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Hi all,

The table is going to weigh around 250kgs, probably more as will be using concrete paving slabs as part of the setup. I plan to build the height with breeze blocks, put a large piece of thick mdf on top, on top of that loft foam insulation pads, the polystyrene type. Then i'm going to put on the "Mystery Isolator", on top of that another large thick piece of mdf with concrete slabs on and then another piece of MDF with a 3-5mm thick perforated steel sheet screwed to the top.

I have a similar layout on my back bedroom(built over the chimney) but with inner tubes and a Thor labs optical table on a much smaller scale. The inner tubes keep going flat though

I would like to use Sorbothane but it's not that cheap. The tennis ball idea could work well though and would be cheap.

Thank you for the suggestions so far, very useful and appreciated

Grayham

I couldn't decide either, so I used both Sorbathane and inner tubes. Under my 2.5' X 5.5' soda can table I put six isolators that consist of three Sorbathane blocks spaced 120 degrees apart under a wood disk with an almost deflated inner tube on top. Works well.

Bob, I've heard of using tennis balls before. Your description makes a lot of sense.

I've used tennis balls with success. Get two cheap saucepans for each leg, remove the handles, and make a sandwich with them and a layer of tennis balls between. Be sure the pans don't touch each other. The balls provide isolation from vibrations, and don't let the table bounce around while working on it. Some other corral for the balls may be cheaper. If using inner tubes, be sure to let the air from the center space to vent.

How heavy will the table be?

Grayham wrote:Hello

I'm about to start building an isolation table in my garage. A reasonably big one 2000 x 1000mm.
I have a good idea of what I want to do and previously have used inner tubes for the isolation and they work well.

Inner tubes take maintenance and if you get a dodgy valve or they go flat for some other reason it can be a pain.

I was looking at the material used for audio insulation which looks interesting or possible a huge chunk of soft foam.
I'm staying away from sand.

What i want to know is has anyone had any luck using any other type of material for isolation?

Many thanks
Grayham

If you decide to experiment, you should consider rockwool. A common trade name is Roxul. Something like Roxul Comfortboard 80 may have all the characteristics you seek. (Go for board, not batting.)

hi
I also use inner tubes, but it is no problem if they go flat, as I have extended the valve with a hose.
So i removed the original valve, added the hose, guided it through a hole in the base plate, and added a new valve on the other end of the hose.
So after a few weeks the tubes loose air and get flat. I put some concrete stones between, so if they get flat the table sits on the stones.
Then I can take the hose with the valve and pump up the inner tubes again. this lifts the table only a few cm of the concrete stones, but that is sufficient.

Hello

I'm about to start building an isolation table in my garage. A reasonably big one 2000 x 1000mm.
I have a good idea of what I want to do and previously have used inner tubes for the isolation and they work well.

Inner tubes take maintenance and if you get a dodgy valve or they go flat for some other reason it can be a pain.

I was looking at the material used for audio insulation which looks interesting or possible a huge chunk of soft foam.
I'm staying away from sand.

What i want to know is has anyone had any luck using any other type of material for isolation?

Many thanks
Grayham