First Thank You in advance for your help. Well....I'm determined but overwhelmed. I am a 41 yr old former Marine, wheelchair bound, 3 kids, wife and a English Bulldog. I love making things..models, resin models, wood art, holiday decorations, add lights and sound to scale models, computers, online gaming..I like it all.

I don't have a normal 9 to 5 job, and I try to fund my various hobbies by making and selling stuff at local craft shows and or on Ebay. I recently took a interest into intarsia, wood art, drop a pattern on wood, cut out parts with a scroll saw, contour parts with a sander, glue em to a back board, and put a finish on em. Well it just struck me that if I could build a CNC machine that could cut out the parts it would streamline the process and allow me to do more.

So I am asking for your collective help in guiding me to what may help. The largest wood yard cutout I do are about 24" x 48" but I am sure as with most hobbies bigger equals more money. I probably wouldn't want to make anything that would be limited to smaller than 24" x 24" but I am just guessing here...maybe 24" and a open ended axis thing is doable so that one axis isn't restricted in product length. Other ideas that came to mind are plaques, tables and such with pictures carved into them.

So not sure which way is best, I would say wood is the number one medium followed by foam and metal...not sure if what i am looking for can be done by one machine or If I pick one make it, let it make enough cash to move on to project number two. I have read a ton on CNC, waterjet, plasma and still am not sure what is the most feasable on a limited budget.

I have a 22' x 28' hobbyshop/garage to work with as far as space goes, and a fair amount of tools i can use to make whatever. Thank you in advance for any direction. And Semper Fi to all you other jarheads floating around inhere.:confused:

Hello jarhead!:D I wasn't a Marine but I want you to know I hold you and "most" others that have served in our military with highest regard and want to extend to you my heartfelt thanks.

Now...to your cnc machine. I don't particularly like them, but a suspended gantry with the machine open on one side and both ends sounds like it might be just what you need. To do a cantelever design like this requires the frame and gantry to be more robust an ridgid so you will need to keep that in mind as well.

Do you have a cad program or cad experience? If not that is also something to consider.

Are you asking for design help, sourcing help/advice?

Mike

Well Sir, I'm not a Marine but I am a Vet. circa 1960-63 from another conflict. Let me be the first to say "Thank you" for your service and that I am so terribly grieved for your disability.
You can, as have I, overcome that disability and be as productive and valuable member of society as any and better than most.
This is an excellent hobby/industry to start rehabilitation/self employment. To that end I will offer three HobbyCNC 200oz in stepper motors at the cost of shipping if they can be of any use to you.
Bookmark my addy from the member list and I will be happy to talk with you on any subject you wish.
God bless you and good luck!!

As others have said, Thank you sir for your service to this great country of ours.
I think you could do what you want with Joes machine. Look at the forum on Joes CNC model 2006 and see what you think.

I second the words of others here - thank you for your service.

My machine is "open ended" as you suggest. This allows me to cut material that is larger than my Y axis and it's great that I can throw in an entire 4' x 8' panel and start cutting. My Y axis can also hang outside the bed on the front end. This has worked well for those jobs on materials that are taller than my Z depth.

In my opinion, there is nothing like THK type rails and blocks. They give you accuracy and rigidity... at a price. For my 6' x 4' machine, I ended buying them directly from THK because there were not available on eBay. If you can do 24" x 24" then plenty of THK rails can be found on eBay and other. Also, look into 8020 extrusions for the frame unless you want to do heavy metal cuts.

JR

Well I am feveriously taking notes, I will start a excell spreadsheet of info, so I can keep track of help and guideance. All of which I welcome whole heartedly. I have been in my chair since 1990, and am very fortunate not to be one of the world owes me or poor me look what happened to me types.

