# Show me your CNC machine!



## DS

Do you own or use a CNC machine?
Are you building one? Or have you built one?

Here's your chance to show it off!

Here's the one I'm building









This will be a 4-axis machine X,Y,Z and a rotary A axis.
Trying my best to afford an automatic tool changing spindle, but, we'll see how that goes.
Currently, I'm assembling the controller and drivers panel.
Still lacking the x axis rack and pinion as well as the entire z-axis and spindle.
You can follow my build blog here.

And here is one that pays the bills;










This is a machine that I've used several times to cut cabinetry projects. 
During the economic turndown, they let me lease it by the hour. I was cutting about 45 sheets in about 6 hours on it.
It has a 5' x 12' table and a twelve position tool carousel, but no drill aggregate head.

This is nearly identical to the machine I've programmed for employers for many years though many of them have the drill aggregate head.

Coincidentally, the panel it is cutting is for the ebony bar in my projects page.


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## JoeLyddon

COOL Stuff!


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## oldnovice

The picture was taken just afer we got the it unpacked and out of the rain.










*A Shopbot Buddy BT48 Alpha with 2.2 HP HSD spindle*
(No spoilboard, spindle still locked down)


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## DS

Hans, that's a sweet little machine there. 
What you do for dust collection? 
(Perhaps it isn't yet installed on this pre-setup pic.)


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## oldnovice

*Doug* the dust collection is not in the picture but, as of now, I have been using the Shopbot dust shoe, actually a very poor design (see below), and my Craftsman shop vac which seem to be very good except for MDF when the humidity is low and static seems to take over. I have cut oak, birch, maple, pine, ABS, lots of acrylic, and tempered hardboard without any dust issue.

I have a "tent" made of 5 mil plastic sheeting and supported by T Slot and 80/20 extrusions attached to the rear of the Shopbot frame, over the top, and down the front. I did this not so much to keep the cutting dust in but to keep California (the dust in this desert). Sorry don't have a picture of this.

The problems with the Shopbot dust shoe are:

The shoe connected to the back side of the Z axis and held in place with a thumb screw which is only accessible when the Z axis is about 2" above the spoil board. 
Because the duct to the shoe is a "ovalized" (a circular flexible dust tube pressed out of shape) it does cause issues with hold downs in the area that this ovalized portion traverses.
The shoe itself gets in the way when locating XY visually.
It is also in the way when changing bits.

And because of those issues I have been thinking about the Kent CNC dust shoe , shown below.










Or using the design from Instructables which looks a lot like the one from Kent CNC, and/or making my own (one of the nice things about a CNC)!

*I think I went quite a way beyond answering your initial question.*


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## degoose

Here is my Vermec CNC router… 1000 mm by 600 [ 3' x 2'] useable work surface with 3 HP spindle…. running Aspire and Mach III









Because it was made locally here in Australia I was able to watch the progress…









Built a dust shoe…








I also have a Laser engraver with a second one being delivered this morning… so excited…


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## SugarbeatCo

Shopbot PRS Alpha 96×48 on her maiden voyage. I havent taken any pics since setting up the dust collection but I plan to soon.


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## oldnovice

Nice aircraft carrier, where is the CNC? chukle

That is really a nice, mine is *puny* compared to yours!


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## SugarbeatCo

its not the size of the ship.. lol.. Yeah it does great for cabinets/ full sheet work.. Not sure how some cabinet guys get by without one… I just wish I could figure out a way to add a second z car with a sander..


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## oldnovice

*SugarbeatCo*, I am sure this will come in very handy in your shop!
I bet you can't wait to start cutting.

It took me quite a while to get over the "first piece" jitters. Now it's the first tool I consider but I am still learning. In my opinion, there is a lot more to learn about a CNC than any other shop tool which is sort a a "DUH!" statement.


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## DS

Degoose, that's a nice overall shop setup. It looks like your cnc gets to run quite often.

Sugarbeatco, the angle of your pic makes the table look a mile long! What kind of hold down to you use for panel processing? It doesn't look like there is a vacuum system there.


