Official Luthiers Forum!

I saw this "starter" kit on Woodnet. http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=4242667&page=3&view=collapsed&sb=5&o= Does anyone have an opinion on whether something like this makes any sense as a learning tool? I'd love to spend some time learning cnc, but don't think I can justify $5k+ on an entry level system from someone like Shopbot or K2. For something closer to $1k, I'd be willing to risk it. Obviously this is a toy, but I would think the lessons learned would be applicable to a real starter system. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Bob

The principles are the same on all machines, they just get bigger, stronger, faster, and more accurate as you spend more money. So, yes, you can learn some stuff on any machine. On the other hand, you might want to look at something bigger than 7x7x2 as that's too small to do much lutherie related work unless you're ready to really start designing multi-setup fixtures from the get-go.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Thanks Bob. I figured the knowledge was scalable to some degree, but I should probably do some more research looking for a better alternative before pulling the trigger.

Thanks again.

Bob

You might check this out.
http://www.finelineautomation.com/store/show/FLA100-00

MC

I'd be wary of anything that doesn't even show you a picture....!

K2's are not cheap, but they are good enough for guitar stuff. I'd be pretty hesitant to spend money on anything less.

I'd recommend learning cad first - Rhino is about the best deal going I think. It's not a big jump to go from CAD to CAM.

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

I went the DIY route. http://www.joescnc.com/themachines-hybrid.php

I've got X and Y up right now, should have the Z running this week. I did some modifying and upgrading. My work envelop is 32x49 (that's all I could get to fit in my space) and I went with hardened V rails instead of angle iron. I'm going to recut the carriages out of garolite when the machine is up and running. So far, I'm getting up to 500ipm rapids using Hobby CNC's 305 oz motors and controller and 2 tpi acme screws and the machine really isn't broken in yet. I'm going to use my Milwaukee 5625 router as a spindle. So far it's been a fairly pleasant experience, although it's much more expensive than my initial price talk of $1k but that's nothing new... Probably closer to 3k when all is said and done. But the nice thing is it's a proven plan and that having sourced everything, I know how everything works, how to repair it and where to get the parts. He has his own forum, but unfortunately you have to buy a set of his plans to get access. Too bad, because there are 100+ guys documenting their builds and sharing mods. Here's a link to a large cnczone post, but it's nowhere near a detailed as his forum. IP protection I guess. http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38220

Most current pic I have.



I've spent some time with sketchup so I'm not a total cad newb, but right now I'm just learning my way around Mach. Then I'll have to figure out what CAD/CAM software to get. My biggest concern is finding something with robust forum support. Rhino fits that bill, but do they hit you with forced upgrades each year??

Thanks, Bob

There are no maintenance fees or forced upgrades with Rhino, they only charge for major version upgrades (Rhino 3 to Rhino 4) and you don't need to buy them to keep using your current version.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

nope...no forced upgrades. I got Rhino + Rhino Art + Rhino CAM for less than $1000 (this was a couple years ago).

Keep an eye out for specials...I purchased my licenses thru K2 when I bought my machine.

Best,
Trev

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

Cool. Thanks for the info guys.