Hi everybody! I hope your weekend has been fun and relaxing. Ours has been some work but well worth it! The Genmitsu is up and running. We used a thin piece of scrap plywood for the first carve just to test the stability of the table (excellent so far) and get a small spindle/bit moving. Because it’s plywood made of veneers with layers of MDF and glue pressed together you can’t expect a hardwood result. Having said that, it’s pretty darned good given that it’s junky plywood!

You’ll see that it runs like the laser does. Different software and of course depending on the size/width and angle of the bit/spindle you can get different angles on your cuts. Cameron is brand new to the software running the CNC so there is a lot to learn in terms of settings and bits and such. We are sharing this not because it’s impressive but because it’s our first go!

Once we get our feet wet we will learn to use a bigger bit for the wider parts of designs and then use the finer bits for the details which, here, are the little tails on the tops and bottoms of the letters. Still, the CNC will likely always be slower than the laser, but it will do things the laser cannot. They complement each other.

It will probably surprise no one that this book has been in Cameron’s library for 20 years. He tells me that numeric control (NC) machining came about in the 1940’s, prior to the advent of computers. CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining has been around since the 60’s-70’s (though not as ubiquitous hobby equipment) and the formulas for wood species, depth of engrave/cut, speed and feed of the bits for all of the different profiles remain virtually unchanged.

If you look closely at the photo below it is a good example of the kind of carving/engraving a CNC router can do that a laser cannot. Look at the layers of concavity on that carve. This is not our work, obviously, but is a great illustration of how the CNC and laser differ and can be complementary.

If you want to see a big OOOF, we carved this out of a maple scrap and apparently used the wrong shaped bit. Pretty gnarly.

Cameron’s curiosity was piqued so he wanted to try it again using a 1/16th inch spiral bit. There is a lot to learn, mistakes are the best teachers. Here is the end result with the spiral bit.

We clearly have a LOT to learn. Mistakes abound! That means we are on our way.

In closing, we took a field trip to Rockler in Fairfax, VA today and WOW! I had never been to any of their stores but Cameron had in Denver. I was blown away! It’s a wood worker’s paradise stocked with gorgeous exotics like leopard wood, zebra wood, purple heart, live edge exotics I’ve never even seen online, and so much more. Epoxy for deep and shallow pours, pigments, dyes, and oh my goodness the MACHINES! The lathes and bandsaws of your dreams live there! This place is no Lowe’s or Home Depot! And they have classes too! The people who work there are wood shop owners and are passionate makers. They’re generous with their insights and attention. Highly recommend if you have access to one!

Thank you for humoring our expansion into a CNC router. Cameron’s 3D printers, the laser, and my ten needle embroidery machine all use CNC tech to do their jobs. It makes so much possible without having to hone the skills of using hand tools. More to follow!

Dana