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## msmith1199




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## DS

We have a Legacy owner in our midst! There's been some speculation about that brand and it's value. Oldnovice says it was one of his top contenders before ultimately selecting the shop bot.

Perhaps, Mark, you can give us your opinion and review it for us inquiring minds.
Pros, cons, etc.

My cnc build will be.a very similar machine. Yours looks like an "Arty", right?


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## msmith1199

Yes mine is the Arty. I can tell you I'm happy with it. I'm happy with Legacy and the support I get from them. They can be a little slow to answer sometimes but any issues I've had they've been able to get me on track.

I was down to the Shopbot versus the Legacy myself. The ultimate deciding factor between the two came down to the location of the factory and the fact that Legacy came to a woodworking show near me and brought their machine. To this day I've still never seen a Shopbot in person. The Legacy factory is in Utah and Shopbot is on the east coast and I'm in California. So I could have flown all the back east, got my factory training, and then came all the way back and paid for shipping from my machine, or I could drive to Utah in my motorhome with my truck in tow, get my two days of factory training, load the CNC in my pickup that was towed behind my motorhome, and bring it home without paying close to a grand for shipping. So I chose the Legacy.

The only draw back to the Legacy Arty is you are limited to an 18" width, but for what I build that's really all I need. If you want a machine to cut parts out of a 4×8 sheet of MDF then the Arty isn't for you, but Legacy has machines that will do that too. But I'm not a cabinet maker so I don't do that anyway. A 24" width would have been much nicer than the 18" width, but as you know with the precision of the cut you can make things in parts too and glue them up. I have made 24" diameter lazy Susan's and I did so by cutting out two half circles and gluing them together. You can see this in one of my project photos. It makes for an extra glue step, but I still got a perfect circle out of it.


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## msmith1199

I do think now that I know more about the CNC and how it operates and I wouldn't need a lot of factory support, that if I ever do want a bigger one I would build it myself.


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## Ripthorn

I hope to build my own CNC router soon, but I have a little CNC milling machine. I won't show pictures because it is likely outside the scope of your question. But CNC really is not all that bad. Some people think it is a huge learning curve, but I would put it at moderate if you are computer savvy and mechanically inclined.


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## msmith1199

Oldnovice, I have the Kent dust shoe on my Legacy (you can see it in the photo) and I don't have any problems with it. The bottom portion is held on with magnets so it comes off real easy to change bits and manually set the XY. On Legacy also pauses after a bit change and after it has set the Z height of the bit and gives you a message to attach the dust shoe. As you can see from my photo I made an overhead connection that swivels on hinges to support the dust collection hose. All works find.


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## msmith1199

And that's the key Brian, if you are computer savvy and mechanically inclined. I'm more computer savvy than mechanically inclined, and I put the learning curve on the moderate to difficult side, at least for me. The salesman all tell you how simple it is and even people with no computer experience can learn it easily. That I don't agree with. There were just so many little things to it you have to know and be able to set up. Especially with the turning axis. Setting up spirals and all that stuff is no where near as easy as the salesmen claimed it to be.


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## oldnovice

Thanks, *Mark*, as you have probably read above, I really dislike the dust shoe on my CNC, not that it doesn't work it are all the factors I mentioned really are irritating.

I do have the CNC files from Instructables that are almost an exact copy of the Kent version but I have yet to find a supplier for the brush bristles.


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## msmith1199

Can you buy the Bristles from Kent? I actually have a laser engraver/cutter so I could make my own dust shoe out of acrylic too. Or actually, I guess you could even make it with the CNC. I've never used mine for acrylic since I have the laser so I never even thought of that.

The thing you have to be careful with on the Kent is to not pull it off by the bristles. They are just in a channel and they come out of the channel and are hard to get back in. So when pulling it off grab the plastic. I notice the photo I posted of my CNC is pretty blurry. I'll take some more and put them on here.


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## msmith1199




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## msmith1199

One other thing I forgot to mention on my choice of the Legacy over the Shopbot, was Legacy offered the water cooled spindle at the time and Shopbot did not. It was a lot of extra money, but in my opinion it was worth it. I've run it as long as 5 hours non-stop on a complex carving while I was working on other things in the shop. I sure as heck would not have wanted to listen to a regular router for that long! The water cooled spindle is almost silent. The only noise is the blade cutting the wood. (That can be a bad thing because I once stuck my hand into the running spindle because I didn't realize it was on.)


