My JOES build thread......

[craigjh]

It's been slow, but I thought it may be time to start my own build thread.
Decided on the JOES 2006 due mainly to the DIY MDF aspect and the great reports/threads from JOE & others on this forum.

The imperial/metric thing was troubling me at the beginning but once I downloaded the plans and played around in sketchup, I realised it's not such a issue as long as you keep an eye on what measurement changes effect what, an adjust accordingly.

I have no access to any cnc machinery and keeping multiple parts accurate has meant making/utilising jigs and taking my time. Not to mention that I have a 5 and 2 year old apprentices that don't deserve to be ignored!!!

I'm lucky to have an array of power tools including Slide compound saw, circ saws, bench mounted saw, bench & hand held routers, power/cordless and bench drills, and (most importantly) an old barrell vac called "Sadie" to clean-up all the mess along the way!!!

Enough of the talk, here's some pictures so far......

[craigjh]

Some more photos. Gantry bottom torsion box, Z axis carriage & X axis components so far.......

[craigjh]

For those who may have just begun looking on this cnczone and aren't aware of the JOES 2006, here's a photo of a nice completed version (not mine).......
My appologies to the CNCer whose machine this particular photo is, but I can't remember your name! It's a nice looking machine! Obviously a huge thankyou must go out to JOE for creating and documenting his machines. Thanks JOE. But also a big thanks to the rest of you for sharing thoughts and images.
All 12mm MDF except for top & bottom Z carriage (19mm). Cutting area will be aprox 1150 x 615mm, overall machine size about 1500 x 850mm.
I have completed all individual parts now (not all shown) and hope to start "gluing-up" very soon. Will post some more pic's......

[gmfoster]

Looking good , You will enjoy the trip and the destination....

[voltsandbolts]

Wow great job especially concerting your cutting all the parts without a CNC.

[gully]

Very nice work Craig.
Hmmm! Ability with hand tools, tidy work shop, cleans up all the dust before taking photos.
Clearly you are setting the build bar far to high. Will be following with interest.

Gully

[craigjh]

My little "apprentices" have contracted me to build a cubby house this weekend..........maybe while the power tools are warm & noisy they won't notice if I happen to do a little bit of "JOES" work too............
I'll see how I go.......hopefully photos will follow soon...

[Eclipze]

Very nice work Craig.
Hmmm! Ability with hand tools, tidy work shop, cleans up all the dust before taking photos.
Clearly you are setting the build bar far to high. Will be following with interest.

+1... well said!

[craigjh]

Although I haven't progressed too far in the last couple of weeks, I did manage to put some pieces togethor tonight just for a bit of a "dry run" to see how things were going.

The kids cubby house is almost complete (maybe I should post a photo of that too.......), so maybe they'll give me some time for "dad's toy"!!!

I'm real happy with how it's (the CNC) come togethor so far. I used a 12mm router bit for the slots and they fit real tight with the 12mm MDF. I just need to make the adjustable bearing blocks for X & Y. JOES uses HDPE but I'm considering just going with MDF........hhhmmmm, will that be ok? Guess I can try and see how it goes.

Also shown is a picture of my motion components. I'm going with 1/2 inch acme thread and have purchased some fittings from dumpster to suit.
Not sure how the steppers will go. I bought them from a great little surplus store in Singapore but they all have slightly different specs. I'm really wanting to get a controller now to play with. Thinking towards the HobbyCNC Pro driver board primarily for cost.

My PC also may require some "attention". It has a P3 1gig processor which I think is the min required for mach3. What's people's experiences in that regard? Should I keep an eye out for a cheap P4?

Anyway, here's the photos.

-Craig.

[gully]

Very nice workmanship Craig. It is coming along very nicely and is a tribute to your skill with hand tools. (your kids cubby must be awesome)
Looks like you are also well on the way with the odds and sods.
Im still in the looking / tire kicking phase for steppers and contollers.

If you dont want to use MDF for your bearings, you can purchase UHMW polyethylene in small pieces around 100 x 600 x 20mm from Carbatec.
One piece might just be enough to get all your blocks from.
I think it is around $60 a panel

Gully

[ImanCarrot]

Awesome work! thanks for sharing.

[craigjh]

Thanks Guys.

Gully - cheers for the carbatec suggestion. I've also seen 380 x 510 x 19mm commercial grade chopping-boards for sale on ebay for around $35 (inc postage). They are HACCP plastic which I guess is same/similar to my requirements?
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/1x-WHITE-HACC...item3a55e794b2

Better get the glue out soon......I'm starting to procrastinate.....

-Craig.