lab7654's Blog at LumberJocks.com

A Learning Experience: Business and Small Shop CNC

lab7654 — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:44:22 GMT

When I was registering for classes last year, the only woodoworking class available was the “Woods Manufacturing” class. Now that I’m in it, I realize how intensive it is. The class, for most, has turned into a business class. The whole purpose of it is to form a business (registered with the state) and turn out woodworking projects to make a profit. The best part: the students keep the cash. Not a penny goes to the school. We are learning a lot about business structure, shareholders, etc. But what I like the most is learning how to operate the CNC router. It’s new to the shop and we’re using it to make custom signs. I don’t understand every aspect of it, but I’m getting there. All in all, I’m really enjoying the experience, and in the end I might earn enough money for a new table saw.

Here are some pictures of the current set-up.

Plenty of clamps here, that board isn’t going anywhere.

New Jointer/Planer

lab7654 — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 18:09:40 GMT

Earlier this week I pulled the trigger on my first jointer and planer: the JET JJP-10BTOS 10” jointer/planer combo. I’ve been debating the purchase for a while; reading reviews, waiting for sales, etc. I was originally going to get the 8” model, since it was the only one in my budget, but CPO was running a sale on this one for $400. That’s only $30 more than the 8” one, and this one comes with a stand. Good deal, check it out if you’re planning on buying one of these soon. Anyway, I was awakened by a doorbell and my barking dog this morning, and lo and behold: a huge box dropped off on my front step. I whipped out a dolly and wheeled it over to to the garage for immediate assembly. I’ll get more into this in the coming review, after I thoroughly test it of course. But, I thought I would blow off some of the initial excitement, and what better a place to do so than LJ’s :).

Here’s the machine itself, on top of my integrated makeshift mobile base ($20 mover’s dolly), and my DIY office chair for scooting around between the box with the parts and the machine (a chair on another dolly).

And don’t worry, the cutterhead guard is now on. Safety first!

Oh and one question for those of you who own one of these: When I move the cutter guard back, like I’m jointing a board, the front edge of it drags on the outfeed table. It leaves a red paint mark now, which can be wiped off, but I’m worried about it wearing into the table with time. Is this standard? Can I adjust it? For now I’ll just put some red tape on it to buffer it, but it might be a negative in the coming review if it can’t be fixed.

New (to me) Scroll Saw

lab7654 — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 04:31:28 GMT

Last week I was sitting around in my cabin garage, shooting breeze with the contractor that we use up there. He is also a custom cabinet maker on the side, so we have a decent amount in common to talk about. He mentioned that he had a Craftsman scroll saw laying around that he hardly uses, and paid about $180 for. I asked if he would consider getting rid of it, and he said $50 and it was mine. Done deal. I figured that it would be in good shape, given that I know and trust this guy pretty well. This weekend when the family was back up there, he brought it over. My initial impression was that it was older than what I expected when he said he hadn’t used it much since he bought it. But hell, with the beating that Craftsman gets on the forums these days, it’s probably better to have one with age. It is a pretty nice saw: all metal, variable speed, tilting table, and air hose. The air supply is a little weak, so I suspect either a cracked hose or air bag. One thing that seems odd to me is that the variable speed knob is also the power switch, which gets pulled up to turn the machine on. This is my first scroll saw, so this might just be new to me.

Overall I’m happy with the deal. What do you guys think of it?