The gift shop that displays a few of my turnings sold fifteen ornaments for me this year and several honey dipper lids. I don't want my hobby to be a job but a little extra cash lets me spend for the shop without feeling guilty about it. More about that in a minute. I'm working through a batch of honey dipper lids for the spring season now. There will be 25 this time.

 

All of the lids are completed and I have 23 dipper stems done so I only really need to do a couple more tomorrow. However, I have nine more blanks prepped so I'll turn them all and put some in the kitty for next time. Tomorrow I'll also get the laser fired up and etch some of the lids, about half of them probably.

 

Now, about spending some of my stash. I've been intrigued by CNC for a few years, even more so since I got the little laser. I have some ideas about doing some inlay plaques for ornaments and I'm hoping to do it with a little cnc machine.

 

Found this on Amazon. Very affordable at under 250 bucks. It is very small and I'm sure very light duty. It's supposed to have a working area of about 11"X 7". I figure if nothing else it's an inexpensive way to learn about the process and whether or not my ideas will work. Surprisingly, these machines get mostly favorable reviews. We'll see how it goes. I will finish the honey dippers before I mess with it to much but I'm anxious to explore the possibilities.

You lucky dog!!

 

I imagine you'll have a leg up on the learning curve. Should be similar to the laser except adding the third axis. Looking forward to seeing it in action.

Keep us posted on how well this works for you.

That’s awesome Steve. I love your honey dippers. I didn’t see the ornaments.

Great Steve.  You've never shied away from trying something new.  Can't wait to see what you conjure up.

What everyone else has said Steve!  Got a link to the Amazon page? 

Really looking forward to your experiments.

4 hours ago, Cal said:

What everyone else has said Steve!  Got a link to the Amazon page? 

Really looking forward to your experiments.

 

Cal

There are dozens of brands, all made in the same factory I imagine. Pretty sure this is the one I bought, not the most expensive but not the cheapest either. Won't know for a while if I made the right choice.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Upgrade-Version-3018-Engraver-Controller/dp/B07MDG7R2J/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=3018+cnc&qid=1609869982&sr=8-5