My 2nd, current, and last wife is a Desert Storm/Shield vet from the Navy, and I just buried my father who was a AirForce vet in Korea. So now that the history lesson is over lol...I am handy and capable but not knowledgable which is why I am here. Tikering around and making things work has always been a blast. It just seemed wise to get alot of advice and direction before I start since many of these items are not cheap and I don't have cashflow towaste so to speak.

A heartfelt thank you to all who have offered help or advice, I have decided to chronicle this little project for the fun of it, and maybe toss up a freebee website thingy showing progress and kudos to all of you fine people. And to all that said thanks for my service, and my father and wife also, I can say, that your kind words surpass any pain we felt on our worst time in service. I don't want to sound sappy or like I am rattling a change cup on the corner, I just want to do this right and make it enjoyable and fun.

This year I carved 23 artificial pumpkins by hand...could a setup like this carve a design in a artificial pumpkin? Hehe..see how dangerous it is for me to think...I keep pushing the envelope...well night for now, talk to you all soon. Thanks again.

Respectfully,

Michael

Cutting on a sphere will likely require a minimum of 5 axes, possible but advanced. You might do better chewing on a smaller project which can also help build a larger more expansive one. (I'm a firm believer in bootstrapping as can be seen by some of the threads I've written on this forum)

Consider the simplicity of a Rockcliff style rig, easy to put together with hand tools. Up and running quickly and with smallest amount of tech grief.

Consider also, Gecko G203v drives, expensive but indestructible to be sure!

Mach 3 control software is adequate and affordable as is Sheetcam for 2.5D gcode creation. Lots of cad software out there but I personally like DesignCad.

In any case, do lots of reading BEFORE you jump something.

And no, we don't want a "pity party" but know this, you have our respect, sympathy and admiration.

Well starting with something that can be upgraded is a very smart idea. I'm looking forward to this, it should be fun, challenging and rewarding.

And just the type of thing that my wife has zero clue as to what I am doin and when it's done she will be doing the..."Can ya make me one of these items for such and such niece or nephew, or hey mom's B-Day is around the corner can ya go whip something up on that thing of yours in the garage...you know the noisy move around jerky one...whatever you call it...and I'll have to just smile and say "Sure babe!"

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45079

Take a look at this thread and the link he provides, he used drawer slides (cheap enough) as linear rails and bearings. Not going to make metal precision equipment with this one but adequate for a lot of wooden garage hobby stuff!

http://ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19561

So here are some quick sketches I jotted down on a napkin...anything promising?

Hehe......had to toss in a joke or two...

Seriously...this is getting really exciting, I'm blowing away my garage and trashing all my real junk and cleaning everything up so I can get started. I got about 200 board foot of assorted hardwood scraps from some local cabinet makers. I am going to have to buy a thickness planer of some type..have seen Rand, Dewalt, Hitachi and Delta in the local Lowes and HomeDepot...unless anyone has a descent 12 or 13" planer they wanna unload...the Rand one on Ebay is about 230.00 which is about what the Delta one is at Lowes...then the prices start getting crazy...but wouldn't the Delta one be ok to get started with?

Semper Fi from a old Navy Chief. I was in your spot knowledge-wise a few years ago. This board really provided me with alot of insight as to how and what is needed to get the show on the road.

As for your pumpkins, you can carve 2 1/2D using an XYZ CNC router. The image gets converted into GCode and the CNC software makes the motion. You can carve signs, make parts, all kinds of stuff.

If you look at the Harware Store Machine threads, you will see how cheaply this can be done.

To jhowelb - I will pay the shipping for the HobbyCNC board and steppers. Let me know how much and if we can do Paypal or you just need a check.

Mjolnir07 stand by for heavy rolls as your ship comes about, mate.

