Hello everyone, I was cutting some walnut on my ShopBot Desktop, and after finishing was horrified to find this bolt sitting on top of my workpiece! It's a miracle the bit didn't run into it. Apparently it had fallen out of some part of the gantry or spindle assembly, I assume it has been working its way loose over the past year.
This isn't a bolt I previously owned that somehow made its way onto the bed. It's just under an inch long and is identical (see markings in photos) to the bolts used to connect the gantry verticals to the gantry crossbeam. (I've checked all of those and none are missing.) In other words, this bolt definitely came with the ShopBot, and definitely was not sitting atop my workpiece before the cut began.
I then went over the spindle assembly with a flashlight, but I cannot locate any hole that's missing a bolt.
Does anyone have any idea where this might go? Is there any mounting bolt you know of that's susceptible to spontaneously working its way loose? While I am in the middle of a project, it seems obvious I oughn't run the machine again until I figure this out.
Any info and suggestions appreciated!
thanks,
- Nick