[ccsparky]

Well how do I begin...

I want to give credit were credit is due by starting out with a big thank you to Joe. His efforts are extremely appreciated and only equaled by his craftsmanship!

I ordered Joe's kit and as promised it was delivered in a timely fashion. The box arrived with everything well packed and in excellent condition.

I do have to point out that Joe has an evil side as when I unpacked the box I was immediately attacked by Joe's ninja packing peanuts. I wish I had gotten a picture, I had peanuts all over my hands, arms, and face.
I was afraid to touch my camera as I feared all the static might cause it to explode!

Here is a shot of the box... and so it begins.

[ccsparky]

I have all of the parts on hand to build the kit. I plan on taking my time and start with primer and painting.

Here is a shot of all the parts that come with the kit.



I have not started on the HobbyCNC assembly or the power supply yet and plan do do that in the evening leaving as much weeked time for the rest of the assembly as possible.

All of the parts were pretty much right from Joe's list with the exception of the misc nuts, bolts and other minor hardware I had on hand.

More pictures to come once I get underway, will see how the holiday schedule works out.

[ccsparky]

Inserted this post for future pictures of the remainder of the hardware with purchase information.

[bp092]

Looks awesome! When did you order it? Have fun building, just remember not to prime any areas you plan to glue, the glue won't bond..

[ccsparky]

Looks awesome! When did you order it? Have fun building, just remember not to prime any areas you plan to glue, the glue won't bond..

bp092,

September 19th. Given the amount of time Joe's spends helping others on the forum and the number of orders he must have I was real impressed with how soon the kit arrived. Well worth the wait!

Thanks for the tip!!!
After further review I will probably assemble most of the kit and paint the assembled sections as this appears to be the best way to go.

Again, thanks for the tip, any and all suggestions are always welcome!!!

Can't wait to see your progress when your kit arrives!

[bp092]

np, I plan to assemble it glue it, watever, and then spray it with my hvlp.. just be generous with the glue for MDF, mdf sucks up glue 2 times as much as plywood or solid.. got my nuts and bolts from boltdepot.com like others, awesome company, getting a xylotex 3 axis ready kit and building a pc from newegg.com parts.. got everything else ready though.. did you make the aluminum bearing slides yet?

[ccsparky]

np, I plan to assemble it glue it, watever, and then spray it with my hvlp.. just be generous with the glue for MDF, mdf sucks up glue 2 times as much as plywood or solid.. got my nuts and bolts from boltdepot.com like others, awesome company, getting a xylotex 3 axis ready kit and building a pc from newegg.com parts.. got everything else ready though.. did you make the aluminum bearing slides yet?

Sounds good!
Not much experience with MDF so I appreciate the tip on the glue!
Any suggestions on glue types and paint that work well with MDF?

I have the HobbyCNC 3 axis kit (not assembled yet) and have been looking at the Xylotex 3 Axis Ready kit also. Can't wait to see how it works with your kit.

No I've not done the aluminum bearing slides yet. Will be off for 6 days starting next Wednesday so hope to get at least a couple of days put into the project!!! Of course that all depends on the To-Do list that always seems to appear when I take time off.

[David Da Costa]

Ok so consider me teased Nice to see the kit and keep updating your plog.

Look forward to seeing more.

David

[bp092]

Sounds good!
Not much experience with MDF so I appreciate the tip on the glue!
Any suggestions on glue types and paint that work well with MDF?

I have the HobbyCNC 3 axis kit (not assembled yet) and have been looking at the Xylotex 3 Axis Ready kit also. Can't wait to see how it works with your kit.

No I've not done the aluminum bearing slides yet. Will be off for 6 days starting next Wednesday so hope to get at least a couple of days put into the project!!! Of course that all depends on the To-Do list that always seems to appear when I take time off.

See David's thread, he is already working on his electronics now and put everything together in one pc tower, he has some really clear pics of what he is doing. I plan to follow in his footsteps with a different case and some other minor mods but pretty much in the same way. As far as glue, I swear by titebond, and mdf paints very well if you prime it first. Any wood primer/paint will be fine, after all it is wood, it's just compressed with a bunch of other fun chemicals

[David Da Costa]

bp092, make sure you post some pics of your build including the PC mods.

[bp092]

will do, taking pics now

[ccsparky]

See David's thread, he is already working on his electronics now and put everything together in one pc tower, he has some really clear pics of what he is doing. I plan to follow in his footsteps with a different case and some other minor mods but pretty much in the same way. As far as glue, I swear by titebond, and mdf paints very well if you prime it first. Any wood primer/paint will be fine, after all it is wood, it's just compressed with a bunch of other fun chemicals

I've been following David's site closely, very impressed with his ideas and work! It will be fun to watch both you and David's build progress!

Thanks for the info!

[ccsparky]

Got some time to work on the kit. Started by fitting all of the pieces together mostly to get a clear picture in my mind prior to glueing.

Z access carriage layed out


Z access carriage glued - 1/4 - 20 rod installed





Fitted the bottom torsion box together



Gantry top and bottom torsions boxes glued - 1 inch brads


Will work on the bottom torsion box this weekend and try to get all the mdf pieces assembled and ready for paint.

[David Da Costa]

Great to see the pictures! Can't wait to start on the kit myself.

David

[ccsparky]

Some added thoughts as I go,

I was going to lay out all the pieces and show a step by step assembly, however Joe has done a very good job with the information he provides and the design of the kit that it almost puts it's self together, well almost
It's also hard to put the parts down and pick up the camera to snap off a few shots.

By reading the instructions and viewing the many pictures provided it is very easy to assemble. For me it is very helpful to do a pre glue assembly of each section. It allowed me to verify each part location, and get comfortable with the final assembly.

:cheers:

[David Da Costa]

I think that is a very good suggestion and I shall do the same.

[ccsparky]

Great to see the pictures! Can't wait to start on the kit myself.

David

Thanks!

I'll bet, I almost feel bad for posting don't want to get you to excited...
note I said "almost".

Keep up the good work, you have so much done and ready for the kit that you'll be up and running before all of us!

[David Da Costa]

Well that will depend on our friend Joe

[bp092]

Looks great man, howd the pieces fit together with the dados? Tight fits? Have to use any pipe/bar clamps? Keep up the good work

[ccsparky]

Well that will depend on our friend Joe

Just around the corner...

After reading about the Shuttle in you log I went over to the ArtSoft (Mach 3) forums and noticed you spent some time over there.
I purchased the Shuttle Pro v2 off of ebay the other day, got to the shop today and it had already arrived. It will be a nice addition to the Mach 3 software.

Thanks for the tip! :cheers: