Most of what I see made by a CNC is signage (very cool signage) but what other aspects of woodworking will they help with? Making fancy moldings, inlays, intarsia? I doubt I would ever undertake using one just for signs. I know Ed Sallee (Waxing Moon) uses them for a lot of the inlay work on his humidors...and that is very nice as well.

Fred,

The uses are basically endless.  Text signs are probably the easiest and most common.  All those 3d carved business signs you see were mostly done on a CNC, and out of a sign foam of some sort, not wood.  Precision parts are a big mainstay too.  Very intricate, delicate parts, like guitar parts are made easier.   If you look in the gallery at the truck I made my grandson, literally all of the parts were CNC cut, from a plan that MEBCWD  converted to files for me.  And they all fit, and the holes all lined up.  Our buddy, 4d Thinker (got to get him over here), is a college professor who teaches furniture design.  Virtually all of their stuff is CNC produced.  Boxes, joints (great dovetails), carvings, inlays, parts, etc  can be produced and combined for almost anything.  We also have another friend in Alaska (gotta get Scottart here too) that does wildlife carvings.  He's a master at it.  I'm going to make my grandson a dinosaur rocking horse, hopefully next month.  I'll post the build as I do it.  Most of the parts will be CNC cut.  I'm just a CNCer wannabe, and probably will never get in it much deeper with my limited abilities.  MEBCWD and David Falkner can enlighten you a bit more.  They are really really good.  Once you have a file made you can make as many copies as you want, all the same.  They can also be tweeked, resized, adjusted, and manipulated with minimal effort for a complete new piece.  A CNC is not an answer to everything.  It's just another tool in the shop that enhances and compliments the rest.

Edited June 29, 20179 yr by honesttjohn

So, John, you haven't invited them yet! Get busy. They would be excellent additions to this forum and will help to grow it.

Invited Scottart .. he hasn't responded yet.  I don't have 4d's email.  May have to PM him.

Fred. After making a test cut or two, I made some bench angles that fit the spoil board on the CNC and also fit on my work bench. Always nice to have a right angle to position a work piece against.

 

Now to answer your question. I cut out the drawer pieces for the entertainment center I was building. The front and back piece needed to be 21 15/16 wide and that is exactly what I got. After assembling the drawer and attaching the hardware, it slid in place with no effort. I like that a lot.

Bench Angles.bmp

Drawer Parts.bmp

 Welcome to the forum. Referring to your pic, what would be the largest piece you could cut from?

6 hours ago, MT Stringer said:

Drawer Parts.bmp

 

I haven't measured it yet but the specs show: X Travel 37+ Inches Y Travel 25+ Inches Z Travel 5+ Inches

Here are a some of pictures of the machine in action cutting out the  drawer parts. I usually use my table saw for drawer parts but  I just couldn't resist.

Translated that means.

 

Down Yonder (x)

Over yonder (y)

Up Yonder (z)

Edited June 30, 20179 yr by honesttjohn

9 minutes ago, MT Stringer said:

I haven't measured it yet but the specs show: X Travel 37+ Inches Y Travel 25+ Inches Z Travel 5+ Inches

What of machine do you have or did you do a DIY build?

6 minutes ago, honesttjohn said:

Translated that means.

 

Down Yonder (x)

Over yonder (y)

Up Yonder (z)

That's not going to work.   Needs to be:

Down a far piece (x)

Over yonder (y)

Up'n a bit (z)

Just now, kmealy said:

That's not going to work.   Needs to be:

Down a far piece (x)

Over yonder (y)

Up'n a bit (z)

Or, Y'all jus sit back a bit an watch this...

I think I can cut some cabinet side pieces (upper and lower) on this machine. Since the bottom cabinet pieces will only be 31, x 23 1/4 inches, I should be able to lay each piece so the long side is on the "X". All I need is to cut a dado across the lower end for the cabinet bottom, and cut two 1/4 inch deep pockets on the top end for the stretchers to fit into. I don't have to worry about shelf pin holes because all of the bottom cabinets will have drawers except for under the sink.

 

For the uppers (11 1/4 x 39 inches), I will turn them so the length is on the "Y". I can cut one dado 2" up from the end of the cabinet, then flip it around and cut the same dado on the other end. I still have to work on the shelf pin hole arrangement. It sure would be nice if I can drill them at the same time. That way, I can be doing other things while the machine works. :-)

 

Note that I will cut all of the finished sizes using a track saw to break the big pieces into manageable pieces , then cut to final width and length on the table saw. All in a one car garage! UGH!

2 hours ago, Chips N Dust said:

What of machine do you have or did you do a DIY build?

 

Probotix Asteroid.

20 minutes ago, MT Stringer said:

I still have to work on the shelf pin hole arrangement. It sure would be nice if I can drill them at the same time. That way, I can be doing other things while the machine works. :-)

 

All you have to do, Mike, is create another toolpath and let her go.

15 minutes ago, honesttjohn said:

 

All you have to do, Mike, is create another toolpath and let her go.

 

The side will be 39 inches long on the "Y" axis but I only have 24 inches of real estate to work with. I may make a test and see what the shelf pins look like. I usually start 8 inches above the bottom of the cabinet and go up from there. I can't think, calculate and type at the same time. I might be able to create a tool path that would cut the dado and a portion of the holes, then when I turned around and execute the file again, I will wind up with a nearly perfect match.

Or try the tiling function - - - MEBCWD can tell you how to do that.

35 minutes ago, honesttjohn said:

Or try the tiling function - - - MEBCWD can tell you how to do that.

 

Yep, I have watched several videos on that subject. So, I got the kitchen remodel job. It is going to be a bear. Looks like I will be able to get the full version of V-Carve Pro now and put it to work. :-)

Congrats!  One more step towards Aspire.

Fred your imagination is probably the only limit a person would have.  

If you are the type of person that thinks outside the box the possibilities are endless.  

If you are the person that can't figure out how to get out of the box then you will still be able to build the box, and a good box at that.  

If you are the person that is outside the box and can't figure out how to get in there then you might need someone to do your design files for you and all you need to do is load the file and hit go.

 

Here is  an inlay I did in a cutting board.  My customer ask if I could do it and I've yet found something I couldn't do, got to try or you never know where you can do it or not.  The first picture is the logo they sent me in an email.  The second picture is out of Aspire design program.  And the third picture is the actual cutting board.