RFI: Tabletop CNC routers

[OlongJohnson]

I stumbled onto another cool technology that's gotten cheap while I wasn't looking.

I'm thinking about getting one of these, or something in the category.

https://www.sainsmart.com/products/g...rving-and-more

I want to cut hardwood, plywood, balsa, G10, carbon fiber plate, PC board. Will probably look at one that can handle light duty aluminum and other soft metals, as the one I linked. I figure the stiffness of the heavier frame will likely pay off in consistent performance for a longer time even when cutting lighter materials.

It occurs to me that this could do a heck of a job knocking out custom revolver and other grips and inserts, or even just prepping blanks to fit the frame, which could then be carved with more traditional methods. I think it must be the fact that it can make stuff out of "real" materials - I'm just way more interested in this than I've gotten in any type of 3D printing. Waaaaay cooler to load up some walnut and turn out a nice pair of stocks, maybe even checkered, than to have soulless plastic pooped out in layers from a melt tube.

We have a few tool guys and woodworkers here, and more than a few tech geeks. Has anyone here used these machines? Any advice for a quality, hobby-level or "pro-sumer" tool?

[Borderland]

I think this is the same tech that plasma cutting tables use. My neighbor uses one of these in his metal art business.

https://arclightcnc.com/cnc-plasma-tables

He programs his cuts, locks down a 4x8 sheet and stands back. Does vertical as well as horizontal.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/324055031599

I bought a set of these and I can tell the cuts were CNC. Made in Taiwan.

I'm thinking it's one of the reasons Ahrends went out of business.

I'm not trying to rain on your parade but there's a difference between hand finished and CNC machine cuts.

[JCN]

I stumbled onto another cool technology that's gotten cheap while I wasn't looking.

I'm thinking about getting one of these, or something in the category.

https://www.sainsmart.com/products/g...rving-and-more

I think this is the same tech that plasma cutting tables use. My neighbor uses one of these in his metal art business.

https://arclightcnc.com/cnc-plasma-tables

You bastards!


>Furiously starts scheming on how to fit this into the garage unnoticed by wife<

[Crazy Dane]

You bastards!


>Furiously starts scheming on how to fit this into the garage unnoticed by wife<

Good luck! After last night's gin fueled shopping spree for revolver grips, I have been put on notice. It's gonna be a while before I can sneak anything.

[Joe in PNG]

I've thought about it for guitar building, but that would take out the fun bits and leave the tedious part (sanding).

[Borderland]

You bastards!


>Furiously starts scheming on how to fit this into the garage unnoticed by wife<

How to turn your garage into a hundred thousand dollar business over night. Call now. Operators standing by.

[OlongJohnson]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/324055031599

I bought a set of these and I can tell the cuts were CNC. Made in Taiwan.

I'm thinking it's one of the reasons Ahrends went out of business.

I'm not trying to rain on your parade but there's a difference between hand finished and CNC machine cuts.

Of course there is. But a huge amount of it is the work that the company is willing to do on the front end in CAD to get the design right, rather than just being a "looks like the picture" knockoff. Hogue parts are pretty frickin' nice. They do it right, at least in quality, and the one time I found some that weren't right, they swapped them out. Would tweak some of the designs if I could.

Looking more closely at the issues on the set photographed for that Ebay listing, it's also possible that the bulk carving was done by hand and just the fitting for the frame on the inside and the checkering and surrounding groove were done by CNC. The pattern of the checkering and surround clearly doesn't match the contour of the stocks, which you'd think wouldn't happen if everything was done by CNC in the same setup.

Fully CNC'ed stocks, if done right, and if designed right in the first place, should be more perfect and more perfectly consistent than a person can do by hand. The stocks you linked are cheaply made and show shortcuts and failures to really get it right in almost every detail.

[hiro]

My local library has a maker space with a CNC machine, might be worth seeing if you have similar available to "try before you buy"?

[MickAK]

I would wait a bit. There have been a number of small independent machine shops/side hustles start up in the era of cheap money and they invested heavily in pro grade equipment, a lot of which will probably be on the market in another 6 months or so. Keeping your ear to the ground could get you an excellent deal with no risk of one foot itis.

If you know what you want and don't want to spend the time searching for deals I would find the PF of hobby machining and follow their recommendations but I don't currently know what that is.

[Borderland]

Of course there is. But a huge amount of it is the work that the company is willing to do on the front end in CAD to get the design right, rather than just being a "looks like the picture" knockoff. Hogue parts are pretty frickin' nice. They do it right, at least in quality, and the one time I found some that weren't right, they swapped them out. Would tweak some of the designs if I could.

Looking more closely at the issues on the set photographed for that Ebay listing, it's also possible that the bulk carving was done by hand and just the fitting for the frame on the inside and the checkering and surrounding groove were done by CNC. The pattern of the checkering and surround clearly doesn't match the contour of the stocks, which you'd think wouldn't happen if everything was done by CNC in the same setup.

Fully CNC'ed stocks, if done right, and if designed right in the first place, should be more perfect and more perfectly consistent than a person can do by hand. The stocks you linked are cheaply made and show shortcuts and failures to really get it right in almost every detail.

I have a set of Hogue grips on a 625. I didn't know they were CNC cut. They look as good as any I've seen.

I'm wondering how much trial and error went into getting to that level. Also they're hand finished, I'm pretty sure of that.

There might be a market there.

My neighbor has had his business up and running for 5 years. He has some financial help so I don't think it's a viable business.