Tonight, I experimented with a couple new things, the bitmap trace feature in Vectric and the prismatic v-carving feature. Not bad for the first try, although I should have spent more time cleaning up the vectors because the lines didn't come out perfect from tracing. I just got too excited to cut.

The artwork is made by my friend, who creates ambigrams as a hobby. An ambigram is lettering that can be read forwards and backwards, like in the book Angels and Demons. This one is of his last name. Pretty neat stuff!

V-carving the letters sure was dusty. I used a 3/4" 90 deg v-cutter, and a 1/4" single flute bit for the profile. Material is 1" mdf.

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Nice john!

Thank you, Hennie! :)

Beautiful. :)

Push Button Boxes
 

John, Where did you get your push button boxes from? Those are clean and simple looking.

Looks great!

Hi Travis. I believe they are the boxes from FactoryMation, with WEG button. Hope your build is going well. I'm hoping to do some cutting on Sunday, so it might be a good time for you to swing by and help me lift some MDF. :D

Thanks Leo!

:eek:That's amazing.

This weekend, I worked on a two-person chinese checker set that I had designed and wanted to make for some time. I love the look of old wood-laminated surfboards, and like to incorporate the look into a lot of my projects. This game set is made with glued up strips of hard maple, bloodwood, and ebony. I have not decided on the finish yet, probably some Danish oil or the like.

This was the first time cutting hardwood on my MM...much more enjoyable than MDF. Less dust, more chips. It was also the first time I had to care about indexing the material properly due to the stripe down the center. This was nerve racking after all the time spent gluing up the board. I'll need to work on some sort of fixture for this type of work.

Here are some pics of the project, along with some MDF prototypes I made before deciding on the final shape:

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Final game board without finish...
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They are great looking. A cross hair laser would make alignment very simple?? Where did you get the pins?

Thank you, J.R. A laser would probably help...I haven't read enough about this yet to figure out where to get one, how to hook it up, and use it. For this project, I had used a pointy stick chucked in the router :o

Regarding the pegs, I bought them from craftparts.com. Mine are the 5/8" dia. size.

John

John

I find the center of my project and use a very sharp pencil, make a small line. The use a laser pointed v-bit, center it on the pencil line, then go to the MDI page of Mach and move half the width of my project, then zero the DRO. It's fast and you can get very close to the center of your project.

Given the width of the lines I've seen with lasers, you can get as close with my method. For sure not as fast, but you never have to worry about the lasers being knocked out of align.

Dave

edge
 

Most people just touch off the sides of there parts with the tool they are using in Y and X, zero your tool and then you can move exactly were you want to. Or make your self a referance jig to locate your parts the same after you set up the first one. It is the same practice machinest use. Send me a PM if you want to try it and I can explain it a little more.

Castone

How do you set up when you want the file that your cutting to be in the center of a pattern in your material that might not be or is not centered in the base material?

edge
 

If you start as I was talking about before by finding your 0Y 0X . You can measure the board you are cutting, then you can just jog to what is the center of the board by looking at your computer. Or you can go MDI Type G0 X10 Y5 F20 and hit enter and it will jog to that location for you. Most parts do not require it to be this close but when it does this will always work.

John,
I'm so impressed with your design for the bolt together table. Do you mind sharing the dimensions of the I-beam stock you used for the X-axis and legs? Great work!

Thank you Isaac. The I-beam for the main beam is 8" x 4" (I think they're called "long flange"?), and the legs are 4" x 4".

John

Dave and Leo, thank you for the advice. I've been away from the machine for a few weeks and haven't had a chance, but will give it a try.

John

Update on #34
 

Hi Everyone!

I can't believe it's been a year since I've last posted...time FLIES when you have a MechMate in the garage, especially when you're trying to learn how to use the thing! Anyways, here are a few projects that I've done since I finished my machine. Nothing too complicated, but a learning experience nonetheless.

John

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John, you shouldn’t expose those, some will become jealous of your talent !
I know I am :rolleyes:
VERY nice & thankful of you to share these !
Congrats, Robert ;)

Great stuff. Can you share what you used to make these. I mean wood type (I reread the thread), method you used to paint them, bit etc. This is some nice work !!
What software did you draw these in?

Beautiful John, Beautiful! :)

I like it..very well done and thank's for sharing

Thanks for the compliments, guys.

Mike, for the v-carved stuff, I've been experimenting with HDU foam (top two pictures) and hardwoods like poplar and maple (fourth & fifth picture). I've used various bits, but narrowed down my favorites to Whiteside 90 and 60 degree bits for carving, and 1/4 straight flute and Onsrud Super O for the profile. I'm all over the place with feeds and speeds, but I normally cut b/n 100-200 ipm...maybe a little on the slow side.

I'm still trying different techniques for finishing, but I'm getting the best results so far with painting first, masking, and then v-carving through the mask. Long process, but i like the crisp edges.

Beautiful work, congratulations!

Isn't paint "melting" when you carve, or you paint the final layer afterwards ?

BTW your work is stunning, congrats.

Beautiful Work Sergio!

Hi Sergio, no the paint doesn't melt, it just cuts away. Only the lettering gets paint after carving.

John

John, can you tell us what you use for the "mask"? Is it transfer tape the sign industry use to transfer vinyl lettering to it's final location? I've tried this technique before, but found some problems with my masking "tape" peeling away the original paint in patches. If you've not had this problem before, the question may seem confusing but if you've had similar problems, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. Also, what type of paint are you using? Water based or oil? How long was the dry time before applying the mask. After you carve, how long do you wait before removing the mask? Sorry about asking so many questions in one go, but I've just about given up on the masking--> carving-->peeling mask strategy. Then I saw your beautiful work and felt inspired to try again:)

Hi David,

Yes, I had a lot of problems with lifting, but after a lot of trial and error, I'm now getting pretty consistent results. I use Oracal 813 for the masking, it cuts very cleanly, and a little less tacky than masking tape. It can still lift off paint, though, so I have to be gentle removing it.

I use both oil and waterbased paints, and let them dry for at least 24 hours before applying the mask...more if possible. I've found that certain brands work better than others. Here in the states, Sherwin Williams work great for me, but cheaper brands like Valspar tend to peel away.

John

A liitle tip I picked up on a forum.....only paint/coat wood while it is cooling.

Wood is porous and full of air. While it is heating up, it breathes out..while cooling, it sucks in. You get the worst adhesion (and finish) if you paint in the shade and then put in the sun to dry. First put in the sun, then take inside to paint, and leave inside until touch dry, then maybe risk heating a little to speed drying.

Those are some Great looking signs!
Maybe one of these days we can "invest" in some v-carving software.:D

Being an ex-sign maker (lost our business to the crappy economy), I love this type of stuff! Excellent work. If you want true sign-grade paint with lots of pigment, look for One-Shot (oil-based) or Ronan (typically water-based).

Hi John.

Very nice machine.

Im not see in the photos were is the method you use for fit perfect the racks in the main beams under the main rails, is possible you cut your main beam 0.6" ?

Regards

Thanks for posting all your projects, keep the rest of us motivated!
Tim

Save topic
 

Save this topic as favorite in my profile it´s possible? how to do? it´s for easily more find. Thanks
John your MM it´s amazing!! CONGRATULATIONS

Pics
 

Hi John

Where´s pics? Your hosting pics have a error:
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