Category Archives: Woodworking

CNC Build, Day 22 – Feed me

I spent the day working on feed tables. Since I’m not really working from a plan, there are a few things that I’m having to figure out as I go along. I imagine that someday I’ll be an experienced enough … Continue reading

Posted in Making, Woodworking | Tagged | Leave a comment

CNC Build, Day 21 – Tooling up the tablesaw

I decided to start working on the feed tables for the tablesaw today. I went out to the shop and got 2 critical measurements: the height of the tablesaw’s surface, and the thickness of the closet doors. With those in … Continue reading

Posted in Making, Woodworking | Tagged | Leave a comment

CNC Build, Day 20 – back in the saddle

I finally forced myself back out to the shop to work on the CNC machine again. With graphics in-hand, I was able to put together toolpaths and get the parts cut out. An aside; there is no direct “mirror” function … Continue reading

Posted in Making, Woodworking | Tagged , | Leave a comment

CNC Build, Day 19 – more graphics

I need to recut one gantry side and part of the vacuum shoe. I spent some time tonight getting into CamBam and shoving parts around to set up the new board. It turns out that CamBam does not have a … Continue reading

Posted in Making, Woodworking | Tagged , | Leave a comment

CNC Build, Day 18 – long hiatus

The marathon session of weekend before last resulted in some injuries that I needed to heal from. My right thumb and wrist were strained in a way that made it difficult for me to get a solid grip on anything. … Continue reading

Posted in Making, Woodworking | Tagged | Leave a comment

CNC Build, Day 17 – ran out of steam

I just couldn’t face another marathon session today. I put some time in, and I got some good work done, but I quit before dinner and took the evening off. I started the day at Home Depot. I knew that … Continue reading

Posted in Making, Woodworking | Tagged | Leave a comment

CNC Build, Day 16 – A very full day

I got up fairly early this morning and started working on the CNC build. I think I was in the shop before 9am. In a burst of inspiration, I decided that since the machine was already lined up and ready … Continue reading

Posted in Making, Woodworking | Tagged | Leave a comment

CNC Build, Day 15 – Eating through endmills quickly

I really like the 4-flute endmills. They leave a very clean edge on the cuts, and I feel like they eat wood better than the 2-flute bits. But they seem to foul pretty quickly. I started through the cut-out pass … Continue reading

Posted in Making, Woodworking | Tagged | Leave a comment

CNC Build, Day 14 – CNC gymnastics

I went out and cut the 4 “scrap” boards to size so that I could cut out the parts I’ve been working on for the past couple of days. I decided to do the cuts on the tablesaw, my first … Continue reading

Posted in Making, Woodworking | Tagged , | Leave a comment

CNC Build, Day 13 – MOPping up

(MOP is short for Machine OPeration) I finished the graphics for the new parts last night, but was not able to get through the MOPs so that I could create G-code. I spent time tonight putting the G-code together. I’m … Continue reading

Posted in Making, Woodworking | Tagged , | Leave a comment