Official Luthiers Forum!

Haha...I just saw this.

I hadn't yet done ANY work when I snapped that shot....it was taken RIGHT after I first got the shop together.

After a few years....I can vouch that the bigger the shop...the bigger the mess.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

Here's my CNC, self built with belt drives and THK rails, running Mach3 and Vectric Software. The cutting area is roughly 20'' x 36''. I've since built a control panel in front of the monitor with command buttons which emulate the keyboard and mouse, and include switches for the LED light in the dust boot, a red laser cross hair and the router speed control and E-Stop. see 2nd pic. I'm very pleased with how it turned out.Thanks, Vinny

I ordered this machine back in june or july but just now getting around to setting it up. Still have to mount the cable chains and the table plates.

I follow you on instagram. I have been waiting to see more pictures of this build!

Oh yeah!, I'm following you too. I saw that you were upgrading your electronics with some ez-servos. You'll have to let me know what you think of them when it's up and running. I'm just using some nema 23 steppers and a mx3660. Hopefully it will be good enough for what I want to do.

I'm a "cheat" too!

demonx, is that a blurry customs ATC spindle? How do you like it?

Yes it is.

The spindle works fine. The tool changer is a massive waste of money. Doesn't work. I didn't deal with blurry, the engineer who built the machine did. He had to to write their code as it was hack job/clunky. The spindle arrived wired backwards. The tool changer itself is a piece of unreliable crap and I have to manually pop the tool holder out with a screwdriver every tool change as it doesn't release itself properly. Blurry knew this is a issue but still sell them anyway. Very dodgy.

I've never dealt with them, but from what I've heard from the engineer, they're dodgy as. This machine cost me a fortune, the spindle/tool changer is its weak point and I wouldn't be looking blurry again.

Good to know demonx. I have talked with Blurry Customs a couple times and their communication is brutal. They seem to talk a lot but don`t back up any of their products. Buyer beware? I think so...

Well let's put it into dollars, I think their kit was six grand or something like that. This was meant to be their best of the best. After it arrived the spindle didn't even work, they had to replace it. It's just a Chinese made unit they buy in and sell as their own.

The tool holders are great quality, but blurry don't make them. They're made in USA, but blurry machine the end pins. The end pins weren't right, blurry said they knew and sent out new ones which were even worse! My engineer had to machine his own. The blurry script/code to run it was crap, my engineer had to write his own.

The machine required upgrades to accommodate having a toolchanger, not blurries fault, but the end dollar for me was eighteen grand to try and get this tool changer working which still doesn't bloody work unless I use a screw driver to manually pop it out every single toolchange. The machine all up owes me over fifty grand now, once dust extraction and tool holders are added etc. We took a risk on blurry and it bit us in the arse big time. It's not my fault, it's not my engineers fault. It's the piss poor product and their service from what I've been told was just as bad once they had their cash in hand.

In their videos they show smooth tool changes. But as soon as the tool has cut for a few minutes it heats up and can't release. They have a video showing a tool change after cutting, but I'm willing to bet they calculated how long it could cut without heating up enough to not work. I get the impression they're very dodgy. All their other videos show tool changes without any cutting to heat up the tool holder which is when it seizes.

Wow. That totally makes sense about their videos.
It is unfortunate that the company runs in that way.

CNC does have a place in acoustic guitar building for some. After hand carving a couple dozen guitar necks you definitely will find your mind drifting in that direction "gee it sure would be nice to have one of those suckers right about now". But consider this- a hand crafted musical instrument has its own personality, lent to it by the hands and soul of its creator.
I use a few templates with routers for some operations in the build, especially for building moulds, etc. precision is most important for that.
Years ago I owned a Taylor guitar. I paid about a grand for it. Koa with a Sitka top. I thought it was a great sounding guitar. The build quality was almost perfect. I took it to a luthier to have the action fine tuned. He strummed a few chords up and down the neck looked over at me and said
" one thing about Taylor's, they are consistent." I didn't fully understand what he meant til I'd built a guitar, and thought to shove my inspection mirror into the Taylor to look at the "scalloped bracing".
Figured I could learn something. I did. They were all consistently perfect having been cut by a robot. Non of the braces had been fine tuned with a well sharpened chisel.
Bottom line I guess is what does "hand built" mean to you? To me it means flesh and blood, body and soul, mind and intellect. All those working together to create a unique instrument. No two the same. Each one demonstrating a builders triumph over unique challenges offered by the natural materials chosen for each particular instrument.
I take a lot of pride in each neck I shape by hand, and the fact that with each one I find myself becoming more proficient at it.
A hand built guitar has the markings of the builders soul in it.
I don't want my job taken away by a robot.



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"It is easier to fool a man, than it is to convince him that he has been fooled"
Mark Twain

I am posting an apology for what I now realize is called hijacking a thread. Sorry. I am new to this. I will save the thoughts for the appropriate thread.
Cheers


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_________________
"It is easier to fool a man, than it is to convince him that he has been fooled"
Mark Twain

Mine started out as a kit, but I modified it a lot since then, adding larger motors, 5-start screws, anti-backlash nuts and better bearings.

Then I built a sound dampening booth for it.


Here's a little thing I did with it.

The CNC allowed me to design and cut integrated braces - part of the actual top, not glued on.

Very cool. What kit did you start out with?


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It was a company called DynaCNC. It had single-start screws and a goofy bearing setup. I believe they are now out of business.

Here's my K2 3925. It now lives in its own room.