🧵It's coincidence that I started this huge project on Jan 1, and anyway I reject the Gregorian Calendar, but I am building a #cnc router. This is more a "business" thing than a "hobby" thing. I'm almost 54 years old, and I'm basically unemployable outside the informal economy,/ - ThreadSky

dpgestwick.bsky.social•51 days ago

Can you expand on your rejection of the Gregorian calendar? I've got no horse in the race. Just curious.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•51 days ago

I think it would be far more sensible for the year to begin on the solstice.

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hazdaz.bsky.social•34 days ago

Curious how this turns out. I tried building a CNC router a couple of years back. Bought everything I needed, built the frame, wired it up, & even had it cut a couple of passes to verify the spindle worked, but quickly lost interest after having issues w/ calibration & connecting to it. Good luck!

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•34 days ago

Thanks! Failure is not an option here, I'm just putting too much time and money into this, and I plan to make money with it. So I'm a little bit afraid. It's going to take a lot of time but I will get there.

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hazdaz.bsky.social•34 days ago

Good luck. I had electrical issues and then had issues with my controller. Even bought a whole different controller and had problems connecting. Every time I go to the garage I get a little mad that I never got it going as I see it taking up so much space.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•34 days ago

I know that feeling too well. Hopefully after a long enough break it will come together for you. That works for me (sometimes).

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mikeyp.net•60 days ago

Is that liquid cooling stuff too?

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•60 days ago

Indeed. Allegedly much quieter than air cooling.

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maniccage.bsky.social•60 days ago

Cool shit. Can't wait to see how this goes. Good luck! Hope it brings you the riches you deserve 🙏

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•60 days ago

I don't require a lot of riches to deem this a success, so that helps. I drove nearly 5K miles getting 13mpg last year doing handyman bullshit 3 days a week for landlords for meager pay (albeit on very flexible terms), so if I can match that income without leaving the house, I'll be thrilled.

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wintersong.bsky.social•55 days ago

Very cool!

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•55 days ago

Thanks! I invested my share of the proceeds from Chester in a bunch of the parts.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•6 days ago

This fan wasn't in the critical path just yet but I really wanted to see tangible progress. The shroud works well and it moves a lot of air even with the filter, although it does make the noisy fan even noisier. My model used an egregious amount of plastic filament, I'll do better in the future.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•6 days ago

More 3D printed parts in progress. I'm depending on @guffyfish.bsky.social for the printing, so the gratification is not instant. Soon I'll have the panel laid out with enough confidence to cut the holes and paint it.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•17 days ago

My CAD skills are improving. I've modeled a connection panel for all the stepper motors. At first it was way too big but I shrank it down. Because of my good CAD practices, I can quickly resize the model without it breaking. I've also sprayed the electronics and water cooling compartments white.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•24 days ago

Continuing to chip away. I sprayed water based poly on the outside of the cabinet. This is a new product for me, expensive but I like it. It's commercial grade, spray only, very user friendly, not so smelly. I also cut a hole and made a frame for a 10"x10" furnace filter for the cooling air intake.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•24 days ago

I've modeled a fan shroud and mount for the 120mm air intake fan, which will fit over the filter opening, and sent it off to the 3D printing department. I really need to improve my skills, my CAD hygiene is atrocious. I'm a hands-on learner, and old to boot, so practice is the only way.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•35 days ago

Progress on my Big Plywood Box. Oak frames are done, and it came off the horses briefly to roll around. It takes up so much space lol. Joinery is strictly utility grade - nails, screws, and lots of glue. The top is very flat. I'm going to sand it all to "good enough" and apply some sort of finish.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•35 days ago

I got an aluminum panel for the controls and bulkhead fittings for all the cables. The idea is the router itself can be fairly quickly disconnected so the whole thing can fit through a 36". There will be 3D printed inserts in the panel for the connectors, and *so* much tedious soldering.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•35 days ago

I've decided on a Fluid NC controller, which is a very flexible, (hopefully) easy to use open source system for CNC devices of all kinds. It has onboard WiFi and uses a web based interface, so it's device agnostic as far as controls.

