Thursday, October 01, 2015

Welcoming a new beast to the tool arsenal...


Be it ever so humble (and confusing!) - we have finally acquired a CNC at the shop! Well, Denny has... he made the plunge during the AWFS show, and has been working diligently to learn the ins and outs of it. 

CNC is a process used in the manufacturing sector that involves the use of computers to control tools. In our case, we have a router hooked up to a computer, and we can tell it to cut a variety of design or profiles. Honestly, it allows for perfection a (woodworking) world where perfection is iffy, at best. 

Denny's CNC choice? A Legacy Explorer, with a table that will hold about a 4' piece of wood. It's a good start for dipping your toes into the pool of CNC mania, since learning the software is much of the battle. 

Actually, most of the battle. 


Our first project was a Photo Booth, in which an iPad and SLR camera were linked together. The iPad sits in the rectangular window, and you can press a button and have your picture taken, just like an old time photo booth. 


 The photo will then be displayed on the iPad screen. This booth is used for parties, where your guests can fool around and shoot photos of themselves. It's great for capturing fun shots at parties, weddings, etc. 


We've also been working with a few clients, doing some logo work with them. This logo, cut into small "coins" of wood, will become pendants down the line. Here are our practice cuts,


 and the the final pieces. 



 As we get better with software, the ability to produce some amazing carvings gets easier. 






 This urn came out exceptionally well, and opened up a huge arena of possibilities for us. 








 So what does the future hold? Well, we have a ton of irons in the fire, both with clients and with some of our own projects. I made this mahogany bog chair (sometimes called a plank chair) a few weeks ago, and I hope to carve something in the back of it soon. The hardest part is deciding what to carve! 


And don't faint...  but I'm almost done with the Sassafras dresser I started a while back.



 I think I'll try to carve something cool on the back rail of it, to match the headboard I carved a while back. 


Damn, having the CNC opens up all sorts of possibilities!
 Stay tuned!


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