[bill south]

Heck, I like them but I have no taste!
Bill

[CarveOne]

I would have to order Delrin. It will take 0.75" x 7.25" x 15" minimum size for cutting. Wood painted gloss black is cheap, and oak scraps are abundant here.

The spoil board panels are in position on the machine. One wet coat of poly will be applied this evening. Any additional coats will be done after the machine is running well enough to surface plane the spoil board. I'm taking a break long enough to go get some screws and washers so I'll have them tomorrow morning when I start drilling and tapping holes.

[tauntdesigns]

From that last view........... where you can see the top too.......... those wood plugs look fine, actually, they look pretty good

But, I have no style

[CarveOne]

From that last view........... where you can see the top too.......... those wood plugs look fine, actually, they look pretty good

But, I have no style

I wanted to put something on the machine that was a decorative woodcraft design of some sort. Once I saw that it wasn't a good color match for the color scheme I had to agree that it needs something else. These plugs could look pretty good on something else.

I promise not to paint some aluminum diamond plate gloss black. I'll leave these in place for a while and look for another solution.

I'll pick up the screws and washers from the local Fastenal store on Friday morning when they come in. These will be brass. The nylon screws I used on both previous machines worked ok but I can't tighten them very much and they have stretched a little with time. Steel screws are considerably less expensive but are not so hard on the carbide cutters if one should be hit.

Tomorrow I'll locate and drill all of the holes and thread the tubes. All of the holes in the MDF will be counterbored for the washers with a Forstner bit.

[CarveOne]

The spoil board is sealed from moisture absorption from the air now. My plan is to get as much done as I can by Sunday evening. Then I'll switch back to the guitar and cross projects and finish those for the Aspire Camp trip. I should be able to reassemble the Z axis assembly and all other hardware and save the wiring for last. I may just decide to make a new control box.

[bill south]

Carve;
That monster looks almost too good to get dirty. Take plenty of before production pictures to remember it by!!!
Are you working on a guitar? Sorry, I haven't the time to re-read this whole thread. I could most likely do 3000 posts but if I have to read more than that my old mind wanders!!!!
I've used Aspire to do a telecaster body and neck design. They are still on the bench and need finishing. I'm not satisfied with the feel of the frets on the homemade neck. Again, need a bit of time to finish!
Have fun at Aspire Camp and take us some pictures.
Bill

[CarveOne]

Photos of the cigar box guitar project are my CarveOne's Steel Channel Rebuild build log posts #2918 and #2921. Most of my projects have been built on that machine if it fits. The big machine is reserved for anything the smaller machine can't handle.

I have a base guitar that a nephew gave me and I'll take some measurements from that one when needed.

[CarveOne]

I didn't get as much done today as I had hoped to. I did cut another set of end plugs without the weave. Those have been sanded and two heavy coats of gloss black have been applied. I removed the end plugs from the front end of the frame and cleaned up the silicone seal (which had not cured at all that I could tell). The corners of the plugs are rounded over. Tomorrow we'll see what it looks like.

[CarveOne]

I glued the end plugs in place this morning, then installed the gear rack to the gantry beam, then installed the e-chain support to the gantry risers. The two X axis r&p drives are also installed. Now I need the brass screws and washers for bolting down the two MDF layers to the frame. Will pick them up during lunch hour. That lower shelf still needs cleaning ...

Ok, so the black plugs will remain in place until someone has a better idea that costs less than scrap oak and black paint.

[CarveOne]

I've marked the screw hole locations today and will get set up tonight to drill the holes and tap the frame tubing tomorrow after I do a milling project for someone else. He needs two sets of landing gear struts machined from aluminum tubing for his R/C ME-109 for the upcoming Top Gun R/C Invitationals in Florida. Mostly I just need to cut the tube to length and mill a couple of slots near one end. After that job is finished I'll work on the Green Monster some more.

[CarveOne]

All 65 screw locations were marked, bored 1/2" deep with a Forstner bit, clearance drilled for the shank of the 1/4-20 tap, and holes that get tapped in the steel tubing frame have been completed. All screws and washers are installed. Sure am glad that is now completed. The rest of the reassembly will be fairly easy.

