Confused

[Gingah]

Well, obviously there will be a lot of techniques and styles between CnC builders, and I am sort of confused about how you go about building a wood router like this. I want/need a router that can cut hard wood (very hard wood) very precisely (that is more precisely than my hands), and I came to this wonderful site through some googling.

I downloaded the Joe 2006 EASM files, and looked at it and thought to myself: "This is ideal, but where do I begin making one?", I ain't much of an expert when it comes to building machines, I am not educated in that field at all. So I was wondering if anyone could be kind enough to tell me how I should approach building my first CnC wood router; should I get certain materials and parts? should I print the EASM files to try to match what goes where? should I get certain tools?

Any guidance or help would be very much appreciated, as I am a complete beginner within both building machines and CnC wood routers (I've only used one a couple of times in school when I was a kid).

Best regards, Gingah

[bp092]

Your best bet is to take it one step at a time. What skills do you have and experience to help you in this? Woodworking/metalworking? Joe offers full MDF/HDPE part kits for this machine, are you aware of that? I knew nothing about cnc routers when I came on to this site a while back and I was a hack of anything electronic or with metal, just a woodworker by profession. It's a simple machine, not rocket science, if you take it in steps you can accomplish this and many bigger things there after. By the way what kind of wood are you going to cut on the router (or hope to?) What types of things will you be cutting?

[Gingah]

As for experience with woodworking I have none, except having built a pair of homemade speakers once. So far, I've only found out that CnC routers are ideal for cutting anything in wood both vertically and horizontally. I am not really sure what MDF/HDPE parts are, could you elaborate? And my main purpose would most likely be guitar bodies, so it would be hard wood such as ash, alder, mahogny etc. And the inside of the guitar bodies, where the pickups and electronics go.

[mike@mikebeck.o]

First, I am just a hobbyist, like you, and like you, I wanted to build a CNC router with more than just "Balsa" capabilities. I bought plans, started to build, wanted it larger, then more powerful, then more rigid, then,..........
When completed, I was sufficently pleaed, well, no less than a little, proud, also, with my efforts that I wanted to share my project. You can see the results at www.mikebeck.org
All the best of everything to you and yours!
Mike Beck

[Gingah]

Well, I suppose I would need a router capable of carving on wood blocks that were as big as 25" x 25" at least, I really just need it to be able to do "decent" curved shapes; so I can get the right shape for the guitar bodies - and to carve in the spots for electronics etc, as I said. Not sure how I specify that in CnC terms, hehe.

[mike@mikebeck.o]

There are a number of machines that size that would suit your purpose. Are you a member of any luthier groups? Perhaps a post there would result in a some info. I've built a few kits for luthier's, but not quite that large. A cutting area of 24 X 18" is as large as I've kitted. Also, don't forget your trusty search engine. I've personally seen plans for sale for machines that large, and larger, fairly inexpensive.
All the best
Mike Beck of http://www.mikebeck.org

[BobF]

Gingah,
I just recently completed my first CNC. I got the kit from Joe and built this machine. Here is a link to my build thread.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43485
I am also interested in building guitars. I've been doing a lot reading on several forums lately. Mainly this one and the tdpri forums. There is a lot of great information on building.
Here is a link to a build thread on a CNC.
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaste...cnc-build.html
Joes machins should cut any guitar parts you care to do. The cut area is about 2' x 4' and the Z travel is a little over 6". I plan to cut a telecaster style body soon.
There are a number of build threads here that show the process step by step. There is also a great spreadsheet one of the members did with all the parts listed along with sources. Most everything you need is here. If you decide to build one you have a lot of reading ahead.

[Gingah]

I had a look through the post about Joes CnC, but there were so many people asking for stuff sent by mail, page after page, does he by any chance have a website where the kit is shown?

Are these machines so accurate that they actually cut the back of a guitarneck that smoothly? I had a look in the tdpri.com post, and was amazed by how well curved the neck was, didn't know that could be done with a machine.

[Gingah]

One problem is that I live in Norway, and mildly spoken - shipping here from the US ain't very cheap. Are the plans available with detailed measurements by any chance? I think I could get a local woodworker or metalworker to cut out most of it, or maybe I could try myself.

I found a file called "Joes2006CompletePartsList.xls" on the Yahoo group page; assume that it is the list for the router. So, to build a Joe 2006 CnC Router, I "only" need to get the parts shown in the EASM files cut and assembly them with the use of the stuff in the part list?

[BobF]

Thats pretty much it. There is build on here by a guy in Australia that cut all the parts by hand. It can be done. There is also another that shows an alternative to the pipe rails.
The guitar neck is doable, it just takes longer to get real smooth. Most need a small amount of sanding after cutting. The EASM file has all the measurements, but you must use the measure tool in the viewer to extract them. There is another thread where someone is measuring everything and planning to post the results. You may have to adjust some things to account for sizes available in Norway, and conversion to metric.

[bp092]

Cutting the parts yourself is not easy but it has been done by many people with little skills. I wouldn't do it unless you have the tools; ie: I wouldn't spend $1000 on the tools required when you could pay less than that to have them cut out. I'm sure there are local shops near you that do nested based cnc routing, cnc routers are nearly everywhere now. If you post your location in Norway I will try and find one for you.

[Gingah]

I am in Tromsø, so it is far north. I know there are some woodshops here, but I wouldn't trust any of them to cut me a guitar body, hehehe, thats why I want to build my own CnC Router (and also, it is always handy to be able to cut wood easily) - would be great if you found one

As for tools, I have the "standard home" power tools, like a circular saw, hand-drill and also one of those hand-cutters - at least thats what I remember, it is a horrid mess in the tool shed.