Hey so I figured I would share this, and some pics of my setup. I was thinking about stiffening the Y axis and was getting ready to mill out some side plates in easel (from the projects section) when I realised that the old end plates from my shapeoko 2 were the perfect size… all the holes in the right places. So I just cut the tops off and fitted them between the maker slide and the bottom support extrusions. Thought it might help someone else… enjoy!
I cut new supports from 0.25 inch aluminum. I made the lower part where it attaches to the wasteboard 0.125 inches, so the lip rests on the wasteboard. It is solid as a rock.
Here is the file for the new endplates I cut. It is setup for 1/4" aluminum, you’ll notice the cutout is a pocket instead of a profile cut, I do this to make it easier to clear chips out of the cut. There are also no tabs of any kind to hold the piece in place. I cut the holes first, added screws to secure the pieces to the wasteboard, then cut out the pieces. If you cut these, realize that your router/spindle will no longer reach the stock wasteboard, I replaced my z-axis as well giving me 6 inches of travel. Feel free to use your own initials instead of mine for the v-carve