Machining In The Living Room aka A Mill In A Desk

[Too_Many_Tools]

I am looking for ideas for how to design and build a desk/bench/storage
cabinet for a Sherline CNC mill that will reside in a living
room.

I have seen the examples shown at the Sherline site but I am still
looking for ideas.

I am trying to have a functional workspace when open and an attractive
piece of furniture when it is closed.

Any suggestions, comments, links AND ESPECIALLY PICTURES are
appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

TMT

[Dfennell]

How about modifying a roll top desk?

[phil burman]

Clearly not married, and not likely to ever be so. Well done, keep it that way. Ya vel, I must be getting old and bitter.

Stick it on the coffee table, then you can watch TV and eat pizza at the same time. Pizza and chips, pure heaven.

First time I've considered whether my setup matches the decor. My setup has a powerful ability to modify the decor.

Keep at it
Phil

Originally Posted by Too_Many_Tools I am looking for ideas for how to design and build a desk/bench/storage cabinet for a Sherline CNC mill that will reside in a living room. I have seen the examples shown at the Sherline site but I am still looking for ideas. I am trying to have a functional workspace when open and an attractive piece of furniture when it is closed. Any suggestions, comments, links AND ESPECIALLY PICTURES are appreciated. Thanks in advance, TMT

[2muchstuff]

How about an entertainment center with doors on the front. Put in a video camera and wire it to the tv so you can flip between channels/inputs and watch what is happening and tv.

[miljnor]

How about an entertainment center with doors on the front. Put in a video camera and wire it to the tv so you can flip between channels/inputs and watch what is happening and tv.

I like it!

I vote for this and if the doors are opaque you still have the ability to one day Date!

[Geof]

The size of desk/entertainment center I would need boggles the mind.

[mjarus]

The size of desk/entertainment center I would need boggles the mind.

Well said. There was no hesitation in ditching the fact that a smaller machine would works too.

mjarus.

[ZipSnipe]

Look on Sherlines website they have a bunch of mini shop pics

[widgitmaster]

If memory serves me correctly, Grandma had an old Singer sewing machine which would fold up under a walnut table top and look like a fancy piece of furnature when not in use!

That would be nice, if the underside of the walnut were a 1/2" thick plate of polished and ground MIC-6 aluminum, with a miniture lathe on one side and a mill on the other!

Just push a hidden button and have all the servo motors flip everything into position, ready for use!

What would Grandma say to that idea?
I can feel the rolling pin bounce off my head now!

Eric

[mjarus]

Actually WidgitMaster has a pretty darn good idea. There are many new and old sewing machine tables that have an elevator that drops the machine down into the cabinet when not in use. The older ones would be really nice because all of the ones that I have seen actually have a solid metal top for the elevator and are built like a tank. My mother is a professional seamstress (my justification about knowing about sewing machines ).

Extra credit for hooking the tredal (the pedal that makes the sewing machine go) to a power feed.

A quick search on eBay turned this one up. It has what appears to be a wrought iron base, which should be fairly stable... just don't tell the seller what your plans are!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll..._BID_Stores_IT

mjarus.

[ZipSnipe]

Here ya go check out some these http://www.sherline.com/shops.htm
Compact Sherline Workshops

[Too_Many_Tools]

Originally Posted by ZipSnipe Here ya go check out some these http://www.sherline.com/shops.htm Compact Sherline Workshops

Thanks for the lead but I have already seen these.

I was hoping to hear of someone doing the CNC version and what tradoffs they had to make to have it in a living space.

Has anyone here done a Sherline (or any brand) CNC machine in a living space where you had to disguise it during nonworking hours?

TMT