Official Luthiers Forum!

I've had this machine almost two weeks, in that time I've learned a lot from people here, so here is the current list:

1. Make sure your clamps are out of the way, or the CNC will happily carve them up for you.

2. A UPS on your controller computer will allow you to re-home your machine and continue cutting out the same part after you blow the breaker.

3. The Thickness Sander AND the CNC machine running a 2.25HP router will trigger a 20Amp breaker.

4. MachII does not have the same bugs that MachII does, just different ones.

5. It takes 3 times longer to make a part the first time on the CNC than it does by hand using standard power tools.

6. 1.4" Upcut bits are incredibly strong and can take some major abuse ;)

7. A Porter Cable 891 2.25HP router gets very very hot when run for more than 20 minutes.

8. John Watkins is the go-to guy for CNC, even if he tells terrible jokes (well according to my wife).

9. %90 of doing CNC is getting the setup right, the rest is just making sure the machine does not crash.

10. Be prepared to make the same part more than once until you get all kinks worked out.

That's a pretty good list, I probably need to find a better router at some point, the PC has very very little slop in it but man does it run HOT! I need to find something that was meant for long runs and not just short little passes by hand. Also need to find a good source for bits, I've been using Woodcraft but I should probably look for some bits desinged for CNC.

So after two weeks here is what I have made so far:



I also changed my setup, found a little wireless keyboard I can walk around the shop with:



In the meantime I've been getting back to building, here are some new neckblanks ready to be cut up:



The first real guitar I'm working on is a Hauser Classical:



I should start carving the neck for it tomorrow, and start on bending the sides. It will have a very traditional layout for a classical but the wood is some figured cocbolo that I got from Bob. Should be a stunner when I'm done, this one I'm building as close to a real hauser as I can...

Cheers

-Paul-

_________________
-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Paul:

I'll reiterate what I said when I first saw the shop you were/have created. Can I come live with you? I don't eat much, and (if I do say so myself), I'm a pretty handy guy to have around.   

Very cool! I hope to get CNC within a year or so, I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions!

-MarkMark Tripp38963.8101388889

_________________
Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

trippguitars.com
OR
Find me on Facebook

I eat less than Mark, just Corn Flakes!

What a set up Paul, looks like you're well on your agenda my friend but it looks really complicated and fun at the same time.

Good job!

Sorry Gentlemen...

I have two teenagers living here already and I can't wait for the first one to take off for college, once that's done then we could talk about rent

It feels good to be out and building again, I have so much I want to get done before Healdsburg that it's just insane...

It's been a year since I last built anything but it's like riding a bike and I had a year to really think about my building, I'm finding it much more enjoyable this time around. I'm taking a different approach to how I build, enjoying it more and not getting as stressed about details that others will never see.

Cheers

-Paul-

_________________
-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Paul
I run the Bosch 1617EVS and have to replace the bearings after a hard run on maple. Like you said, they're just not meant for continuous duty.
Nelson

Yep.... I'm actually considering mounting a small fan on top of the Z gantry to blow down on the router, I think that will help quite a bit. If you look at the picture the router is clamped in two aluminum pieces and so I can use them like heat sinks, just need to figure out how to mount the fan.

I'm also looking for a 1/8" collet that will fit in my 1/2" quick chuck which by the way works pretty well, it's much better than using two wrenches to change bits. If I can jig a way to keep the height of the bits the same each time then I can create actual tools in MachIII and not have to zero the length each time. I have some ideas I'm toying with....

Fun Stuff!!

-Paul-

_________________
-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Yep.... I'm actually considering mounting a small fan on top of the Z gantry to blow down on the router, I think that will help quite a bit. If you look at the picture the router is clamped in two aluminum pieces and so I can use them like heat sinks, just need to figure out how to mount the fan.

I'm also looking for a 1/8" collet that will fit in my 1/2" quick chuck which by the way works pretty well, it's much better than using two wrenches to change bits. If I can jig a way to keep the height of the bits the same each time then I can create actual tools in MachIII and not have to zero the length each time. I have some ideas I'm toying with....

Fun Stuff!!

-Paul-

_________________
-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Paul--I like the looks of your dust collector shroud. I have mine mounted to the "stationary" part of the Z carriage so it doesn't move vertically with the spindle. That's ok for some jobs but other jobs would work better setup like yours.
I have the front of the housing hinged so it will open up for tool changing access.
Looks like it would be fairly easy to drop yours down out of the way for tool changing?
Nelson

Thanks...

Yeah it has enough pressure from the zip tie to hold it onto the shroud, I did modify their shroud some so that the collection tube was stationary (it slipped in before) that way I could put some mild pressure on the hose and it would stay put. But when I change tools I just pop it off and I'm setup, I wanted something simple there, anything complicated would just frustrate me...

Cheers

-Paul-

_________________
-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Created this tonight in Rhino, it's my second attempt the first was to prove out some ideas. This one is accurate in it's dimensions, now I have to figure out how the hell I'm going to CNC it



The three slots are for the two CF rods and the Truss, I'm looking for a smaller thinner CF rod currently (1/8" x 1/4"x 18"), that's smaller than LMI or SM but with two that is more than enough to keep things stable...

Cheers

-Paul-

_________________
-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

[QUOTE=Sprockett] I'm looking for a smaller thinner CF rod currently (1/8" x 1/4"x 18"), that's smaller than LMI or SM [/QUOTE]

Paul, try Dragonplate. I just got some that are 1/8"x3/16". Thye may have them even smaller, don't know I didn't look. I got their name from someone else on the forum, just can't remember who it was.

_________________
Dave Rector
Rector Guitars