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Thread: Planning ahead!!!

  1. #1
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    Default Planning ahead!!!

    A little background to start. My son and I both play instruments, him the bass and me(hey, making noise is playing right?) the guitar. After running across another forum and a build thread, I decided that I would like to start building guitars. Don't have a planer but i do have a router so I figured i could make a router sled and be done right? Not hardly. After browsing this other thread I came across several guys that were building/buying and using a cnc router for their guitar building and you know how we are. Ooooooooooo, I want a toy like that too!!!! Well, I can't justify the expense just yet but could stomach it, and get it by the boss lady, better if i did it piece by piece and upgraded here and there. On a particular thread, Andre's CNC | Telecaster Guitar Forum, is when i decided my plan of action. So my thought process is that i will start and make my x and y axis and use them as a router sled and start to accumulate ball screws, z axis parts, etc and inch towards the end goal. As of now i am looking at using 1400 mm supported rails for the y and 1200 for the x. Ultimately this should give me a cutting area of ~ 30" x 48". This should allow me at some point to consider doing neck through construction on bass guitars. For the controls, I have been looking at the Gecko G540, https://www.finelineautomation.com/p...it?taxon_id=50, like that setup and for the spindle I would use a 2.2kw water cooled unit with vfd. I'm not going to be cranking these things out but have several family members and friends that also play and think they'd make great gifts. I also see the potential for one off pieces like signs, jewelry boxes, etc. My main reason for wanting to get moving on this now is that my 15 year old that plays the bass is a sophomore and I'd love to hand him a custom bass for graduation. So the way i see it is that I have 2 years and a few months to get this crap figured out. Pretty sure I can sweet talk my local machine shop in to letting me work on some of my stuff myself on their manual machines so i can make sure everything is squared on the z axis so that should help a lot. Hell, I go to church with the owner so maybe they'll even give me some direction in the CAD/CAM area. I took a CAD/CAM class way back in high school (about 20 years ago) so all that crap is long gone. I did download Fusion 360 and will start playing with that some since it is free to startups and students (my 2 kids count right?). Also, I work offshore in the oilfield and tend to have a lot of time on my hands when at work since I only work as needed and I am on a 21 day rotation so 21 on and 21 off. Any guidance and insight is greatly appreciated and I look forward to learning a lot and honing in on the design of my machine!

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  2. #2
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    Default Re: Planning ahead!!!

    You might want to consider a kit machine from CNC routerparts or Fineline automation. There are others I'm sure but those two make machine kits that would work for what you want to do. They've done all the research and planning and have parts that work together that you could buy as you have the money instead of trying to mix and match parts and then adapt your build around them. FWIW, I made a machine with the G540 and 2,2kw spindle and some parts from CNCRP and was very happy with how those parts performed.



  3. #3

    Default Re: Planning ahead!!!

    I build electric guitars and use my DIY CNC machine to assist me in doing so. You'll be up and running sooner with a kit as 1Jumper10 says. My first CNC was a Shapeoko2 kit. I upgraded it to a 1000mmX1000mm before I built my own machine. If you design your own, you'll have the time invested in the design, plus the time building it and tweaking it. I'm still tweaking mine although it's a working machine now. I also had the Shapeoko2 to cut out parts for my DIY machine.

    I don't thickness plane my body blanks with the CNC machine. I use a Rigid 13" thickness planer which you can get at Home Depot for $369. In actuality, you can cut out a body using a template as fast or faster than you can cut that same body on most DIY CNC machines. But, the CNC machine is very handy for cutting out the templates. I only used the CNC machine for cutting out the necks. I haven't done any 3D work as of yet. Still studying that workflow! My CNC machine cuts out pickguards, humbucker pickup rings, truss rod covers, control cavity covers, etc. Very handy for that stuff.

    My CNC machine cuts out other things too. I've been making wooden bracelets for the ladies, and trinket boxes. I spend more time doing that than cutting out guitars as it takes me a while to finish a guitar after cutting it out.

    Here's a forum on this site dedicated to musical instruments...good luck with your plans.

    http://www.cnczone.com/forums/musica...-construction/



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    Default Re: Planning ahead!!!

    Any guidance and insight is greatly appreciated and I look forward to learning a lot and honing in on the design of my machine!

    Here is some cheap advice,
    Read, learn, read, learn, read and do the CAD stuff while out there on the rig with nothing to do.
    Bottom line, the CAD and CNC are done without being near a machine,
    This is vicarious machining, All is really done at CAD CNC chair.
    The DATA is more important than the hardware plugged into the wall, idle.
    Data is intellectual property and is portable to any machine.
    Dust off those brain cells and make guitars !

    Been doing this too long


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