RipperSoftware

Very kind of you Ripper, my task for the next week or so is a thourough cleaning and tidying up of my garage. And research on what direction I will go, am looking at lots of plans and videos and such. I am humbled by all of you guys generous offers, it was never my intent to log into this forum trolling for handouts, and I don't want to offend anyone either. Just want to be successful, and since I dont have 50,000 to buy a waterjet, a budget homemade CNC Router or Plasma cutter seemed doable, and the router dosent seem too daunting. Maybe as I succeed and progress I can build others and one day can offer help, plans, assistance to other people just starting out. But I must say this is really looking like it will be fun and rewarding and a nice challenge also. Talk to all of you soon, God Bless and have a awesome day.

Respectfully,

Michael

You are welcome. This "hobby" is alot of fun. It sounds like you have the bug. You're hooked.

RipperSoftware

Semper Fi from a old Navy Chief. I was in your spot knowledge-wise a few years ago. This board really provided me with alot of insight as to how and what is needed to get the show on the road.

As for your pumpkins, you can carve 2 1/2D using an XYZ CNC router. The image gets converted into GCode and the CNC software makes the motion. You can carve signs, make parts, all kinds of stuff.

If you look at the Harware Store Machine threads, you will see how cheaply this can be done.

To jhowelb - I will pay the shipping for the HobbyCNC board and steppers. Let me know how much and if we can do Paypal or you just need a check.

Mjolnir07 stand by for heavy rolls as your ship comes about, mate.

RipperSoftware

I just KNEW that there had to be enough Vets around that we could get his motor started.

Just a note to all:
Charity is given to one who is in need.
Gratitude is given in appreciation for something received.
Love is given to those who deserve it.

Free men depend upon each other for their freedom, it should be an honorable thing to give these things to those to whom we owe so much regardless of any political bent.

lets help this one!

OK, so it is official, the route guy for our trash company HATES me:) .../shrug maybe he should join this forum, build a CNC and start something he enjoys! Harhar...

I have been at it for a min of 6 hrs a day for the last week out there, I am not going to do a single thing as far as making a part on my CNC until my entire garage is nuked, cleaned, and put back in order.

It has needed to be done for SO long. I was tempted to post a before and after pic of the general state out there when I am done but that may not be a good thing!

Well just saying hi, happy Veterans Day to all who have served, as for me, it was an honor to do so and I did so gladly.

Back to da garage...will post more in a few days, have a great evening guys and gals.

Respectfully,

Michael

Slip the route driver a pint of Beam for Christmas, he'll LOVE ya forever.
Veterans day we're supposed to thank a Vet, so thank you.

The offer is still open alltho I'm underwhelmed by the lack of other response. Not my first disappointment, prolly won't be my last.

Have a nice day, my friend

I just KNEW that there had to be enough Vets around that we could get his motor started.

Just a note to all:
Charity is given to one who is in need.
Gratitude is given in appreciation for something received.
Love is given to those who deserve it.

Free men depend upon each other for their freedom, it should be an honorable thing to give these things to those to whom we owe so much regardless of any political bent.

lets help this one!

I'll help. I could use an idea of what Michael needs though before I just go off and make a blanket offer, since I don't actually have any blankets!:D

Michael if you build a wooden frame machine, i.e. mdf, I can cnc cut your parts for you or I have some parts I have been gathering for a new build and I would be willing to part with some of those.

Mike (Michael Too)

I'm not turning down any offers, I just havent got enough info to you all on which way I wanna head so you can help me narrow down smart choices. I am tossing up a bunch of stuff on Ebay also to help generate funds, none of it is CNC related, just other craft, hobby, collection/addiction stuff I have.

I'm not turning down any offers, I just havent got enough info to you all on which way I wanna head so you can help me narrow down smart choices. I am tossing up a bunch of stuff on Ebay also to help generate funds, none of it is CNC related, just other craft, hobby, collection/addiction stuff I have.

Michael when you get ready just let me know. That narrowing down the choices is the hardest part.....I think!:D

Mike

Well you have motors, you will need a (some) driver(s). Gecko G203V are a bit pricey but you can't "kill" them(V is for vampire).
I watched over a thousand dollars (mine) worth of other controllers go up in smoke and STILL had to buy Gecko. THAT is the reason that them motors I've offered you are not in use. I bought bigger motors for one project just because the Gecko could handle them. I will still have three more of them to use on a smaller project I have planned. The Geckos will run them.

My advice is to bite the bullet and go for them.

Check out the pics and statements in this thread. Easy done especially now you have some one to do the cutting on a cnc.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27660

That will let you "spring board" to anything you wish.

Mach 3 control software is adequate and affordable as is Sheetcam for 2.5D gcode creation. Lots of cad software out there but I personally like DesignCad.

In any case, do lots of reading BEFORE you jump something.

The Gecko's are a done deal as far as deciding wise. I have Geico auto insurance so it just had to be LOL...I want to make this as large and robust as I can but not try to make it into a 16' x 24' shop production machine carving out stainless steel parts for NASA 24/7/365 LOL ( Humor aimed at how projects can tend to grow on thier own!)

Needs/Wants/Desires

I work in wood, self cast plastics and resins, cast foam, rigid foam and light metals, and molding compounds. My resins are 95% of the time from the company Smooth On

link:http://www.smooth-on.com/liqplas.htm

http://www.smooth-on.com/foams.htm

I carve artificial pumpkins, make Holiday Decroations, plastic and resin model dioramas..( mostly for the table top version of Warhammer and Warhammer 40K ) I take existing kits and add lighting, some sound and an occasional motor activated effect here and there.

I envision being able to cut out my Intarsia wood patterns with the CNC and then just doing the finish work by hand.

I envision taking rough 2" thick blue dupont sheet foam and 3D carving holiday decorations into it, ie Halloween Tombstones, Christmas Iglo Blocks etc...

I envision cutting light metal silowette work and inlaying them into coffee tables or end tables I make.

Here are some pictures of the kind of work I would like to do. My 1st machine may not be able to do them all, but as long as it can make cashflow to fund the next one I'll be in good shape. ALL THESE PICS ARE OFF THE WEB NOT MADE BY ME! ( Except the picture OF me lol ! )

With the size limitations in my garage and other tools I have I can not see any way of having a machine bed larger than 48" x 48" so that is the largest size i think I could plan for unless something changes.

Or unless we fall into a used functional or needs some work type situation with a already built one.

Houston has alot of manufacturing companies, think it would be woth the time to roll my gimp butt into a handfull of them and scrounge for parts,ideas, unbeatable deals? ( Wheelchair humor dosen't and won't offend me and I am a light hearted thick skinned soul, so pardon if my jokes come across as not politically correct...)

I hope this helps a bit in your collective guidance...thanks again.

Respectfully,

Michael

ALL THESE PICS ARE OFF THE WEB NOT MADE BY ME! ( Except the picture OF me lol ! )

The Geckos, with a change or resistor and possible power supply, can handle a number of machines. They can adapt to your changing needs.
Remember, too that you can cannibalize old ones to build new ones. (machines)

Foam is a piece of cake and you can build a hot wire cutting system to work on most any cnc within certain size constraints.

The sky is the limit and you are only bound by your own imagination and ambition. URAH!

Old Marine, indeed! You are a baby yet!

Hey I'm 41 and have earned every Grey hair I got!

Naaa....at 41 you prolly still eat pablum. Now at 65 and looking close at 66 I'd sure swap in a heart beat!

..........all the sand in the glass has shifted and gravity is the boss!! (hehe!)

Pablum,,,lol...processessed cereal from the 30's designed to combat malnutrition in infants...heck the brand was recently bought by Heinz lol...ok you win for the older than I am lol...but I am still OLD as far as my body goes but thank God than my heart and soul are still 16 years old :)

Have a great day, gotta go clean and read up on this project :D

Respectfully,
Michael

OkiDokie......well thought I would touch base. My garage was/is a disaster lol...so just the clean/organize part is/was a chore in it's own write. I tossed up a pic of my truck loaded to the gills headed to the landfill LOL..commitment to da cause!