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## oldnovice

*Mark*, been there almost done that, luckily my son was there and said "dad what are you doing, stop now!" 
Now I know better!


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## DS

First off, Mark, OUCH! I hope you did not sustain serious injury to your hand!

I did my initial factory training with Komo in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The Innova 408 was literally their smallest machine. They had one that was 300 feet along the x axis and 60 feet along the y axis (vertical axis) with an air-conditioned operator cab on the z axis plate. It was used to machine large panels for military ships and ocean liners. The x axis ran along train rails embedded in the concrete floor of the building.

As for difficulty level, I put it at moderate. There were, however, people attending the class who needed help on how to use a computer mouse, argh! By the end of the week, they gave up on trying to figure it out themselves and asked if I'd consider relocating and working for them. I'm pretty sure similar offers were made to nearly everyone else in the class.
I declined.


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## oldnovice

*Mark*, I assume that your Legacy does have some interlock for the collet when you want to change/install a bit.
My Shopbot interlock uses one of the collet wrenches with a key, attached with a piece of wire cable, that disables the spindle.
In order to install/change bits I need to turn the key to remove it from the lock so I can use the wrench on my spindle.

Just curious as to how Legacy does it!

As far as water versus air cooled spindle goes, you are a pro making a living and need to run your spindle for a long period of time and I only do this for a hobby. However, I have run my spindle for as long as four hours at one time. The other factor is that I want my spindle to last a long time so I don't take deep cuts and run at the low end of the chip load.


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## msmith1199

My spindle just has a regular collet on it like regular routers. Takes two wrenches to change the bit. And yeah, at first I was a little uncomfortable changing the bit with everything still plugged in, but it doesn't worry me anymore. When changing the bit the spindle is in the parked position. If for some reason a bug landed on the computer and pressed the button to continue the program, then the spindle will move down to the home position and lower before it starts up. At least assuming there isn't a major malfunction.

On the water cooled spindle, my main reason for getting it was noise. There are other advantages, but noise was the main concern. I never leave my CNC alone for any length of time while it's running so I'm doing other things in the shop and I would hate to have to listen to all that noise for 5 hours. When doing regular cuts the blade noise is loud, but you're only running for 5 hours when doing carvings and you can stand right next to my CNC and have a normal conversation while it's doing a carving.


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## ssnvet

This is what I play with at home…. it's a bench top mill I converted to CNC control…










And this is the one I play with at work…. A CNT Motion Systems 900 with 8 position tool changer.


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## DS

Matt, that mill is sweet. It looks like just the ticket to make special brackets and such for a DIY cnc build.


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## DS

I know there are other cnc machine users out there.
Get out your camera and take the picture!

You know you want to show it off!

Come on, show us your (cnc router) bits!
Hahahaha!


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## degoose

Here is my machine in action.

http://s0.videopress.com/player.swf?v=1.03

Slight hesitations are the machine leaving small tabs to hold the piece in place when finished… no flopping around in the hole…thus avoiding damage to the bit or the work…


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## JAAune

Here's the one we use at our shop. It's genuine Festool!










It's a modified version of the Machine Tool Camp design that we built in John Knight's class at Marc Adams school. The Z-axis and electronics were completely redesigned and later on, we beefed up the x-axis drive axle.

Yes, that is a Kent dust shoe and yes, it does work well for us.


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## oldnovice

*JAAune*, that's a nice machine! How big is the bed?

I didn't know Festool made these and I assume it cost a pretty penny!


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## JAAune

4'x8' bed. Making it longer was an option but I don't think wider was possible.

There is a small flaw in the design in that it only has about 48.5"x97" travel. If I'd have known a little more about the design before I started the build I'd have added an extra inch of travel on each axis so I could completely span a 49"x97" sheet of mdf. It's possible to modify the machine to accomplish that but it's a fair bit of work which likely won't be done soon.

The table will be redone at some point with a t-slot and doghole combo and vacuum system.

