October 22, 20169 yr One of my favorite sites is You Tube where I can see everything, whether I like it or not. I see a lot of woodworking and turning videos, etc. Tonight I saw one tititled Laser wood turning. I didn't watch it. NOW anyone can turn beautiful things by pushing a button. I don't like the idea. If you use a programmable machine or laser, Why bother? Go buy it. Skills not needed, art not appreciated. Of course I am old school and always will be. How do you feel about products like that?
October 22, 20169 yr Popular Post Don't have any use for CNC not because I have any sense of purity or anything like that, I just prefer the way I do things. I like the fell of it.
October 22, 20169 yr They have been around for a long time. I think people love the idea of hand made and will continue to buy it. Trouble is those that will call the CNC and laser made items hand made. We have an Amish store here that sells hand made in China items. The stickers are on them. I think people don't think to look.
October 22, 20169 yr 21 minutes ago, Cliff said: Don't have any use for CNC not because I have any sense of purity or anything like that, I just prefer the way I do things. I like the fell of it. ditto... any skill there is (programming) ends at the push of a button...
October 22, 20169 yr I did a search on youtube for "laser woodturning", "laser wood turning", and any other spelling or combination I could think of. I couldn't find a video where a cnc machine was using a laser to turn or shape wood. Lots of videos of wood turners, turning by hand and using a laser pointer to help determine thickness on hollow vessels, a technique I use myself. For anyone not familiar with the technique a laser pointer shines on or just away from your cutting edge. When your tool is inside a vessel cutting the laser shows you exactly where you're cutting. As you get closer to the edge the dot changes shape and eventually falls off the surface and you know you're thickness is correct. It's actually becoming outdated as many turners are switching to a camera based system which is nothing short of amazing to me. Took me a long time to get my head around how it works at all. I have no qualms about CNC in wood working and/or wood turning. To me, they are a tool like any other. Anyone who has seen my posts knows I like to embellish some of my work. I normally draw a pattern free hand and then wood burn over that, again, free hand. Recently I purchased a machine to help me draw, simply because I have ideas that I just do not have the talent to do on my own. A good example is my Christmas Egg tea light holder. I turned the egg, hollowed it using a laser pointer to help. I then used a machine (my eggbot) to draw the nativity scene and the wise men. Something I could never do, ever. I then did the piercing etc. etc. So, since I used a simple CNC machine to draw the silhouettes is it not hand made? I would argue that point. Steve
October 22, 20169 yr I just see CNC as another tool in the whole hobby. I don't have one because I'm not sure I'm smart enough to learn the computer end of things well enough to get it going.
October 22, 20169 yr I am sure there were similar conversations to this when routers, shapers and such came on the market... Cal
October 22, 20169 yr 26 minutes ago, clhyer said: I am sure there were similar conversations to this when routers, shapers and such came on the market... Cal You forgot the most controversial tool of all! The accursed nail gun!! If you don't believe me, just ask Norm! LOL Steve
October 23, 20169 yr My uncle taught me some basic woodworking skills when I was a lad...how to properly use a handsaw, the feel of a sharp plane, how to properly sand, why grain direction is important and many other things. He built coffins in a shop by hand...no routers or shapers etc... To this day when I pick up a hand saw I remember him telling me how to hold it, how to feel the wood being cut, how to let the saw do its job and how to let it cut straight. He sharpened his own saws, drill bits etc... on a stone or with a file, whatever was appropriate. I used that information to sharpen my own chain saws, drill bits, keep router bits sharp, the importance of cleaning and taking care of your tools...I could go on... There is a place for every tool but I see those tools as enhancing the art...not replacing it. When a CNC, or similar, replaces or eliminates that "feeling" and only delivers the final product I feel the "journey" is lost...and eventually, the art will be lost. How will any of those folks realize the therapeutic love of the journey...? Eventually, it will become another job...go get a piece of wood, cut it, put it in, hit the button... The car manufacturers stopped making fenders with rollers...but they will never be able to compare today's body 'n fender "replacer" with a good metal worker... More proof is today's mechanics...if they don't find a code they can't fix anything by the symptoms you describe. How many of them understand the relationship between atmospheric pressure, throttle position and fuel injection systems...? Maintaining the respect for the "feel" is important to me...I use a router to do dovetails but with the same attention I give it if I were using chisels...that's key to my enjoying working with wood.
October 23, 20169 yr I'll bet Ikea uses CNC to it's fullest. Anything that helps me use my tools with greater precision is welcome.
January 14, 20206 yr I made this CNC machine and I had a pile of fun doing it.... I started out with a Grizzly Mill drill and a Commodore 64 computer. I bought a Commodore Digital I-O interface board and I made the rest. The wood board is some of the things it can do. I took me a whole winter to program is using good old BASIC programming.
January 15, 20206 yr That stuff is old. Had forgotten about the floppy drive that is separate from the computer. Man how far they have come with technology.
January 15, 20206 yr 5 hours ago, Kevin Beitz said: I made this CNC machine and I had a pile of fun doing it.... I started out with a Grizzly Mill drill and a Commodore 64 computer. I bought a Commodore Digital I-O interface board and I made the rest. The wood board is some of the things it can do. I took me a whole winter to program is using good old BASIC programming. Very cool build. Not something I want to do, the whole winter programming thing is not my bag. BUT, that you did it, amazing. Nice work. She isn't the prettiest girl at the ball but she will turn a head or two.
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