I'll continue work on this machine as I get time but for the most part I'll be concentrating on the two unfinished projects for the Aspire Camp.

[tauntdesigns]

Nicely done

I came back to the zone to finish my Lathe................ Now, I want a CNC Router and Vectric Software, lol

Sounds like a fun camp

[ger21]

I read your post in another thread about only using 53" of your MDF sheets. For future reference, check with HD or Lowes and see if they can order you 4x10 (49"x121") MDF sheets. They should be able to.

[CarveOne]

Thanks!

The router machines have loads of uses for commercial, hobby, and woodcraft. Download the free trials of Vcarve Pro and/or Aspire and try them or watch some of the videos on the Vectric.com site.. It can be used for CNC rotary machining and milling machine projects as well. There is a rotary machining forum on the Vectric user forums.

I have a 6x26 knee mill that I would like to convert to CNC but it isn't a high priority any time soon.

The camp is at McGrew Woodworking's business location near downtown Columbia, SC. There will be a few of the Vectric Ltd. employees from the UK there this time. James Booth, the guy who does the videos, was there last year. It's a five hour nearly all interstate drive for me. The camps in other states are too far away to consider. I really enjoyed it the first time last year.

[CarveOne]

I read your post in another thread about only using 53" of your MDF sheets. For future reference, check with HD or Lowes and see if they can order you 4x10 (49"x121") MDF sheets. They should be able to.

I could have used three 49 x 97 sheets from Lowes for 1-1/2 sheets per layer like I did on the previous frame, but it leaves a 3" gap between the edge of the MDF and the bearing carriages. This time I decided to use three 49" panels per layer and close the gap down to 1/4" to the carriages. The two layers of MDF is about 1/16" higher than the carriages, so I can use a strip of vinyl siding or other material to cover the carriages as I did previously. It will be easier to attach than previously. This would be a slightly different version of what I referred to as "fender skirts" in the older posts that very effectively keeps dust and debris off the vertically mounted rails.

Two local friends built a 5' x 10' MechMate a couple of years ago. They ordered 5' x 10' x 1" MDF through Home Depot but had to drive to a Raleigh, NC store location 120 miles away with a trailer to pick it up. The HD store 35 miles from here couldn't handle those heavy sheets. The local Lowes wouldn't even order it for them.

[CarveOne]

Nicely done

I came back to the zone to finish my Lathe................ Now, I want a CNC Router and Vectric Software, lol

Sounds like a fun camp

Check out the latest post in my smaller machine build log "CarveOne's Steel Channel Rebuild". This is an example of my playing with Aspire modeling tools.. Also, go back through that a few pages to see more examples. And take a look through my website photos.

[CarveOne]

Made some progress today.

I spent some time reassembling the Z axis assembly. I repainted the few parts mounted on the lead screw that are still hammered silver to gloss black. The plain aluminum parts were cleaned with acetone and painted gloss black. While it might look good in photos initially, it will get ugly with dust soon after it's back in operation. Photos will be taken after it has been remounted onto the gantry. Some of the bearings in the cncrp carriages need to be replaced, and I have plenty of new ones on hand. The carriage blocks will remain unpainted.

[jsantos]

Your machine is beginning to look like a work of art. :-)

[CarveOne]

Thanks Joe.

This has been a lot of expense and effort so far, but will be worth it I think. The new frame is what I wanted to build the first time I built a steel frame By having the gantry bolted to the riser plates I still have the ability to upgrade the gantry beam to something totally different in the future. Slide one out and slide in a new one. I don't foresee that happening again but I do want to upgrade the Z assembly with a new one for the PC 7518 router. The router and moving part of the Z axis will weigh about 20 to 22 pounds.

I would have used the green paint on the Z axis but dust will show on that also. The painter and I decided on black so I can touch it up as needed during assembly with a spray can, and the green is a two part automotive paint that requires more expertise to paint with the equipment that I have. I might decide to put some more of the green vinyl on the router mount side plates if I can find something appropriate. The button head screws will need to be changed to flat head screws and painted black before applying vinyl lettering.

[Donny M. Carter]

Like others, it took me a minute to read from beginning to end (actually two weeks) and it was well worth the effort! Very sharp and beautiful build CarveOne! I really appreciate you attention to detail.

Donny