That's an older picture and now there's some additional bracing installed so it can run faster without shaking. It'll do 450ipm on X and Y but the Porter Cable router isn't up for that and it has a little too much shudder at that feed rate. I usually don't run at more than 250ipm.

Building that machine cost (class expenses, travel, software and computer included along with materials) about $10,000.

By the way, I just noticed you were looking for a source for brushes. McMaster Carr has them but I don't know which type to recommend. The Kent shoe looks like it uses nylon but I'm not certain.
 
Strip Brushes


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## oldnovice

*JAAune*, thanks for the link to the brushes as it looks like they have almost any material!


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## DS

Wow! I am just blown away! I never knew Festool had a DIY kit! ;-)

Actually it gives me hope that my 80-20 home brew machine might actually work one day.


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## MrRon

JAAune, The frame looks like it is made from 80/20 aluminum extrusions. Festool may have just provided the electronics, motors and router. Regardless of who made it, I wish it were mine.


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## JAAune

I'm thinking that Festool only provided the sticker.


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## oldnovice

I don't believe that the extrusions are 80/20 because they don't have the extra grooves indicative of 80/20 and, because it's Festool I would assume it is probably from Bosch Rex Roth which makes similar extrusions for the German market.

T Slots and Bosch Rex Roth do not have the grooves that 80/20 exhibits their extrusions.


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## Underdog

I have the privilege of working on and with this KOMO VR510 at my place of employment. It's a beast. The yellow enclosure on the left is a Kaeser 25HP Vacuum pump which creates a pretty good black hole for keeping parts down. The big air tank behind the router is our dry tank where the filtering and drying of supply air has all been done. In front of that you can see the 15 HP Colombo spindle - (If you look really close you can see the 11 position drill block on the left side.) On the right you see the control panel, and just to the left of that you see the 10 tool carousel for the ATC. The ATC is behind the blue vacuum hose used for cleaning off the spoilboard. The bed on this is 5' wide x 10' long. The Z travel is about 8" if I remember correctly. Spindle top RPM is 18,000, and the top feed speeds are in excess of 1,000 IPM.
Pardon the mess, I didn't clean for the picture, but it's a real working machine. It just got through cutting a bunch of MDF doors. And there are carts full of parts ready to be assembled off to the right of the picture. Not to worry though, I make sure it gets cleaned every night! I have to do the maintenance and repairs on this thing, and I want it clean when I do.









And this is my CarveWright purchased from Mark Smith here on LJ. He offered me a good deal on it and I just couldn't turn it down. Thanks again Mark. 
I did all the upgrades which included the HD X axis drive belts, a better chuck (Rock Chuck and collet adapter), and a custom carved (yes, by the CarveWright) dust collection port (hence the hole cut in the cover).


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## msmith1199

Now I want my CarveWright back since you've fixed it all up!


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## Underdog

Even with that big hole carved through the cover? ;-)


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## MrRon

oldnovice; 80/20 does have a "smooth" series in metric.


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## Jfong

Custom CNC I built last year . About 25"x28" travel. 80/20 extrusion and aluminum plate. THK linear rails and NSK ground ballscrews. Gecko stepper and servo drives running MACH3. 2.2KW water cooled spindle. Runs great and very precise due to the high end linear components used.

Regards

Jim


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## oldnovice

*MrRon*, I still believe it's Bosch Rex Roth because of the German location of Festool and Rex Roth but it really doesn't matter as all of these are almost interchangeable!

I am more familiar with T Slot extrusions as I used a lot of them, and so did others in the company, when I was still working. The support from T Slots is superior and they are they do the extrusions in house.


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## msmith1199

Oldnovice, I think you missed JAAune's post where he admits the only thing Festool about that CNC is the sticker.


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## JAAune

Mark is correct. After my business partner and I brought the machine into the shop we were pretty happy with how well it operated. At some point we saw a Festool sticker that we got with an MFT purchase laying around the shop and it looked too perfect not to stick on the machine.

With the hole pattern and aluminum extrusions, it does look a lot like something Festool made but unfortunately, it's just a running joke around our shop. A local woodturner is always giving us a hard time about our "fancy" tools so we play along.


