A little bit of my history with CNC and very first cuts!
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:44 am
Let me start out this post by thanking all of you who gave good counsel and enthusiastic advice during the short time I have been here. Without your support, I would still be struggling and perhaps even feel like giving up before I even got started. You answered the dumbest of questions without making me feel like an idiot, gave suggestions on how to start and encouragement when needed. This forum is worth way more than the cost of V Carve Pro!
My father was a machinist, tool and die maker and then a CNC programmer before he retired. He worked at Rockey Flats, CO in a facility that produced plutonium triggers for nuclear warheads during the cold war. He died in May of 2000.
This plaque was given to him by his co-workers upon his retirement. Notice the foil tape. That is what ran the machines.
I wish he were alive today to see the CNC revolution and what capabilities a guy like me could have in a basement shop.
Oh, and to keep this post on topic, here are some bear tracks on a piece of walnut that will be knife scales. The knife maker will mix epoxy with turquoise dust and fill in the carved areas.
I'm also making a medal holder for my daughter-in-law, who is a long distance runner. This is a test cut in foam, because today is the first time I have turned on my CNC machine. (Thanks to Randall Newcomb for that piece of advice, among many others.) The girl will be pink, the letters black. There will be pegs below to hang the medals.
And a request, is there some small utility program, that I could run in Mach 3, the would move the router back to x0, y0 and z0, wherever they happen to be set at that time. Right now I am manually entering G00 X0, G00 Y0 and G00 Z0 every time. This is not a "home" position, as it changes from job to job depending on the size of the material and where I place it on the bed.
Most likely it is very obvious to the experienced Mach 3 user, but it is not to this NOOB. Lots to learn and the old brain sometimes experiences overload.
As always, thanks in advance for your generous sharing of information.
My father was a machinist, tool and die maker and then a CNC programmer before he retired. He worked at Rockey Flats, CO in a facility that produced plutonium triggers for nuclear warheads during the cold war. He died in May of 2000.
This plaque was given to him by his co-workers upon his retirement. Notice the foil tape. That is what ran the machines.
I wish he were alive today to see the CNC revolution and what capabilities a guy like me could have in a basement shop.
Oh, and to keep this post on topic, here are some bear tracks on a piece of walnut that will be knife scales. The knife maker will mix epoxy with turquoise dust and fill in the carved areas.
I'm also making a medal holder for my daughter-in-law, who is a long distance runner. This is a test cut in foam, because today is the first time I have turned on my CNC machine. (Thanks to Randall Newcomb for that piece of advice, among many others.) The girl will be pink, the letters black. There will be pegs below to hang the medals.
And a request, is there some small utility program, that I could run in Mach 3, the would move the router back to x0, y0 and z0, wherever they happen to be set at that time. Right now I am manually entering G00 X0, G00 Y0 and G00 Z0 every time. This is not a "home" position, as it changes from job to job depending on the size of the material and where I place it on the bed.
Most likely it is very obvious to the experienced Mach 3 user, but it is not to this NOOB. Lots to learn and the old brain sometimes experiences overload.
As always, thanks in advance for your generous sharing of information.