Official Luthiers Forum!

...an ebony bridge for an OM guitar that I'm building. This one is interesting in that I hand built the box..hand planing, inlaying the rosette, chiseling the braces, etc..but now that I have the CNC I'll be building the neck & doing the inlay with the CNC.

Here's the bridge:



My machine is a K23925G with 8" of Z travel. So far I am very happy with it...I'll post some pics of the ebony fingerboard once I finish it. I'm thinking of inlaying a couple brook trout on it using some recon stone that I have handy..

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

Could you post a pic of your k2? How much did it set you back? (if you don't mind me asking). I have been looking at that one...did you get their stock luthier version? Or, did you add options?

Mike

Hi Mike,

I got the KG3925G with servos, limit switches, t-slot table, the Porter Cable router/spindle with 1/2" & 1/4" collets, automatic tool height setter (which I haven't figured out yet) and 8" Z height. I also got the DA300 which allows you to use tools with an 1/8" shaft diameter. The pic on their website is better than the one I took...! I got a good deal thru K2 for the machine and my CAD CAM software - it was a little under $10,000 for everything. I'm using Rhino CAD with Rhino CAM Basic for CAD CAM and Mach III for my controller software.

In addition, I purchased a Dell Dimension PC for about $500 to act as dedicated controller PC. Lastly, I've purchased tooling from a few sources...MSC, Amazon.com, StewMac, etc.. All told I'm in this little venture for close to $12,000 but I have a good setup that will allow me to build guitars, inlay, furniture, and many other things..

I chose the machine I did because I think it will do a fine job of what I need it to do & I have been very happy with it so far. I feel that it is rigid enough to take any depth of cut that I could reasonably expect to make with the PC router.

I think in order to get the most out of something like this you should be as familiar as possible with CAD & CAM. Drop me a line if I can help you out with anything!

Trev

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

Is it big enough to do body cutouts? I know, thats like using a nail when all you need is a pin. But I am curious about that. Or is is better suited for necks, bridges, inlays? If it is good for body cutouts, how big? Do you think a Dyer Harp guitar would be in reach? Sorry, I am a nut about technology...love the stuff. Perhaps I could just get Rhino CAD and pay someone like you to do the cutting!!

Mike

The machine he has can handle parts up to 39x25 inches, which is a pretty huge guitar.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

As Bob mentioned, the machine is big enough to cut anything that is 39 x 25 x 8". The only real limitation that this machine has is that since it is using a Porter Cable router as a spindle I have to take smaller bites than I would with a machine that has a more powerful spindle.

I'd be happy to cut some bodies for you. If you send me a picture taken from the top and then give me a few dimensions to figure out the scale I can work out the profile pretty closely. I would also need dimensions and/or sketches for the neck pocket, pickup cavities, electronics cavity, etc. I was building a neck/fingerboard jig today & I'd be happy to run a few of these for you as well.

Right now I'm working on a carved walnut back for the walnut/spruce OM in the pic in my original post. It will be pretty similar to an archtop back. I already have the back glued on....but I've got this idea in my head so I have to try it out..!   

CAD software is really useful even without CAM & CNC...and getting into it with Rhino would be a good first step.

Trev

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

I have a never ending curiosity about stuff like this. Does anybody make a laser sensor that could be inserted where the router goes for "scanning in" 3D objects?

I'm heading over to cnck2 to search for more info on this.

Mike

You can use a laser scanner, but they are generally limited to about .015" accuracy. A good digitizing contact probe can get you pretty much within the capability of the CNC that it is hooked up to (on the order of .001 or .002").

No matter what you use, you always end up with a point cloud from which to generate your surface. There's a whole art to doing surfacing from point clouds...it's no easy task!

Eventually I will pick one up...I have plenty of work & play at the moment to keep me busy.

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

Sounds like fun!

Ever read about Joe's Model 2006 (CNC Router) over at cnczone.com?

Mike