Water table slat heights issues

My crossfire came with water table while trying to install the slats the heights are well over an 1/8 inch different and I know they’re seated properly. Any suggestions to get them closer. It actually seems like the rails that hold the slats in the water table flex and raise up on the center. Even if you hold them down flush there still is a severe difference where you can’t get them even.

We haven’t seen this issue before. Can you post some pictures?

These are what mine looked like when I received them. Trying to remove the bends manually to get them to flush up and run parallel to the water table is almost impossible because of the angles in the parts.

Holy cow!!! Surely that had to be because of shipping right? How thick are the slats?

@EdS Looks like UPS isn’t being kind to your packages. We’ll get you anopther set of slats ASAP!

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@oneupperperformance, Yes, I assume it was damage from shipping but as this is the third shipment to get all the parts for my water table it’s hard to tell. The box the table ships in is pretty stout, and with the table itself providing additional protection, I assume the slat holders would have been better protected. Unfortunately, my table showed up without any of the other parts in the box, then the next shipment only included the small hardware. The third package was just the slat holders rolled in bubble wrap and cardboard which did not afford them the protection they needed. So while their geometry makes them pretty stout for their intended purpose, they obviously can’t hold up to any lateral stresses, like those encountered during individual shipment in a non-rigid package.

@Langmuir-Paul,
I recommend shipping the slat holders in a rigid tube or one of the triangle box tubes that USPS priority uses so that they have some external protection. I’m not confident that rolling and taping them in scrap cardboard again would yield better results the second time around.

Your replacement slat holders are going out today. We cut a 2’x2" steel tube to proper length and pushed the slat holders inside. Then we put the tube in a cardboard box.

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When engineering fails… Over Engineer! :blush:

OR GBFH (Get a bigger fracking Hammer!)

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Is there a video yet that is mentioned for water table height adjustments? I cannot get torch height to run evenly across the slats with water table installed.
Thanks

Hi Paul, is the issue that a straight edge doesn’t sit flat on the slats when positioned perpendicular to them?

I think I’ve finally got it. I still haven’t powered up yet or wired the cutter but the torch holder was not sliding back and forth without hitting slats. Hope to get power this week. Thanks for replying.

My Bars were bent a little also. It’s got a little Ridge in the middle that I haven’t been able to get leveled out. I think these slat holders should be stainless or something more rugged so they can’t bend. I tried to tweak the bars a little bit by hand when I was trying to put mine in and I had to use a hammer to drive the slaps down in a few of the spaces

I am having the same issue as Paul. The water table slats are not level. When I put a straight edge on them they are high and low in different positions. Everything else is level, such as the cutting arm, water table tank, and table itself. Nothing seems to be bent. How do you fix this?

Your alignment instruction video states that there will be a video on how to adjust the slats on the water table, but I don’t seem to find it.

Did you use a mallet to tap them full down into the slots? I found I needed to do that on several (& go over it a couple of times as getting one end seated would cause the other to rise).

my table will be here tomorrow! YAHHHHH! would lightly sanding the edges that go into holders help them from being so tight? so I don’t have the same issue?

The main ‘issue’ is that the slats are sheared from large sheets of 1/8" plate. When plate is sheared, it slightly curls the edge. If you find that the slat give you some difficulty, consider sanding down the edge of the slat in the area that it inserts into the slat holder. That will ensure that it fully seats in the slat holder.

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I had to use a rubber mallet to get the slats seated properly

I took mine apart and used a straight edge and a vice to straighten the slat holders. Took a little bit of time but it got it pretty straight

Thanks James. We have tried the mallet several times but did not think that it may cause the other side to rise. I will double check that. If this doesn’t work then I will use Daniels suggestion and sand down. We are stuck in this spot so I’ve got to get it fixed.

I still have the same issue. I ended up placing the problem slat closest to the Y gantry. At least this way it is pretty much out of the work area of the cutter. I sanded the edges, used a mallet, used a straight edge, etc. couldn’t get the slats to be level.