Well I found a guy who lives about 10 miles from me who has a ShopBot 48 x 96, Santiago Laverde, so I paid him to CNC me out some templates out of sheet PVC, and am making a slew of Christmas Yard Cutouts.. the templetes let me layout the lines to rough in color and finish black lines much faster than free handing each one like I have in the past. So anyway this is a start on my project fund. Have a few things to tackle along with the obvious holidays and by January should be ready to begin. Wanted to let you guys know I was still focused and working on it.

Think I want to work towards a gantry type table, maybe 48 x 48, with a spindle instead of a router if possiable. My goal is to amass a 3500.00 budget by late January to Mid Feburary, will see how that goes. As we get farter along with your help I can make the right choices, but my intention is for this thing to generate income for me in a hobby capacity but not limit myself by building a slow machine.

I have alot of good ideas and if something works well and is popular I don't want to have a really slow setup that i have outgrown a few months into this. Here is a pic of the 1st templete also, and tomorrow will toss a few pics up of me painting MDF lol.

Look forward to your build, I am also working on my new 4x4 under 2,000.00.

What are the cables/tie downs in front and side of truck? :)

Joe

Two of the problems to consider on the intarsia is holding the work and bit diameter. You will have to either "onion skin" the parts, (don't cut all the way to the bed, leaving a thin amount of material that will still hold the little parts in place. You have to cut through with a knife to release the parts.) or leave tabs on the parts to anchor them to the main stock. The second concern is cutting 3/4" material with small diameter bits. Finding any bits under 1/4" diameter with that long of cutter length will be tough. It will also be slow cutting or the bits will snap. Then you have the large radius left on internal cuts. Just think about using a hand held router to cut your parts right now. How many passes to get through the wood? How much burning or chip-out? It isn't easy.

I think for good intarsia, the scroll saw will still be the way to go. But if you want to 3d carving, lithopanes, signs, etc......, the cnc is the way to go.

Good luck!!!

The tie downs are holding one side of a tarp that I connected to the garage door and the truck as a kinda tent so if it started raining that I by myself didnt have a worry about all the stuff I had sitting between the truck and the garage that I might not have wanted wet. In my wheelchair I can only move so much before mother nature wins! :)

As far as Intarsia, the more I look into this the more I see that the CNC probably won't be a huge help here. But thankfully it is only one of many things I like fiddling with. But I agree the CNC isn't gonnsa help me alot in that area.

Thx all,

Respectfully,

Michael

Because I've always worked with metal form 1/2" to 3" it seems strange to me to hear someone describe multiple passes to cut through as being a disadvantage.

Anyway, the time the machine takes to cut something out is insignificant as it does this work much more accurately than you ever could with any kind of saw. A RotoZip will go through 3/4" ply or mdf likkitty-slittt and while the machine is working you can be doing other things. Win/win!

A little thought about the "z" axis will provide a fixture that will allow a wide variety of spindles/routers to be mounted in seconds/minuets

OMG! Your NOT throwing THAT away! I could USE some of THOSE!!! LOL!!

...very fortunate not to be one of the world owes me or poor me look what happened to me types.

Respectfully,

Michael

My nephew got drunk one night and decided to drive. He killed his best friend that night and he ended up in a wheel chair. I wish he had your attitude.

It has nothing at all to do with fortune or luck. You are not "fortunate not to have” that attitude - it is a conscious choice and it requires a lot of inner strength to maintain that attitude. Good on ya. Of all the words in this thread, the above phrase is all I thought about after it was read.

I have been in a chair not one time, but twice in my life. Both times it was temporary paralysis and I was extremely lucky. Each time I had no idea if I would ever walk again. Neither time did I adopt an entitlement attitude – it’s just not in my nature. I took it like a man and moved on – hell, I was still alive and I had my vision and the use of my arms and shoulders and I was breathing without a machine. I am better off than some, I thought.

