Cheap & easy materials for CNC machine

[samualt]

Plastic:
If your building a cnc machine and need to get some cheap plastic fast to make some part for it, you can go to Target or other deptartment store and buy 1/2" thick white plastic cutting boards in the kitchen section. That stuff is indestructable, yet easy to work with. Perhaps not the cheapest stuff you can find, but in a pinch it works great.

Pseudo-Metal Epoxy Putty:
Also,you can go to Home Depot and in thier plumbing section find some pseudo metal epoxy. It's called "Oatey - Epoxy Putty". Steel filled, mixes in your hand, hardens like steel in minutes. It's very cool stuff. You can shape it like you want in your hand cause it's like putty and in a few minutes it gets really hard. It's sandable also! Sticks to just about everything. Excellent stuff.

Anyone else got some tips?

[Patrick2by4]

don't talk to strangers ...


sorry, i couldn't resist

[trubleshtr]

Never pet a burning dog!

[vacpress]

dont try and drill into unclamped blocks of hardwood with a 1/2in drill bit on your drill press. especially if the hole is on a far corner of the block, and when it starts spinning, the bit could snap and fly at your friend who is foolishly in the vacinity of your blundering machine-shop ettiquite. perhaps his head will barely be missed, and instead the block with a jagged bit sticking out will wedge into the kitchen cabinets on the wall, across the room..because, like most people, you keep your tools in the kitchen

-vac

[ynneb]

Dont eat yellow snow.

[biddaddyg]

Why, what's wrong with Yellow Snow?

[Patrick2by4]

oooh, that's good

[chuckknigh]

Well, a useful tip would be that Fomica laminate is pretty slippery, and very tough. It would probably make a good sliding surface. "Black ebony" or something like that, is used by a lot of telescope builders for Dobsonian mounts...for the sliding parts.

Remember...the sample chips are both plentiful and free! ;-)

Also, rollerblades are cheap sources of real ball bearings, especially if gotten "barely used" from Goodwill. Look for good quality childrens' models...the light loading, and the lack of use (especially, if Johnny skinned his knee the first time out) make for good bearings at an unbeatable price.

I just picked up 2 pair of skates the other day...$1.50 total. Both were practically unused.

-- Chuck Knight