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## ssnvet

I'm drafting up plans to mount a Makita trim router as a slave spindle on my bench top mill. Should do the trick for small scale wood routing and milling AL with small end mills.

I also want to extend my Y axis 2" to increase my work envelope to 16" x 8"


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## DS

Underdog, the VR510 is a sweet machine -a real work horse. The rapid traverse is 1200 ipm if I recall correctly.
The innove 408 shares many of the same features. I actually ran cuts in 1/2" pbc at 1100 ipm, but it was a bit scary as it literally screamed as it cut.

Jfong, that has to be a satisfying feeling running a machine you built yourself. What do you run on your machine?
What kind of projects?

JAAune, love the running joke. I might have to steal that idea later!


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## DS

A while back I outlined a plan for me to sell my truck, in part to pay for finishing my cnc build.

Well, as of 30 minutes ago, the truck is sold. Now there will be no more excuses for not getting it finished.
I'm still gunning for an ATC auto tool changing spindle. Here's hoping.


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## rickinbeachcrest

Just finished (like they're ever finished) my cnc router a few months ago. It has a cutting envelope of about 18" square by 5". The frame is constructed of aluminum extrusions (T-slot). For a detail look, check out my build thread over at cnczone. I started it about 3 years ago, so it has been a long project, but well worth all the effort.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/cnc-wood-router-project-log/127895-8020-router-build.html

I'm still making little tweaks to it, but it is very functional now. I have a dedicated room (more like a closet) in the shop, so the cnc router does not get covered in sawdust. The dust collection system on the cnc router does a pretty good job of catching all the dust and chips.

I'm using a PC 690 for the spindle with a Super PID (speed controller)
Rick


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## oldnovice

That is a beauty *Rick*! It took three years but it looks like it was worth every minute of time.

Is that a PC router?

I am going to the CNCZone to check out your build in depth!


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## rickinbeachcrest

Thanks, I'm real proud of it. Yes, that is a Porter Cable router. I did a slight modification on it. The super PID is a circuit that controls the router speed utilizing a micro controller that receives feed back from the router. I installed the feedback sensor in the router. The Super PID is made by a couple of fellows in Australia. It allows the router to run very comfortably between 5K and 25K rpm. Most of my work is around 9K rpm. It will hold the speed to about 25 to 100 rpm of what your set it for, irrespective of the load placed upon the bit. I set the rpm within the CAM program. So the Gcode starts the router and then shuts if off upon completion. After running the router for 30 minutes, it is barely above room temperature.

One of my 1st projects were some drawer handles for a project I finished a couple of years ago



























Needless to say the cnc portion of this project was the easy part.


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## ssnvet

Nice looking build Rick.


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## oldnovice

*Rick* adding a PID to the router makes it much more usable in a CNC and something I wish the router manufacturers would do.

*Again, a very good build!*


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## DS

Very nice Rick.
It sure takes a leap of faith to commit resources to a build like that.
Myself, I am nervous as all get out - having just sold my nice truck to be able to finish my machine.

I worry that I'll flip the switch and nothing will happen except my bank acct draining to zero, hahaha.

It's good to see others have done it. It gives me more courage to dive right in.
Thanks for posting.


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## rickinbeachcrest

Thanks for the compliments guys.

I went into this project knowing that it would be a multi-year project. This allowed me to carefully plan the next step and also the financial outlay was spread over many years. Also I accepted the fact that I would make mistakes, as much as I tried to think of everything. My biggest mistake was not allowing enough room between the bottom of the table and the drive bar (attached to the gantry). I didn't have a good idea of the space needed for the ball nut, ball screws and support blocks. I was shy by about an inch. So I re-ordered taller legs and longer gantry vertical supports, about $100. And that is one of the great things with 8020, you can just unbolt it and install the new pieces.

Prior to ordering any parts, I probably spent 3 months, every evening reading (and re-reading) the CNC Zone. I would copy and paste ideas I liked and parts sources into a text document. I think my biggest reason for success was finding someone's (Senna) build that was well thought out and working well. I made several modifications to his build, but it looks very much like his. Senna was very helpful in answering all (and I had many) questions.

