Table material for CNC Router!

According to Forbes ( Tom Ziegler, Aug 12, 2011 )

"More than half the amount you spend on products made in China actually stays here -- going to American companies, workers, marketers, retailers, and transport providers. The amount is at least

55 cents per each $1 spent, says a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. So for that $70 pair of sneakers, $38.50 of it boosts bottom lines here in the U.S."

I was replaceing fluorescent tudes on my fish tank @ ~$8.00 every other month and even then they were cool white and not the proper "gro lamp" tubes. Second Son ordered a roll of LEDs on tape about 10mm wide

- a total of 173 diodes - which we mounted between two sheets of plexiglas to replace the two fluorescent single tube fixtures. this was about a year ago and so far all the diodes are still working and the plants are growing like mad and the fish seem to be quite happy (at least the guppies are reproducing like rabbits) Total cost including a tube of silicone caulk to seal the edges of the unit - under $10.00!

What's next? An epic story about how the intrepid Gunner sailed to China in one of his scrap boats to get his sneakers? And of course those stupid Chinks take the junk that you've dumpster dived in payment.

But, wait a minute! I've got it! You sailed the old scrap boat to China, traded it for the sneakers and swam back. that's it! Our hero, the almighty Gunner!

About half of everything you see in Walmart and hardware stores is now imported. And much of their profit is used to pay American workers, so it's not the horrible thing many people make of it. If I can buy a decent American sourced widget for a decent price, I'll buy it over a Chinese import, but when the difference is 10x, I always go import. That's why my shop is filled with Grizzly and Harbor Freight tools. For the most rigorously used tools, I went with American, German, and Japanese (Milwaukee, Bosch, Makita) name brands which held up to the daily strain.

I think the manufacturers pay for fake invoices which show a mere 45% markup when it's likely 750% or better. I bought a beautiful jade carving from China which would have been $50-500 over here. It cost me $4.23, including delivery.

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A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

-Robert A. Heinlein

I remember when Makita first began selling to the U.S. Many shops would not allow that "cheap Jap shit" to be used in the shop :-)

Not bad. The hardware stores in my country charge a minimum of 15 bucks for a tube of silicone caulk. You can get in Aldi a few times a year for much less, but it's not the kind of thing you buy when you don't need it right away.

Back to my original query. I found a piece of light gray Corian just over the dimensions I need for ab out $100 delivered. It's only 12mm thick, but with an additional Y-axis bra ce underneath it should be fine. An unexpected benefit of my research has b een that the sample piece I bought turns out to be quite useful. I made a b unch of parallel bars with it for one thing. I do a lot of operations where I want to cut through the stock a tiny bit. I was using oak or high grade plywood for these jobs. The Corian is much more dimensionally stable. Also, it solvent bonds quite nicely, so I can make complicated fixtures with it more easily than with wood or metal. I highly recommend the stuff!

One last thing - don't get the dust in your eyes!!!!!