The Framers Forum

Just started using my new Excalibur 5000 and I am a bit concerned that glass is sitting directly onto the aluminium of the squaring arm. Is this correct, seems that it could easily chip, or is there meant to be something in the channel for boards to sit on?

It is correct. But it's something that I don't feel too comfortable with.
I got some obeche strips 19x5mm and laid them in the channels. It does make sliding the sheet back and forth a bit awkward as the corner of the sheet tends to dig into the wood, but after a while the strips bed in and in any case, I prefer this to having to lower a big sheet very gingerly into the machine for fear of chipping.

I've never given it much thought, bar that it's a hard surface and you need to take care, but it's glass; you always need to take care!

Once the glass is in place it can be easily slid along, but maybe more importantly, it also slides back a fraction when you snap it, wouldn't want any resistance at that point.

The glass will slide more easily if the bed is occasionally sprayed with a dry lubricant.

Dear ChrisG

I checked with Keencut. Here is what they told me:

"The stainless steel strips are factory fitted in to special channels in the squaring arm and they have to be slid in from the end at the factory, rather than dropped in by the user. When they are fitted no join is visible from the top because the strip is about 2 mm wider than the material groove and to people unfamiliar with metal they could be mistaken for a polished surface of the aluminium. Surprisingly the surface of the stainless steel is remarkably resilient and we rarely have a request for replacements.
The channel should be cleaned of glass bits from time to time, with a vac or a brush - never a finger."

Does that help?