Wooaow....that was fast :eek:
Congrats....many hrs of fun to come
Enjoy ;)

Its Alive! Excellent Job Al!!!

Bravo!

SWEEET!!
Great job.

144 Holes
 

Thanks for the kind comments.

Just run its first proper program.
144 holes 10mm dia in the spoilboard for my clamping arrangement.
1 hour 55 minutes.

:D

Awesome !!! Now for some logos !!!

Moved
 

Wow !
Its moved and I have been moved.

I spent the afternoon installing the T nuts. Boring but it had to be done.

More to do tomorrow weather permitting.
The remains of " Typhoon Wutip " are heading directly for us.

I had a lucky escape this afternoon.
The machine was powered down.
I was using a pistol drill to finish some holes.
The pinions were engaged so I was using both hands to move the gantry.
The gantry stopped, without thinking I gave it another pull.
It moved a bit.
Then I realised something was wrong.
The extension cord was wedged under a V wheel.
The cable was thin so I was lucky I did not give it another pull.

Next time a proper extension lead and not across the machine.
Been a bit ironic if me and the machine were finished on the same day.:eek:

Spoilboard
 

Z slide & Router squared to the bed.
Spoilboard faced.
Logos on order.

Getting there.:D

Glad you averted the close call with the cord.
Machine is looking really good.

looks like your spindle is not 90degrees on the y x axis. that make a pattern when you face the spoil board.

there is a easy system with a wire and a drill bit to calibrate the spindle. i cant find any tutorial online. i have to make one.

There are 2 ways to set yout Z axis perpendicular to XY plane.
1) the simple way. eye balling a set square the cutting bit to the table (after it is surfaced

2) the complecated way which I won't go into as it is very well documented somewhere in this forum.

Super quick and easy way........
Cut a 24" x 24" square double or triple thickness FLAT MDF/PLY base....drill 1/2" hole in middle
Chuck up router/spindle in collet - then tighten the machine world around the base and spindle.

Surface the table.

Do it again, this time use a L shaped scribe and feeler gauge if needed to set the pitch/yaw of the assembly.

Personally, I used (2) framing squares to set the z-plumb in the y carriage in the x and y direction. Then I connected the router to the z and did it again.....The second time I did it the first way I described and saved about 3 hours.

Testing Times
 

Thank you for your concerns and comments.
I squared it using the facing cutter.
Perhaps not perfect but good enough for what I want to do for now.

I am very pleased with the machine and its performance.

I ran a test this morning.
Everything cut the right shape and size.
Like a hot knife through butter.:)

Logos
 

One MechMate reporting for duty Sah !

..definitely has the logo part covered! :)
Congratulations...happy cutting

I thought I had a lot of logos.....lol.
Just kidding, machine looks great.
As you gain experience, you will look at every project, no matter how simple, and think: How can I do this with the MechMate?

Jolly good!...carry on...

I like the motor logos !!! You get #114 !!! Congrats !

#114
 

Yahoo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A number, thank you very much.
Very happy to be here.

I saw the .dxf for the motor logos.
Someone said about keeping dust out of the rear bearings, so I ordered a set.
The blue is a bit darker than what I wanted but it might fade with the sunshine.

I said in my first post that I spent 25 years on other peoples machines.
Now I have one of my own.
Absoutely brilliant.
Thank you all.
Now I had better go and do some work.:)

Now its time to start building cool stuff.
GREAT JOB!!

(I have the same motor decals on mine.)

Happy dusting Al. :)
Looks very nice.

Congrats! Looks great! :)

Updated Builder's Log
 

Al,

Here is the Updated Builder's Log with your entry added.

Congratulations on earning Serial #114 on a great machine...and FAST too!

On the Masthead
 

Thank you Gent"s.

Number nailed to the Mast.

Thanks for updating the build log.
Just a small point on the "Builders Log"
The Y travel is 696mm (It could be somewhere over 700mm if I changed the hard stops)

What is a "Small form factor ?

I think the build hours are about average.
It took me about 500 hours but I had nothing else to do all day.
Now I have something to do all day every day.:)

First Project
 

Congrats on your build. Can't wait to see your first project(s).

Detail
 

I had a play about this afternoon.

Quite impressed with the small detail on the rose (30mm dia).

A bit like watching a Sumo wrestler dance in a Ballet.
Well pleased.

The rose is in Tamarind.(End grain)
The ship in Padauk.

I love it!!! Sumo at a ballet!!! Good description!!

Work in progress
 

I had a couple of cable drum ends(plywood) that I salvaged a couple of months back.
I saw Darren Salyers gear and thought why not.
Glued some mdf offcuts to the ply.

Well impressed the way my machine cut the teeth.
I will have to turn it over to cut the teeth full depth as the cutter was too short.
Hope to finish machine it tomorrow.

I'm jealous, everyone is making their own gears but me :(

Don't worry Tom.
One day soon you will be heading away from the kitchen table and carving signs "Get your gear here":D