I would not dare to criticize such a work of art.
(Just get rid of the red lines):D

Thanks Al, will do.

When I finish a basement, I try to hide the support columns in walls, but sometimes the design doesn't allow it.
Here is a column wrap I did with some 3/4" MDF and scrap trim.
Used the fluting toolpath in Aspire, and ramped the flutes at beginning and end.

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...pslzwqwg54.jpg

KER-PLUNK!!

150 balls from Amazon.com $18.99
4 feet of fencing from RuralKing $12.00
Scrap MDF, leftover paint and some rips of leftover pine 1x $0.00

Hours of fun for kids at a birthday party.....PRICELESS!!

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0gn9ojej.jpg

Thats awesome...well done!
Mark

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...psdd79e5e3.jpg[/QUOTE]

Darren,

I'm want to try cutting the 2" Corning Foam Insulation. Looking for info on a good place to start. What length/style of cutter do you use? Is it a long reach, single pass or multiple cuts? Anything to watch out for?

Thanks
John

That is a good sign!:)

How well does that foam stuff paint? Does it last long in the sun? Bet you can cut it fast too.

Foam can be cut at a lower router speed and faster machine speed than wood. The idea is to not melt the foam back onto itself or onto the bit. Heat is the enemy.
Single passes shouldn't be a problem, no strain on the cutter.
On a lot of these foam projects, I'll grab an aerosol can of "textured ceiling" finish, which gives it a sort of stucco look, and seals up the sign surfaces.
Any exterior paint works well, and mine seem to be holding up well, as long as they are out of reach of curious hands...(and hail).
Ease of painting is dependant on level of detail, and number of colors, just like with anything else.

Thanks Darren, I'll try some test cuts this weekend.
All your work is excellent! Innovative, inventive!

Thank You, John.
Good Luck.

I cut pink foam if thats "Corning Foam Insulation" using 10mm long straight woodworking end mill, 10-15mm per pass, If I go any deeper there is too much material inside cut and it sometimes packs it in the edge.
Blowing out with air would help. 12000 rpm and around 2500mm/min or more.

Paint with acrylic, I use white lacquer and add wall paint pigment to color it. 3 coats.

Thanks danilom, thats some good information.

Been flying pretty far under the radar lately, not getting near as much shop time as I'd like.
Did this little job the other day for a person exhibiting at an Art Gallery....
Notice all the sawdust? who's the genius who forgot to turn the dust collector on?

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...pseyq0bvmg.jpg

Some wonderful cuts. What are you 'gearing up for'? ... I recently got an 'automatic' switch on my dust collector. Turn on my machine tool and the dust collector turns on, and turns it off 10 seconds after the tool is turned off. I found a place to get the controller refurb. But it works well... better than my memory anyway!

http://www.ivacswitch.com/ and I have the little iVAC Switch, other models work better for different setups. I am just a happy customer.

Dust, what dust.

Are those sunglasses ?

Sprocket to me baby.:D

Gears! Lots of gears!!!!
Now you are officially an MMer.

"Sprocketeer"- connoisseur of sprocketry

Still checking in daily.
Haven't had much to post about lately, still battling Lyme, which has been a real roller coaster. At the moment, things are good.

I cut this Red Oak Island counter top from a 5'x10x1 3/4" glued up slab blank supplied by the customer.
Probably the most expensive hunk of wood on the MM to date, and while I was nervous to press Start, it went easy peasy. Rest assured I double checked everything first, including zero.....http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...psz75eezac.jpg

I wish you the best on your fight. I hope you get it eliminated soon.

Darren,

I have not been on here much and I must have missed the post about you being sick. I hope you recover quickly.

I did the same checking when I cut the large 2" thick Acrylic slabs. Looks like a nice job.

Thanks guys.
I'd like to think I'm over the hump with treatment.
I'm cutting some big corbels this week with holes for alignment dowels, 20"x30" 7 layers thick.
This will be my first production vacuum bag glue up...

I understand and can relate w/you as I cut quite frequently some expensive solid wood glue ups to ! Even through the years, I’m still quite nervous and dble & triple check every time !!
Wishing you prompt recovery.....and back to a solid health !
Looking forward for some pics from this productions run !

You'll knock it over Darren, remember we have a pact to go to Dan Sawatzky's course one day :)

Pictures please on the vacuum gluing. I have only seen it done in manufacturing settings. I am interested in the process you will use.

I'll devote the next couple of posts to the corbels I made from 3/4" Extira.
Below is a pic of an individual piece, of which 7 were required for each of 6 brackets.
I bored three 1/2" through holes in 5 of them and a .4" deep blind hole in two of them, one of which had to be mirrored to allow boring the correct side.

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...psdx8syc92.jpg

Then, a coat of Titebond 3 was rolled on both faces and a 1/2" alignment dowel driven into each of the three holes before the last piece was laid on. Keep in mind the outside pieces were blind drilled, to keep the dowels from showing.

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5f2vzbhv.jpg

Lastly, the sandwich goes into the bag, breather mesh on top, and a 20" vacuum pulled for 1 1/2 hours. 20" is about 1700 lbs. of clamping pressure. Even with the thin layers of glue rolled on, there is squeezeout.

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...psx2xou0ga.jpg

Nice work....
assuming it's a commission order ??...or is it for you ?!
Any chance you'd be able to take a pic installed ??!
;)

These aren't for one of my jobs, but I am going to try to get an address to snap some pics after they are installed and painted.

That be great !! ;)

Darren is that a mesh inside the bag? Almost looks as if it was made into the bag itself. I've never used an actual mesh but have used thick leftover fabrics (just keep it out of the glue). I do a lot of vacuum pressing, I'm on my second poly bag now so I guess the fabric works fine.

I bet that corbel has some weight.:)

..... "Darren is that a mesh inside the bag?"
= " Lastly, the sandwich goes into the bag, breather mesh on top

!!! :p

Yes Tom, the mesh is a separate piece that goes in the bag instead of fabric.
Its cheap, reuseable and glue doesn't stick to it.
Heres a link to the page where I bought mine.

http://www.veneersupplies.com/produc...r-MeshNet.html

If you haven't been to this guys site, you should check it out. A wealth of info.
This is where I got the plans and parts to build the vacuum pump from the old compressor I talked about a few pages back.

http://www.joewoodworker.com/veneering/welcome.htm

I've got one vain type pump and and a self contained compressor type. Does the mesh leave impressions in veneer? One of my bags has a seam near one of the ends and has to be avoided because it telegraphs into the veneer.

If it does, I haven't noticed it.

Owners sent a couple pics of the finished top.

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5f20jyw0.jpg

Very nice

Man, you sure do some nice work!

Nicly done !!
Did your beast also rout the top contour profile or was it done by other means ?
;)