I’ve been branching out a bit from my CNC router use in woodworking and into some heavy metal. Besides Floor and Pallbearer, I’m also talking about aluminum and brass. I’ve made a few brass branding irons. I used standard woodworking v-bits with good...
I was recently asked to create a pair of commemorative plaques. Essentially something like a diploma or other certificate, except these were to be carved into wood. No problem, right? I had carved plenty of signs before. Well, the difference here was the scale of the...
After you’ve been using a CNC router for a while, you begin to look for ways to make your life even easier (as if having a robot do work for you wasn’t making it easy enough). For me, sanding is a necessary evil. Plywood is especially prone to fuzzy edges...
CNC routers need bits. They determine the kind of carving you can do, the resolution of your finished designs, and how fast you can move through the material. They come with cutting edges that pull up or push down (sometimes both), they have square or shaped ends,...
Being a tinkerer, my wife often tries to surprise me with tools for gifts. Last Christmas she bought what has become my #1 favorite tool to use when working at the 4×8 CNC router. This nifty Rockwell Sonicrafter multitool is great for lots of oddball jobs where...
I had the opportunity to visit ShopBot headquarters a few months back. While chatting with their training master TJ, he bragged about his great big 2.5 inch fly cutter bit. I have to admit I was envious. My bit was half the size. I finally had the opportunity to pick...
I had the opportunity to tag along on a road trip with some members of the ShopBot team. They were headed to a shop in Wisconsin to help a customer with two ShopBot machines, a monster 16×5 3-axis machine and a brand new 5-axis machine. I have to admit I was...