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mikeyp.net•34 days ago

Did you look at any other boards? The only one I’m familiar with it RootCNC

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•34 days ago

Honestly, I didn't do a huge amount of research after I settled on Fluid NC. I bought this board from @tindie.com after I watched a couple of vids from the designer (Barton Dring), and messaged him through Tindie with some questions which he helpfully answered. It was a vibes based decision.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•34 days ago

That RootNC controller looks like a very nice, complete package. It's quite a bit more expensive, but more turnkey. There are also a lot of suspiciously cheap commodity boards out there. The board itself is a pretty small line item in the total cost, so I figure I can change it later if need be.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•48 days ago

Making slow and not particularly steady progress on my big plywood box. The dividers are in, and I've begun applying the oak frames. The priority is making the top as flat as possible for the actual machine to rest on. Considering the cheapish plywood, I'm pretty happy, probably within .020" or so.

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dpgestwick.bsky.social•48 days ago

I once had the chance to watch someone calibrate a granite table for flatness. It was an amazing process to watch.

-set up a bunch of optics and measure.
-remove instruments
-selectively lap the surface with fine abrasive powder and steel plates
-repeat, for hours

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•48 days ago

I'm just seeing how much light shines under the level lol. I do have a slight high spot on one end I might try to sand or plane down.

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dpgestwick.bsky.social•48 days ago

Yeah. Totally different application. Just popped into my head when I saw your post and I thought you might appreciate the combo of high tech measurement and manual/artistic corrections.

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dpgestwick.bsky.social•48 days ago

It was a real singular skill. At the time I saw it (~2002) the guy was part of a team employed by GE to do nothing but travel the country calibrating their flat tables. When they got through them all, it was time to start again.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•48 days ago

The whole concept of "flat" is pretty tricky when you think about it. Or "straight" or "level." You run into difficulty measuring things pretty quickly.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•48 days ago

The back side. The electronics will go in the big compartment closest to the camera. The middle compartment will contain a bucket for the spindle coolant. The far compartment will likely be more storage. The electronics compartment is bigger than it strictly needs to be for easy access.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•51 days ago

This evening I got the CNC router's cabinet set on some sawhorses with boards across them. I shimmed it to get the top as flat as possible (I'm just using the level as a straightedge) and screwed it down to the horses so it's fixed in place. Next I'll put in dividers and apply the oak frames.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•55 days ago

Started gluing up the cabinet for the router. I can build the hell out of a plywood box. This was a big, awkward assembly, but it went well. It has quite a bit of flex along the long axis, so I'll have to get it straight before adding reinforcement and oak casing. Nothing fancy, screws and glue.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•56 days ago

Another shop thing on wheels! I made a mobile base for my cobbled together planer/jointer scenario with an old bed frame, some scrap lumber, and Ebay casters. It was too tall at first, so I cut 3 inches off all the legs. Now it's at the right height to outfeed onto my table saw and work table.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•60 days ago

so like a lot of people I'm seeking a viable cottage industry. Owning a cnc router is like the new "Learn Small Engine Repair at Home!," overhyped and vaguely evangelic Christian coded. To be clear, this will be a fun and challenging project for me, something to keep my monkey brain and opposable/

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•60 days ago

thumbs occupied, but I'm investing a huge amount of time and a functional used car's worth of money, so it really needs to bear material fruit. This will be an ongoing thread about my adventure. I've accumulated all the big motion parts, and I'm saving to buy the shockingly expensive aluminum/

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•60 days ago

extrusions and bar stock for the frame. Meanwhile, I'm building a rolling wooden cabinet for the machine to rest upon, wiht storage and all the electronics underneath. So while it may be months before the router is functioning, it will begin taking up floor space right away.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•60 days ago

Yesterday, I got all the plywood and red oak for the cabinet cut and ready for assembly.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•60 days ago

I plan to use the machine primarily for #woodworking, but it will be able to machine aluminum as well. I have a lot of ideas for things to make and sell. I'm definitely planning to do guitar fretboards, since I already make and sell those, and possibly other guitar parts.

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ncglasgow.bsky.social•59 days ago

Got some wheels! Red wheels! The big ones will go on the cnc cabinet, the smaller ones on my planer-jointer station. Getting everything in the shop mobile is a big priority, it's a small space with a lot going on.