CNC router projects! who has one?

[TN_boy]

Great work!
I just sold 15 shot glass holders to a local distillery/bar.

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[Drewboy22]

Great work!
I just sold 15 shot glass holders to a local distillery/bar.

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That is Cool! Great job! What did you use to finish it?

[TN_boy]

4/4 solid mesquite
Epoxy filled engraving and logo
Minwax wipe on clear poly

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[TN_boy]

80, 120, 180, 220 sanding, then poly.
Poly wash raw wood around areas before pouring epoxy to keep from staining wood.

[TN_boy]

Running multiple units. Face and planed to thickness then edge joined. Used double sided tape and placed each board edge to edge with right side all aligned with y0. In vcarve created overall size then added lines to show each board bc they are all different widths. Centered part file on each board and created toolpaths. So far it's working out great!

[TN_boy]

Partial complete

[rut-ro]

Pretty cool talent here fellas

[TN_boy]

Lessons learned:
1) Just because the routing is easy doesn't mean charge less
2) Finishing is a lot of work
3) epoxy fill is a lot of work

No one will ever pay the prices that should be charged.

MEASURE EPOXY BY VOLUME!!!!!
Unless you measure density and convert.
Mix per instructions! Do not skimp on these steps unless you want tacky not fully cured epoxy. Adding mice powder or dye slows the process. If you want "harder" epoxy let let it start heating up in the mixing container before pouring/dispensing. WARNING this will shorten the amount of time you have to dispense before it thickens beyond use.

To get really good epoxy finish one needs to sand 80, 120, 180, 220 then poly, wet sand, more poly, wet sand, wax.

Each sanding removes scratches from previous grit. At 220 I cannot feel the changes in any finer advancements.

90% of my products are Texas Mesquite kiln dried to 6-8% MC.
10% is Texas Pecan kiln dried to 6-8% MC.

I practice each file on "wet" Mesquite scraps I get from work.
Once the bugs are worked out I run on good dry product.

Ensure that you know thickness of each part ran. This is most helpful after knowing or planing spoiled board flat. I find myself milling ~0.020" off of boards even after running through a jointer and planer due to snipe. Otherwise you see tool runout for example a round over will be tangent on one end and have a 0.010" recess in opposite end. This isn't the end of the world but does lead to more finishing time.

Pay attention to toolpath sequence and think outside of the box to reduce tool changes.

I had 15 parts to make but all of my lumber was different widths. After planing to same thickness I drew the part file with lines at each thickness to show where boards were. Dimensions were taken from xy 0 end and measured consecutively to the end.ex. 0, 3, 5.875, 9.25, 11.625, etc. Thus was to reduce compounding error of trying to measure each board individually. Gorilla double sided tape was used to hold each board down. 3 pieces each running in shirt direction, left, center, right sides. All cutouts were left with tabs.

Although I charged $35/ea for 15 of these parts, which isn't too bad for 26 hours of actual labor, I should have charged 50+ due to the manual finishing labor involved. I'm already working on ways to reduce hands-on time after routing.

[TN_boy]

Oh and I learned this after fooling around and cursing Fusion360...

I've used SolidWorks off and on since 2001 and using Fusion was frustrating.
If you join EAA, Experimental Aircraft Association, a benefit is the ability to download SolidWorks Educational Edition for free, well, not free, it'll cost you a $40/yr individual or $50/yr family membership.

This is well worth the investment, just know that any file you create will forever be coded so if you want to patent or produce any commercial product there could be repercussions.

https://www.eaa.org/eaa/eaa-membership

If a part requires 3D finishing profile then I create that, otherwise I am creating dxf's in AutoCAD or if it's simple then just using VCarve Pro.

[TN_boy]

Texases made out of Pecan and some other fun stuff that I've messed with over the last couple of months.

[mmoses]

very good stuff!

[TN_boy]

I added some epoxy to my bottle opener this eve

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[Drewboy22]

I added some epoxy to my bottle opener this eve

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That is a great idea!! Good Job

[kparker158]

Well I bought my gf a Glowforge and I must say the CNC Router is the better investment Lol. Something that takes 2-3 minutes to engrave/cut on my router takes about 30-45 minutes on the glowforge. They definitely compliment each other well.

[djc]

I'm a machinist by trade, I'm thinking of getting a router to play with when I retire. What are your favorite machines and why? Thanks!