Comments on new Axiom SureGrip Spoilboards

[gerry]

Axiom SureGrip Spoilboards

At first glance they look pretty pricey. $249 for my AR8, and they're some kind of foam.

[joeblow]

I would hope a MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) will be provided to potential customers.

[grossmsj]

I ordered a set for my AR6. They should arrive Wednesday, so I'll have some feedback after a little use.

[grossmsj]

I've had these for a few days and I really like them. I don't know how they'll wear, but if there aren't any surprises in durability, I'd order them again.

They are a very dense foam. It's just very slightly deformable, such that you can feel your thumb make a slight impression when you press it really hard. The EVA foam is everywhere, for example on the handles of Bessey K-Body Clamp handles. So you'll recognize it once you have it in hand. It's hard to quantify how much better it holds work, but it's certainly better than MDF. The surface is less slippery than MDF, friction-wise, and the ability to slightly deform gives you a sense there is a little 'bite' when you are fastening a piece with the Axiom hold downs. I found that if I move the knob on the hold down to the point I'm just starting to feel resistance and then give the knob one more complete turn the wood was not going anywhere. Fastening seems easier and you get a sense of confidence with these things. 

Some other observations:
1) If you screw a piece to the work there is no 'mounding up' of the board when the screw goes in. The foam allows the screw to sink through and you don't get an MDF molehill where the screw pushes MDF back out. It leaves a clean, flat screw hole when you unscrew.

2) Two-sided tape seems to hold about the same as MDF. I put a strip on each of two adjacent spoil boards and then pressed plywood onto it. I routed out some Lamello Cabineo slots fairly aggressively with no wood movement. The wood pulled up when I lifted it and the tape left the spoilboard and remained on the plywood.

3) The boards are 1.25 inches thick and there is 0.85 inches of depth from the board surface to the screw head. So if you resurface 0.1 inches at a go you'd get about 8 resurfacings before you hit the screws.

4) It stinks. There was a pretty powerful chemical smell when I first unpacked it. Four days later the smell is subsiding. It's not a really objectionable smell, but it will hit you in the face. 

5) The little black bits thrown off when you initially resurface go everywhere and are a little tenacious. Maybe its static. But resurfacing is messier than with MDF. If your spindle needs tramming, it will also be obvious as the marks show up well.

6) For the price, I was disappointed the spoilboards didn't come with the hardware. Unless you have found the bigger rounded nuts that fit the M-sized screws, you will have to swap over the hardware from your old boards. It's a little thing, but hardware would add a lot to first impressions and overall ease of use.

7) These things are so thick you only have about 1.25 inches of use left on the Axiom hold downs. Anything thicker and you need new bolts there. I'm glad they're as thick as they are, given the price. But it's just a little trade-off that comes with it.

These boards add a little bit of luxury to fastening work down. Really nice to use. 

[jturbett]

Bought a set for my AR8 before Christmas, These solved two things for me, the slippage that drove me crazy using two sided pre-finished plywood on the MDF, the second I needed new spoil boards since after a number of re-surfacing they well were spoiled .

Yes the smell of my DNA being altered with chemicals was a bit of a surprise but after the first day it subsided. The tenacious dust on the resurfacing needed a towel and Windex to cleanup. I did use the laser to burn guide lines with no issue. I figure the price is steep but worth it for the 2 times I had slippage in the past year, I know there are a number of methods for the hold downs , including screwing the material to the spoil boards but I like a quick clean clamp down. The same rant is for the price it should have included the t-screws. I just went on Amazon and ordered a box full and some square nuts as I was somehow short two when removing the other boards for the 4th axis.

All in all very happy with the purchase, just air these out before you bring in the workshop.

[johnb]

With all this talk of the smell...isn't that same smell released any time the bit cuts into this foam?

Also...when tightening or clamping down opposing sides of an object, it's typical to tighten each "a little at a time" then tightening the opposite side so that there is approximately the same torque on each. It seems to me that it would be pretty easy to "use up" all the "give" that the foam has on one side, whereupon tightening the opposite side to the same "feel" would result in a workpiece that's not sitting flat anymore.

[pedro]

Feb 12, 2023 9:08:46 GMT -5 johnb said:

With all this talk of the smell...isn't that same smell released any time the bit cuts into this foam?

Also...when tightening or clamping down opposing sides of an object, it's typical to tighten each "a little at a time" then tightening the opposite side so that there is approximately the same torque on each. It seems to me that it would be pretty easy to "use up" all the "give" that the foam has on one side, whereupon tightening the opposite side to the same "feel" would result in a workpiece that's not sitting flat anymore.

I was wondering the same. If it gives a little bit with dumb pressure, imagine clamping about 200lbs on one corner and on the opposite side...will the piece not bow up if long enough?

[grossmsj]

Once you get over the initial strong smell, it doesn't seem to persist with added cutting into the spoilboard.

The spoilboards don't have enough 'give' to really tip a piece up or down. You literally have to push as hard as you can into the spoilboard to have the tip of a fingernail go in. It's a good amount of bite and not an issue to deal with. I'll put it this way, if you are tightening down enough to 'use up' all the 'give', you are really, really overtightening.

One thing you will see is a slight deformation into the spoilboard if you really crank them down and leave them cranked down overnight. It's not much, I just measured about 0.025 inches. It's a thing, but not really a problem considering they are spoilboards and are going to get a little gouged up. That might give you a sense of how much 'give' there is. Consider how much MDF will be deformed upward if you put a screw into it. That is more problematic than the EVA spoilboard 'give' IMO.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with these after using them a couple months.

[tbyers]

A set for my Iconic 6 arrives today. Very interested in the comments on reduced slippage. Will update after installed.

UPDATE: Have been using the spoiler for several months and have found no problems. They do help in holding a work piece secure. I will more than likely purchase again.