I am very impressed by your attitude and motivation and that motivates me to help you if I can. I don't necessarily have a lot of spare time on my hands, but I can and will machine parts for your machine when the time comes - I have a CNC mill, a lathe and a 5'X10' commercial, 3 spindle router and I love to be precise. I am a Mechanical Engineer and I have a minor in electrical engineering. I have built my own CNC control system and designed several commercial control systems from the ground up for specialized machinery. Let me know if I can help you. Please note this is not an invitation to everyone to hit me up for free machining - this offer is up for Michael because his attitude is inspiring and because I can personally relate. All others need not apply.

Thank you for sacrificing for our country.

Scott

Many thanks to all your offers. Off to Lowes to grab some paint, update pictures later today. :)

I know I am at a hobbiest level, but anything I can do to help just let me know.

Joe

Rudolpf has been cloned.... :) Finally getting some completed, hope all of you guys are having a blast this holiday..I currently dream in Christmas red and green and run from elves in my sleep..( down hill gotta make use of the wheels when ya can!)

Talk to you guys soon! More MDF..more cutouts..ra ra ra

Is this typical of your cutouts (as far as size)?

That is nice work. I can't imagine that you have too much trouble selling these things!

Scott

They run between 28" tall to 8' tall for like a full size Santa. The CNC templates I had made really cut down on the time as far as layout. Drop template, hit it with spray paint, paint in colors, drop template spray gloss black, then fill in touch up areas and go over lines with black gloss enamal oil base paint.

But they are still way too time consuming, but I have a kick doing em.

Stuff I did today! Gotta get some sleep, see ya all tomorrow!

Hey Michael..Take a look at vectric.com..They have there banner ads here all the time and then look around at the projects that they do there on there forums..With the type of projects that you are doing,this is right up your alley..V carve pro does all sorts of things like making signs and cutouts and things like that..Photo vcarve is pretty interesting too..well you need to look there and see what I mean..Another Michael in California

Hey Guys,

I've been following the thread. Mjolnir07, your work looks very good and festive!! Keep up the good work all!

Regards

THIS is a SICK SICK SICK Machine! I hope Santa gives everyone in this forum one for Christmas :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV42O09JnOk

Ooooh ra good buddy,
I was not a marine but I was a merchant marine if that counts for anything. Thank god you are alive and thank you very much for your good service to us and our nation. I work as a technician on the space shuttle at Kennedy Space Center but as a part time endeavor I make signs on the side, you can see my site and my work at http://www.signsalive.net. I make all kinds of neat stuff on my 4X8 shopbot router and I would highly recomend it. The shopbot has open ends and I think you would have any trouble operating it at all. The shopbot is a very fast and accurate tool, has great support and is easy to assemble. My shopbot cost around $9,000 but it is some of the best money I have ever spent. I was going to build a cnc router from scratch, But I would have spent months and a lot of money doing it and I wanted to get into action real fast. If you go to my site you will see some of the work I do and i can tell you the "bot" is very precise and capable of doing the very finest sculpture relief work. If you have any questions or i can help you in any way just drop me a line at signman@signsalive.net and remember the site were all the signs are is at http:www.signsalive.net
Carry on,
Mark.........

Michael,
I've come across a fourth matching stepper to toss into my offer to you.

Also a small windfall will allow me to pick up the shipping.

Again, PM an address and date!

jb

First off, thank you everyone so much. I want to be honest with you, while I am activally working on this I still do not have everything narrowed down as such. If the final plans I end up with don't fit what you have so generously given to me I will either ship the items back to you or try to barter them for something else that is needed.

After the holidays I will be ready to start and I am going to make this a well documented and transparent process. I have so many people offering to help and I fell the best way to make sure everyone feels it is all on the up and up is a kinda full disclousure work in progress approach complete with pictures and a updated thread.