When I think about it, it's kind of funny that I have never seen another CNC router in real life, other than my own. 
Rick


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## lab7654

We run a CNC Shark by Next Wave at my high school, and I can definitely say that even most of the home-built ones here beat it. It works well overall, and it's been a joy to use. Literally only 1 other guy in the school can run it proficiently, and he's also a student, so I'm not sure of its future there. For the basic signs we do, it's great, but I'd like to see its true production potential, like the projects on here. The Shark definitely has its quirks, one of them being the flimsy construction. The table is basically a bunch of Rockler's blue T-track, and it's not precisely flat or square. Also, the router mounting flexes noticeably when you lightly press on it, or during a heavy job.


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## worktops

we use the 3000d from http://www.waterjetsweden.co.uk/product.php


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## Underdog

DS says:

"I worry that I'll flip the switch and nothing will happen except my bank acct draining to zero."

That got a roaring laugh out of me…

However, once you get it running and get some jobs on the table, it could easily pay for itself. Keep going man!


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## DS

Mark, that's a really cool looking cnc water jet, but, something tells me you probably don't do much cnc woodworking with it.

I could be wrong though…


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## DS

Jim, I'm glad I could make you laugh, but, the anxiety is all too real for me.

Now that finishing the machine is within my reach financially, a lot of opportunities are opening up for me.
I have several business concepts that are relatively new and in demand.

I'm going to update my blog this weekend with the boring details, but, it seems like things are gaining momentum for starting a serious business venture.

It will all be for naught if the machine doesn't work. I think that's understandable.


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## Sawmiller

My joes hybrid CNC (diy group with a forum) has a 96×48 bed, don't have the rotary axis hooked up.
Enjoying the heck out of it.








I give up! Can't seem to get the pic right side up, so turn your computer upside down.
Another vote for Kent's shoe BTW…. His machine is like mine


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## oldnovice

Can't turn my tablet upside down as it rotates the screen … just kidding I can lock the screen.

That is quite an impressive machine! It looks like a router and a Kent dust show, is that correct?


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## DS

That's amazing! How did you get it to stay on the ceiling like that?! ;-)
Yah, the tablet flips it upside down again if I rotate the screen - hard to look at.

Is joes a kit? Or just plans? Sounds interesting. Is there a link to the forum?
Thanks!


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## klw

Looks like it clears up quite a bit of floor space, mounted like that!!


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## ssnvet

Joe's 4×4 Hybrid is a plan, with a private access forum for those who buy the plan. He had an older design, Joe's 2006, that was open source and quite popular, but when he made his 4×4 hybrid, he sold the plans and started the private forum. I've read that the plan does not have detailed instructions, and that you need to sift through many, many pages on the forum to find some of the details, as a lot of those guys have moved on to make advanced mods and posted about them. But the forum is apparently quite active and the people helpful to answer questions. it is a popular plan and their are probably upward of 50 of them built.

The plan used to sell for $100, but the price has dropped to $75.

The design is similar to the CNCrouterparts.com kit.

Sawmiller's 4×8 appears to be an advanced… all metal… mod of the original plan, and is no longer really a "hybrid". But it sure looks like one sweet machine.


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## Jfong

Not quite woodworking but I finished converting my mini lathe this week. I don't have a wood lathe but a friend had asked me if it was possible to turn some wood pens on the metal lathe. I think I will give it a try to see how this will work. Have to go to woodcraft and see what they have available for pen turning kits.


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## DS

There have been times during my CNC router build that I've wished for a metal lathe.

What kind of conversion did you do? A CNC conversion?


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## Jfong

DS,

It's a 7×12 metal lathe that I got about 5 years ago. I don't use it much but it is necessary for helping build my other machines. Now that I have converted the lathe to CNC control using Mach3, it opens up many possibilities to do complicated turning tasks that I would never attempt doing it manually. I did my first automated lathe threading today and it made a almost perfect thread in aluminum. It's a custom build using very expensive precision THK linear slide and ballscrew. Because I bought the almost new parts off eBay, the total cost of the conversion was under $250. I buy all my linear components off eBay. If you know what to look for, you will save thousands of dollars.

