" (50.8mm) wide.

The last two photo's are closeups of a the two styles of supports. One shows the supports that just hold the flat plate tight to the edge of the table and the other shows a support that also extends the flat plate to about a 1/2" (12.7mm) above the white colored 1/8" (3.37mm) thick HDPE cutting boards.

kgg

 

Edited October 22 by kgg

[DieselTech]

Nice setup. Thanks for sharing. I needed to see the whole setup, cause I was having a hard time visualizing it thru words. 

Thanks.

[toxo]

Nice job Keith. You're pretty handy with that printer ain't ya. Well done.

[kgg]

2 hours ago, toxo said:

You're pretty handy with that printer ain't ya. Well done.

Thank you. I do like my Bambu Lab X1C 3D Printer it has a much better print quality, more accurate and 10 times faster then PRUSA gear.

kgg