August 2, 20178 yr A while back I got a set of plans for a kids rocking dinosaur. It was printed on both sides of a large piece of paper and folded like a road map. The parts were "traceable" as advertised, BUT large pieces of carbon paper were required and the various parts had lines that crisscrossed each other all over the place. To keep the original plans I tried making a copy but that turned out to be a mess. Then I got a bright idea and sent it off to MEBCWD to see if he could work his magic and turn it into a CNC file. He emailed me a file back that showed up like this. Mike is good with Aspire. He's even better than good, and ...... reasonable. $$ well spent. Got busy cutting parts out of 1" panels and 2 x 12's Parts are cut out!!! I took the edge off the exposed edges with a round over bit and did a little (very little) sanding. The rockers were just mirrored, so they were exactly alike. A cut up piece of 1 x4 and the platform was made. Now the big test. Will the parts all go together. So far so good! A couple of minor adjustments and the dino fit on the platform. There's 2 - 2 1/2 " construction screws in each foot driven in from the bottom. Mixed up some Rustoleum Hunter Green and Gloss White paint and made a mess. You can saw a wooden ball in half and make fancy eyes or cheat like I did and go to Michaels. The mouth is just painted on. It could be Vcarved if you wanted to do the two sided carving step. Advantage of using the CNC --- all the parts are as exact as you need for assembly. The band saw was never turned on. Each part is exactly the same allowing you to make 3-4-5 units at a time. Or, as many as desired, even if it's just one. Sanding is minimal. More on the finishing surface than the edges. Once you have a file on a thumb drive, you save it and bring it out whenever needed.
August 2, 20178 yr Nothing wrong with store-bought eyes IMO. Beautifully done! 40ish years ago I made a rocking elephant for my young niece and nephew. No CNC then. Band saw and drum sander to clean up the cuts. They loved it, but it tended to move backwards when rocked. The kids made a game of it racing trying to best each other's time rocking backward and racing from wall to wall in the big room of their parent's basement. 4D
August 2, 20178 yr Looking at the dino design my mind imagines a neck/head that is linked internally to the tail. When the kid pulls back on the neck the tail would swing up a bit. Spring tension keeps them from flopping loose. 4D
August 2, 20178 yr Author Wouldn't be too hard to do. The inside middle piece could be cut to accommodate most any configuration.
August 2, 20178 yr My thoughts exactly, HJ. Of course once the tails wags you'll need sound effects and lights. 4D
August 2, 20178 yr Author You can buy those sound things either prerecorded or make your own. Just drill a hole with a forstner bit and put it in. But I waited til the last minute and was under the gun -- grandson was coming for a visit.
August 2, 20178 yr One CNC thing to consider if you make another one.... You can run a bit like this down the perimeter line (ON the line) to have the CNC do the roundover while the parts are still on the bed. 4D
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