Thoughts on an all aluminium water table?

Hi all, I’m in the designing stages of a new water table. Just wanted to see if anyone has any recommendations for the tray, slats and maybe a drainage system. Currently I want to build it out of aluminium with steel slats. One of my main changes to the original apart from one singular piece is a taller tray. I plan to make it 80mm tall which also means I have to extend the gantry upwards to clear the bearing blocks. I’d love to replace the bearing blocks with proper linear rails one day too which would’ve solved that problem but that’s a project for another day. I’ll include some pics for you guys



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When I build my new table, I’ll use stainless steel instead of aluminum. This is because aluminum has a lower melting temperature and is more likely to burn through under certain conditions.
I’ll also add taller stanchion risers when rebuilding my Crossfire Pro. Because:
I plan to use a deeper water pan.
The long machine torch requires more clearance.
Also I use a adapter for my SYNC consumables which is longer than.
I believe gripping the torch close to the very top makes it a lot more stable too.

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The very original CF table was aluminum tray and it corroded through in no time due to electrolysis. Don’t Do it!

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Figure you are about ready to pull the trigger on purchase of new XR table Tin…

I very much want to. I was hoping our dollar would pick back up but it has not.

Who knows maybe when Langmuir will have a Canadian dollar at par day on Canada Day. :crossed_fingers:

I hear ya ,definitely a rough economy past two and half years. Hopefully 2024 will bring big improvement.?

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Still running an OG aluminum water table from 2018, no corrosion or burn throughs.

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What are you using in it? Plain water? Do you drain it every time? And would you do that again or get a SS one?

Using the old school concoction posted years ago on these forums. Have plenty of the raw ingredients and mix up a concentrate and dump 10oz per new table fill throughout the year. I leave the pan full but get evaporation as the months go by. Aluminum pan has been fine so don’t know what SS pan would add for me personally. I understand that others have had issues, but certainly not universal.

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I’m hoping that is caused by misplaced earth clamps. I’ve heard of people having their galvanised screws also corrode from electrolysis but I’ve had no issues with that on my crossfire. I think I’ll go ahead with aluminium and see how it goes, if it fails I’ll have to replace it with stainless which is fine, just costly.

Stainless is definitely a better option in terms of longevity and heat resistance. Unfortunately my stock stainless steel tray has heat damage from cutting 12 and 16mm steel since the slow travel speed allowed the water to be blown out the way, this is also from the slats not allowing water to flood in from the sides. Hopefully the added volume of water and room under the slats in my design solves this and prevents the aluminium from any direct heat. I still need to put a lot of thought into a water tank and plumbing for water management system

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ahahahahahahaha…ahahahahahahahaha…ahahahahahaha…

mind you I do remember not to long ago the Canadian dollar was higher than the USD…