My wife's commissions have been light this month at her job, so I have given my 400.oo I have made from the Christmas Cutouts to her for the Holiday budget, but it will all work out.

And on January 31st, I'll do our taxes and have some money to work with a week later, so the plan is to have the garage and my computer room all cleaned, redone, Ebayed by then, and a finite set of plans and a parts list compiled so that I can set this baby in motion.

I hope each of you are blessed many times over, your thoughtful offers and genuine willingness to lend a hand either with items or advice is very humbling and reminds me of the commeradity we had in the Marines for each other.

I do pledge that after I get up and running, and have anything to offer or contribute that I will " Pay it Forward" when I can to the next person that the forum rallies behind.

Happy Holidays to you all.

Respectfully,
Michael Fuller

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday. Looking forward to starting the build in January, garage is cleaned up, and I'm ready. talk to you all soon, thanks for the warm welcome to the forums and the offers for assistance. See you all around soon...

/salute

Michael

And may you have a Happy New Year!

Hi Michael,

Just remember there are many here that may never post, but are cheering you on, and hopefully praying you on. I have offered what I can in an earlier post, so when you start building let the fourm know what you need.

Mike

Hi Michael,

I am a disabled CNC owner (Stroke) and have only the left arm and leg working properly. I did just over 20 years in the RAAF (Aust Air Force) before starting a Computer business but that all finished nearly six years ago now.

My CNC Router build is here http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35996 and you will find the guys here very helpful. Mine was built using the Item frame because it was nice and easy and with only one hand it had to be. I had some help from one of the guys here on the Zone and heaps of advice from a lot of people :)

Cheers,
Bob

Hello Everyone! :wave:

Well it seems like it has been Years since I posted when in fact it has only been a few months. Good news is real life has calmed down, and I will start my build first week of April. I am building a Joe CNC Hybrid with some mods I am going to add myself. ;)

This was a good path for me, I bought the kit from Joe with all the MDF and HDPE parts pre cut and have a set of plans to follow. I thank you all for your generosity and advice and look forward to sharing my build here as I go.;)

Have a wonderful day, and talk to all you guys soon. :banana:

Respectfully,

Michael Fuller

Drumroll............Tada! OK, well I have started my build. It is a modded Joe CNC Hybrid affectionatly named Mjolnir Hammer's Hybrid and it started taking shape today! The name is kinda of a play on words on Thor's Hammer and is a name I use in alot of online games I have or do play, so it just kinda stuck.

Anyway, I have the Kit and plan's from Joe..YaY! And have ammassed a good portion or stuff and am starting my base and top. This won't be the fastest build by far, nor will it be the best, but when we are done we can joke with anyone and say..hey a Caveman may not be able to do it but a wheelchair dude in Houston did!

All self and friend joking aside I am really excited and look forward to making this work. Thanks for the help and encouragement and I'll flood the place with questions or challenges as they arise. Talk to you guys soon.

Respectfully,

Michael Fuller
a.k.a.
Mjolnir Hammer

A disability does not take anything away, it concentrates skills and abilities in other areas and is only a handicap if one chooses to use it as an excuse. You have not and I, for one, will continue to shout encouragement from the side lines.

More pictures please!
Simper Fi!

Looking good, nice to have a face to the name, Look forward to seeing the build, let us know if you need anything, we are all here to help.

Joe

Lookin Good.
Glad to see you are started.
If there is anything we can do, just shout.

Top notch Marine. Good to see that you have started a machine. This will be a thrill for you when you cut your first project.

Old Navy Chief.

Hi Michael,

Good on you for starting :)

I am disabled as well and it is wonderful therapy and I would not be dead for quids :) the CNC is great for making mates too :) among other things!

Cheers,
Bob

:wave:

Well made some progress the last few days. I decided to make the machine Red/White/Blue...and you may see a few Marine icons added here or there.

