This is post is applicable to the old CNC Router that we sold in 2022. It is not applicable to the new CNC Router.
CNC Router Acquisition
Here’s what I’ve learned since we were on IRC this morning:
– Rick is okay with a Friday recon trip, “any time”. I suggested early afternoon.
– I guessed at 9:30 ETA for the truck at Rick’s shop. It’s his shop, but the owner of the router is Graham Henman, another renowned guitar maker. Rick makes the bodies for Graham’s guitar line. BTW, Rich teaches a “Make a ukelele in 4 days” class at the Crucible.
His shop is small, and obviously, he’s doing us a huge favor (as Graham is), so I want to minimize our disruption of his business.
– I called a dealer who had (ages ago, but Google still finds it) the same machine for sale. Kurt at Crozier Machine Tool took the time to tell me a bit about the machine. He says it’s a real workhorse, and fairly forgiving of mistakes, in terms of not ruining the bed or the spindle as some machines can.
His advice for transport once it’s at Ace:
– The gantry simply lifts off. The photos seem to indicate that the cables are already disconnected.
– remove the legs, secure any loose tidbits (cables, etc.) tip the base on edge, and roll away on dollies.
– Assembly:
– There should be some alignment screws to help re-align the base ends.
– Ways: tighten down one side, leave the bolts on the other end loose enough to let the ways on that end move.
Then manually run the gantry the full length of the ways a couple of times. That should make the ways be parallel again.
– No real maintenance he can think of, other than lube the bearings in the spindle, and keep the ways clean.
Operation:
– It should run with any software. It probably came with Win CNC.
– The controller board can be upgraded via a PCI card in a Windows machine. He says with a newer card, it’ll be almost as good as the latest hardware. (First things first, I’ll be happy to see it running on the vintage gear for now.) Kurt gave me contact info for the original builder (our machine was built in Pittsburgh, PA!) I’ll get in touch with him, and see if he can get us a manual. If he has a paper one, maybe we can scan it for him and send him a PDF so he can distribute it and/or give us permission to make it available online.
– No bits included with the machine! CNC router bits are recommended, though Kurt says that he knows of people using standard router bits.
Rick swears by Osrud bits, “expensive, but worth it!” (about $35 list each I think) He’s cutting 1-1/2 to 2″ solid maple for his guitars.
– Recommended spindle speed for wood, acrylic is 15-16,000 rpm. Osrud, et al have some nice videos on YouTube. Osrud’s note what the material, bit specs and spindle settings are. LMTOnsrud – YouTube They might be good for our training materials.
Training
Obviously, it’s imperative. Do any members have experience with CNC routers of this size? If not, I think we should see if we can get someone to come and give us lessons, care and feeding advice, etc. It’s probably more dangerous than the laser cutter is, and easier to get into trouble with. Not to mention worth close to $5 to 15,000. (This is why I’m interested in doing a “buy now, donate later” scheme with Graham (the true owner, Rick is custodian).
If he can get a tax write-off for even $5k, he’s way ahead. I figure that since we are getting such a good deal on the machine, we owe him the effort to see about his getting a write-off.