Making vs Buying

[MSL]

Hi guys. I've been lurking around for a while and thought I would finally sign up.

Have a few questions and hopefully some of you would be willing to help me out(I hope this is the right part of the forum for this).

I've checked around the net for the past month or so and while I've acquired a little knowledge I'm still left in the dark for the most part for what I mainly need as opposed to what I can get for my money.

Found the free plans on the site and downloaded and checked them out, and they look stellar. However, although I'm not a total moron I'm not technically minded when it comes to engineering, especially things that need total precision. I do have access to basic woodworking tools, table saw, lathe, various other saws ect and while I think I could eventually cobble up a system I'm not sure that it would really benefit me more in the short term vs just buying a pre-assembled unit. And by short term I mean buying the pre-built system and spending a month to learn (some) of the software and being able to produce vs spending at least half of that price + the time to build the machine.

Now, I know that I could save a lot of money making my own, especially the 4 x 8 I would aim for but I could probably get a decent 30 x 24 or so for around $1700 - $2 grand from this guy on fleabay. I would post the link but I'm not sure if that's cool or not.

I would be mainly interested in building a few guitar bodies and necks, and fretboards with custom inlays. Not so much for resale, but I would like accuracy and the freedom to do what I want. Also accuracy in the routing for the cavities for pickups ect are paramount. Another thing I would like to be able to do is some simple furniture for family, end tables and some shelves and what not.

What would I need for copying an existing guitar body into the Mach 3 software to be able to do full 3d cuts? Could I use a 3d probe of some sort or would I need to buy a scanner/software package?

I can get some guitar templates from fleabay for the types of guitars I would want to make made from MDF, could I somehow render them into 3d code?

I've read up on mastercam but people say it's not compatible with the new microsoft vista OS's and that's what I would be using if I bought a new computer for the system.

Any thoughts on Rhino for my needs?

And finally I was logging in and someone had posted a beautiful rendering of a photo of thier wife and kid, how can you copy a photograph and be able to put it on wood?

Any help would be great. I'm not lazy and expect an answer to everything I've asked but a nudge in the right direction would be helpful.

[ger21]

A few quick answers.

You can post the Ebay link (as long as it's not stuff your selling). Guys will let you know if it's a good deal or not.

You can probe an existing part, but the end results won't be perfect, and you'll need a way to convert the scanned points to a model, and a CAM package to convert the model to g-code. Most wil tel you your better off modeling the part from scratch in a CAD program, but that takes a bit of skill. Rhino is a good package for this.

If $2K is your budget, you can't afford MasterCAM. It's $10K+

You can buy new PC's with XP, which is highly recommended.

There are a lot of programs to convert photos to g-code.

http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectr.../pvc_index.htm
http://www.imagetogcode.com/

[MSL]

Thanks for your quick reply.

If a probe isn't perfect then what would be the most efficient way to copy an existing template, guitar body ect into code I could use that is accurate? (keep in mind I'm not a lottery winner) And could you give me a quick 101 on what features that Rhino could provide for my needs?

And here is the link:

Link

This is only for a 24 x 12 but the guy can probably build what I want. Seems like an OK deal but what do you think?

[joecnc2006]

for guitar bodies and any 3d work, i would use a router not a rotozip tool.

you can prob. build a larger machine yourself for the same money.

[Cartierusm]

I've been building guitars for 15 years or so. First off some of the processes you talk about can't be done with a cnc router, or can't be done by a novice or a professional just finds it's easier to do with a different tool, such as cutting frets in fingerboards. As far as the machine on ebay it's not very rigid and roughing out a guitar body out of hardwood almost 2" thick need some rigitiy. As the auction says its an engraver not a cnc router. I don't think it would work out for you. If you can build one yourself the size you want and the quality you want you will save a lot of mone.

[ger21]

I think you'll find that that Ebay machine would be a waste of money. It's just not a solid enough machine. For about the same money, you can purchase a pre-cut parts kit from Joe for his design, and everything else you'll need. But if you don't feel comfortable building yourself, you're going to find there's nothing in the size you want in your price range. Check out Romaxx and K2.

[MSL]

Originally Posted by Cartierusm I've been building guitars for 15 years or so. First off some of the processes you talk about can't be done with a cnc router, or can't be done by a novice or a professional just finds it's easier to do with a different tool, such as cutting frets in fingerboards. As far as the machine on ebay it's not very rigid and roughing out a guitar body out of hardwood almost 2" thick need some rigitiy. As the auction says its an engraver not a cnc router. I don't think it would work out for you. If you can build one yourself the size you want and the quality you want you will save a lot of mone.

Hmm, I see what you're getting at. Let's say I had a 4 x 8 or so with a router, I could at least cut the bodies and necks right? And how about the pickup and neck cavities ect? What software would you recommend? As for the fingerboards I would be interested in doing some custom inlay work, nothing too fancy though.

[MSL]

Thank you Joe and Ger.

A pre-cut kit would be right up my alley, can I have more info about that?

Also, can you tell me how someone did that carving that looks like he took a family photo and somehow made it onto wood?

[ger21]

Originally Posted by MSL Thank you Joe and Ger. A pre-cut kit would be right up my alley, can I have more info about that? Also, can you tell me how someone did that carving that looks like he took a family photo and somehow made it onto wood?

PM Joe to get info on his kit.

And see my reply in post #2 for the photo info.

[Switcher]

Another diy cnc machine option http://www.solsylva.com/

Some inspiration (this video is from CyborgCNC)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3-P606PO0U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3-P606PO0U

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[MSL]

Thanks Switcher.

[Switcher]

For software you might consider looking at "VcarvePro" , I havn't heard of anyone cutting out a guitar with VcarvePro (it does pockets & chamfers), maybe you could start a new trend?

The screenshots below only took about 10min. to create with the Trial Version

What I did was found a drawing on the net, cleaned it up a bit, added a pocket & a chamfer on the OD of the body.

Just an idea...



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