I'm not sure the Z-Axis carriage went together 100% correctly. Too early to tell, but if there is a issue it is from me over tightening the all thread connections too much on the pre fit.

Waiting on the 80/20 to show up, ordered the Flange Bearing mounts...still have more stuff to buy but will get to it as I can. Forgot how much I miss making stuff lol, well have a great day all, talk to you soon.
Hey a quick question. If you were cutting foam, like to make seasonal decorations from block foam, and wanted to route names, designs, etc...if you ran a grounding strap from the frame and the router housing to say a true grounding copper rod, would that eliminate the static charge that makes routed foam bits want to stick to everything?

And is anyone going to or planning on bolting this to the floor? I was thinking of sinking some threaded lugs and then bolting it down all level and sturdy and such, figured with my wheelchair I have a good possiability of smacking it alot, and figured bolting it down would be helpful.../shrug


Respectfully,

Michael Fuller
a.k.a.
Mjolnir Hammer

Great color scheme!

Okie Dokie....well I for the controller I scavenged an old electrial box and some sanding and painting and I think we have a winner...28x16x6 should work ok.

Got the table and base kinda together. Had to shorten the legs to work for me and move some bracing around. Trying to get it all square at the moment. Have a inside measurement between the 80/20's of 58 1/8 inches, and having hell getting it to stay square and get it down to 58" even between the parallel 80/20's. My corner measurement is not dead on, so I am just missing something that must have racked it one way or another, I shouldn't be 95 3/8 on one corner to corner and 94 5/8 on the other....more attempts at it tomorrow.

I got the flange bearings, 6 of the 7 have a 204 on em and one has a 202, all the boxes were 204, but I think I will still ask to replace the 202 to a 204. But I have a few questions about em. I tried to show in the pic below, but they don't all seem seated all the way or something. A few are almost 1/8th away from being square...looks like they weren't pressed in al the way or got pressed in at a angle? Think I can fix this with my vise and a few blocks of wood? Or just ask for new ones, not sure if they are "rigid" or float some in that housing and will true up once I put them on the machine. Anyway, thanks for the comments and help...talk to you all soon....

Respectfully,

Michael Fuller
a.k.a.
Mjolnir Hammer

Yes the bearings will move and even out i taped mine into place, they are made to kinda self align to an extent.

There is a discussion on them in the Support forum i have, if you need the link again let me know i can email it to you, it will help you out allot.

joe

Hello fellow addicts! Been toiling away today. My controller is a "rescued" electrical supply box originally used as a house main breaker box. But it needed to have some character added to it. So I had a friend help me cut out an area and will have a clear see thru window in it. I have built and " modded " 50 or so computers in my day. And I think a few cool little gadgets may have to sneak their way inside the controller...anyways here are a few new pics.

I really like alot of the differant things people are doing with the builds. This project has a way of evolving as you go hehe.... talk to you all soon.

/salute
Respectfully,

Michael Fuller
a.k.a.
Mjolnir Hammer

Hi Michael,

Looks good :) and you will really be able to see what's in there :)

Bob

Well...wife isn't working now so I really need to finish this and get rolling on my projects I plan on doing with this bad boy. I am working on the controller at the moment. Got the power supply and controller card in today. Have the Gecko 203v's thermal epoxied to some Computer CPU Heatsinks with fans, and am planning on running 4 120 mm case fans also, pushing about 80 Cfm of air each, so I think everything should stay comfy. I now am pouring thru the builds looking for pics of wiring and such. This will be the hardest part for me so I am checking everywhere. The controller isn't going to be as pristine as most but it should be functional and easy to work on at least.

Respectfully,

Michael Fuller
a.k.a.
Mjolnir Hammer

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12890
Good reference stuff, Gecko but not 203V!

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26530&page=4
Starting at post #148
Doesn't show the method of tying down the wires but you'll get the idea!

It's getting closer.....

Looking good :)