My CNC gantry that I built probably has well over $10,000 worth of precision linear components. The complete build cost me about $2000 and that's including all the aluminum extrusion and electrical components. The most expensive part was the $350 water cooled 3HP VFD spindle. I could of used one of my porter cable routers but the spindle is much better than any wood router available. I've been a woodworker for almost 20 years but having tools to make other tools to make wood stuff is all the more fun.


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## msmith1199

Making a 5 inch diameter kitchen island leg on the CNC. I think my Barley Twist bit needs to be sharpened as you can see the wood is burning a little on the leg. This is going to be painted anyway so I'm not too concerned about the burning.


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## oldnovice

Mark, is that a Kent dust shoe on your Legacy?
As I wrote this I thought it was kind of ironic that your *Legacy* is making a *leg*!


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## msmith1199

Yes, that is the kent dust shoe.


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## DS

Looks like my CNC build blog made the emag. Sweet!


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## oldnovice

*Dou*,, it's good to be recognized for outstanding achievement, congratulations!


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## DS

Hans, I will 'feel' recognized, or perhaps vindicated when the first board cuts successfully.
It doesn't seem real yet.


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## oldnovice

*Doug*, as much blood, sweat, tears, and money you have put into this project I don't see failure in your future!


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## DS

Mark, that is a nice machine and a nice rope turning leg.

I understand how you aren't too worried about the burn marks on the turning, but, I would think you would be more concerned about the health of your rope bit.

Heat kills carbide pretty fast. The edge crystallizes and after that, it crumbles away when trying to sharpen it instead of taking an edge.

Could it be your feed rate is too slow? Or perhaps your rpm is too fast for the size of that cutter? ( I can't imagine a bit that size running more than 8k to 10k rpm)

Once it is dull, of course, even the right setup won't help much. But, the wrong setup can dull a bit pretty fast too.
I guess my head always tries to solve these problems and won't let it go.

Hopefully, soon, I will be showing some rope turnings of my own.


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## msmith1199

DS, I think that bit is pretty much done anyway. I already ordered a new one. I may send this one out for sharpening so I have it as a back up. I used the Barley Twist bit for cutting juice grooves in my cutting boards so it gets a lot of use.

I think the burning is caused by a fault in the computer software for the barely twist function. The 2" barely twist bit is making those cuts in two passes and since the bit is a half inch deep it should probably be taking four passes to do it with the last pass taking off maybe at eighth of an inch for a nice smooth cut. I think I can fix the software to make it do that, but this was only the second time I've made a Barely twist and last time I was just cutting in soft pine for practice. I was in a hurry to get these legs done because the customer needed them so I just went ahead and made the cuts like this.


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## PatrickB

> Not quite woodworking but I finished converting my mini lathe this week. I don t have a wood lathe but a friend had asked me if it was possible to turn some wood pens on the metal lathe. I think I will give it a try to see how this will work. Have to go to woodcraft and see what they have available for pen turning kits.
> - Jfong


Yes you can make pens on a metal lathe. I made some very fine pens for people when I had my mini lathe.
pat
P.S. Just watched your youtube videos, I wish you were my neighbor,LOL


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## Jim Jakosh

WOW, you all sure have some nice machines ! I can only dream!!


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## Stonekettle

Latest Addition: ShopBot Desktop. I use this thing like any other stationary tool in the shop, primarily for cutting out pieces that will be later hand finished or incorporated into artwork project such as turned bowls, furniture, jewelry, and musical instruments. It's like having a highly skilled shop assistant who actually does what you tell it to do without complaining or goofing off. One of the best investments I ever made.








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## Ptownkid

There are some great looking machines in this thread. I have a small step-four desktop machine that i bought for making aluminum front panels for rack mount audio gear but I'm really wanting to build a bigger woodworking machine.


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## CPWD

I have a Shop Bot desk top and I love it. My woodworking business is a hobby business and this little machine has been an awesome edition. I am now able to do some pretty intricate signs and plaques which has been a good money maker for my shop. The level of detail in the 3D artwork is amazing. I am having a blast with this machine.


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