# One year in....happy I have the CAD background



## Treefarmer

Hello fellow CNC enthusiasts. I used to be on Lumberjocks all the time in the early days. Some life changes took me out of the shop and onto the water. Further changes have brought me back into it with the addition of a new Axiom 2' x 4' ProV5 machine. I was forced to retire for health reasons, the same issues have limited my time on the water (paddleboarder/surfer) so my very generous brother thought a new machine would keep me busy and when he needed something made I could do it for him. He already has a massive shop full of tools and tech and didn't want to have to bother learning more new stuff and since I'm a CAD designer I was already 1/2 way there with the software. I use VcarvePro, Blender, Sketchup and photoshop with a few other specialized apps and online conversion sites.

A few examples….well maybe more than a few. I'm surprised myself at how much I've produced…especially since my machine was acting up for 4 months and ended up needing to be replaced.

This was one of the 1st things I did…for my brother as a gift….









I've done lots of this sort of vcarve filled with epoxy.



























Refinished and embellished a few pieces of furniture.


















Some small river serving boards.









I'm building a 3D model of the New England coast….a few other spots as well…..slow going but nice results so far. I can also use them for simpler surface maps.


















3D takes a lot of machine time but they are pretty rewarding. My granddaughter made this one….I bought this saddle file but I'm teaching her vcarve and she did the finishing…..pretty good for a 10 year old….




































A moment in time carved in 3D….so 4D…...sand ripples from my local beach created from a photo I took while on a walk with my wife.


















And of course all kinds of signs….









The latest and most complex so far is this coral reef I'm making for a coffee table base. The coral are models downloaded from the Smithsonian, the sand is also from a photo I took. 14 hours for the finish cut. I'm also cutting 5 pieces of fan and branch coral double sided and will be adding those. A pair of Mantas that I hand carved will be flying over the coral, driftwood legs and wood and glass top. Hope it doesn't suck when I'm done….










This represents about half the work I've done…not counting the screwups along the way…plenty of those. The possibilities are virtually endless. My head is exploding with ideas faster than I can make them. This is truly just the start. I'm starting to do some designs for flatpack furniture and have a whole bunch of other stuff in the works. This should keep me busy until I croak….

Happy to share my newbie expertise…such as it is….lots of gaps in what I know, but if anyone has questions feel free.


----------



## SMP

Wow, amazing work!


----------



## Desert_Woodworker

Nice progress looks like you're doing great- Myself 8 years of experience and I made CAM error… No excuses- the machine does what you tell it to do- CAD error


----------



## pottz

yeah wow,welcome back.newbie huh,looks pretty damn good to me.keep it coming.


----------



## 987Ron

Nice work. Thanks for sharing, loved the waterways. Welcome back.


----------



## Desert_Woodworker

self delete


----------



## Desert_Woodworker

self delete


----------



## Notw

Does your brother need another brother?


----------



## Treefarmer

> Does your brother need another brother?
> 
> - Notw


I've been asked that many times…...


----------



## LittleBlackDuck

Welcome back *BB*... Great to have another CNC/Laser tragic that uses SketchUp here.

Nice display of your imagination… which I believe one needs heaps of for CNCing… As *WW* said, the machine only does what it's told.

May I suggest you move the crux of this *"re-intro"* to your home page so others will know what beast they are dealing with, as this blog will fade away into obscurity in just a few days (due to volume turnover in the Forum)....

Also if I may ask, please populate your "workshop" with the gear you use… While I'm not a CNCer (Ima laserer), there are other ostracised CNCers here that are eager for additional support… as a laserer, sometimes I feel I'm flying a WWII bombing mission from the flack I get… just kidding… they use SAMs nowdays here.


----------



## Lazyman

Some really cool work there. As a true CAD and CNC neophyte myself, I would really appreciate some blogs about how you you use the various tools to do it.


----------



## Treefarmer

That sounds like a good idea….I'll flesh it out a bit more as well.

Will do…my shop is no longer the tiny shed with just a few tools. We moved and one requirement was a either a shop or a two car garage that could become one….I got the garage. I can't believe I ever built stuff in my old 10×12 shed….the garage is always packed now…

I wish I was surprised by the hate some people show but unfortunately the world is full of hateful fools speaking from their ignorance. I've been a woodworker and carver my whole life. But I also had a 40 year career as a CAD and graphic designer. CNC is new but it's really about the software. I always hear the comment that it doesn't take skill…...ignorance at it's best. It took far more work and study to become proficient in design on a computer than it ever did to learn woodworking or carving. I've spent 1,000's of hours learning software…but because they don't understand it, it's not skillz. Unless they don't use tools of any sort it's just grump old men talking to themselves….easily ignored.



> Welcome back *BB*... Great to have another CNC/Laser tragic that uses SketchUp here.
> 
> Nice display of your imagination… which I believe one needs heaps of for CNCing… As *WW* said, the machine only does what it s told.
> 
> May I suggest you move the crux of this *"re-intro"* to your home page so others will know what beast they are dealing with, as this blog will fade away into obscurity in just a few days (due to volume turnover in the Forum)....
> 
> Also if I may ask, please populate your "workshop" with the gear you use… While I m not a CNCer (Ima laserer), there are other ostracised CNCers here that are eager for additional support… as a laserer, sometimes I feel I m flying a WWII bombing mission from the flack I get… just kidding… they use SAMs nowdays here.
> 
> - LittleBlackDuck


----------



## Treefarmer

Thanks…it's been fun.
I did a few pieces for Fine Woodworking back in the early days of Sketchup (there are a couple videos on here I think unless they were in Photobucket) but haven't done anything with the CNC software…so many great videos out there I don't think its really needed. I'm still watching them myself for learning Blender. Happy to answer questions about specific things on how to though. If necessary to answer the question I'll include screen caps and such..



> Some really cool work there. As a true CAD and CNC neophyte myself, I would really appreciate some blogs about how you you use the various tools to do it.
> 
> - Lazyman


----------



## Treefarmer

Well if you really want to be jealous…..I get to use his Maui house pretty much whenever I want.
This was put together when they were thinking of selling…thankfully decided not to…... I made the gates to the courtyard about 15 years ago and the paddle up on the wall inside about 12 years ago.
http://www.ponohouse.com/

And this is his blog…..I don't know of many people that work harder at having fun than my brother. And I still want to be him when I grow up. He's 74 and still charging. There's a picture of the two of us in the gallery. I look like I'm about to die…he's smiling. We had just paddled 32 miles across Cape Cod Bay.
He's a motorhead and electronics geek, inventor…always building stuff and his shop is a dream to anyone. Full of tools, tech and toys.
https://www.ponostyle.com/


> Does your brother need another brother?
> 
> - Notw


----------



## Underdog

I'm impressed and inspired by your work! Thanks for sharing this with us.
And I echo LBD's welcome to the digital woodworking fold. Learning the software and applying it to the machine is challenging and rewarding all by itself, but to see one's imagined creation come to life is even better.


----------



## Steinbierz

Wow…very nice, inspirational work! I have a ShopSabre on order and can't wait to start using it but have no illusions that I will be able to pump out for some time the quality and artistry that you have shown above.


----------

