It’s been taking me a while because I’m building a new bed for my engraver. When I’m finished, I will post photos. I’m using a piece of 3/4 inch plywood that I had in my garage because it was the only board that I had large and flat enough for the project. If I was buying, I would have chosen 1/2 inch.
I’m using a sheet of aluminum 24" x 24". It’s 22 gauge thick. I got it from lowes https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-24-in-x-24-in-Aluminum-Solid/3051087.
I also got the spray paint there. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Krylon-FUSION-ALL-IN-ONE-Matte-Black-Spray-Paint-and-Primer-In-One-NET-WT-12-oz/1000460293
I clamped down the sheet metal and used a small hammer to bend the sheet metal over the ends to give it a more finished look. This wasn’t too difficult, but will need to be secured on the four corners to maintain flatness.
After painting it, I laser engraved a grid, planned my layout, and used an auto punch to make drilling easier. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008DXYOLC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
I drilled the holes in the pattern that I planned and mounted these metal cones that LAHobbyGuy recommended (after having to modify more than half of the screws). Amazon.com
The need to modify was because I bought the cones before the sheet metal which turned out to be too thin. They would have worked well with a thicker metal sheet.
Photos are coming…