Is anyone interested in cutting dovetail joints?
For the last 18 months, I've been working on a standalone app to create g-code for woodworking joints. It'll eventually have several types of joints, but I just finished the dovetail portion.
Just wondering if there's any interest from the members here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6MnVHmr2UY
Re: Is anyone interested in cutting dovetail joints?
Looks okay.
When you say "standalone app", I don't know what that means anymore in light of mobile devices etc., what platform does the app run on ?
One problem is the length of timber that can be cut, the spindle really needs to hang over the end of the bed to get some height below it.
Re: Is anyone interested in cutting dovetail joints?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ger21
For the last 18 months, I've been working on a standalone app to create g-code for woodworking joints. It'll eventually have several types of joints, but I just finished the dovetail portion.
Just wondering if there's any interest from the members here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6MnVHmr2UY
Yep i'm up for it Gerry I've played a little in the past with dovetails but would be nice to have program to make life easy. Would be nice not to have to mess around with leigh dovetail jig for one off jobs.
Re: Is anyone interested in cutting dovetail joints?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
EddyCurrent
Looks okay.
When you say "standalone app", I don't know what that means anymore in light of mobile devices etc., what platform does the app run on ?
It's a windows program, and it runs on Windows XP to Windows 8.1. I've seen two Mach3 wizards for dovetails, but decided that a separate program was a better way to go. It outputs both Mach3 g-code and native Shopbot code. The Mach3 code should run in LinuxCNC as well, as it's pretty basic.
Quote:
One problem is the length of timber that can be cut, the spindle really needs to hang over the end of the bed to get some height below it.
Yes, you need a method to mount the workpiece vertically, and the spindle needs to extend out past the workpiece by about the tool diameter. My current machine can't do this, so all my testing is done with short pieces on a fixture I made.
Re: Is anyone interested in cutting dovetail joints?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
JAZZCNC
Yep i'm up for it Gerry I've played a little in the past with dovetails but would be nice to have program to make life easy. Would be nice not to have to mess around with leigh dovetail jig for one off jobs.
I though you only cut aluminum? Or is it aluminium over there?? :friendly_wink:
If you have a fixture on your machine to hold the stock, you can be ready to cut an infinite variety of dovetails in just a few minutes.
I'm currently writing a manual and getting the business end set up, and hope to start offering it for sale in a few more months.
Re: Is anyone interested in cutting dovetail joints?
maybe you could have an area of the machine's bed that you can take a trap slot out and it would allow the timber to go throu. so you can do stuff that is fairly long.
some sort of clamping system that fixes down to the T slot bed and allows you to clamp timber to be machined.
that does look awesome and would save messing about with dovetail jigs.
nice one ger21
Re: Is anyone interested in cutting dovetail joints?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ger21
I though you only cut aluminum? Or is it aluminium over there?? :friendly_wink:
If you have a fixture on your machine to hold the stock, you can be ready to cut an infinite variety of dovetails in just a few minutes.
I'm currently writing a manual and getting the business end set up, and hope to start offering it for sale in a few more months.
Nope I cut everything from card board to cast iron on it but actually my machine started life as a wood router and was designed from the begining to extend past the bed for cutting hinges into doors and dove tails etc.! . . . . . Not a lot of people know this but my grand father used to work for Robert Thompson (Mouse Man) so I grew up working wood taught by master crafts man and I used to have successful bespoke furniture/Cabinet business . . I just got sick to the back teeth of whinging whining customers so closed shop and changed directions.!
Now I just make dust for my own pleasure and it's great to say No to Ex-customers "You should have thought about that when you whined and tried to screw me into ground on price.!!"
Post when your ready and I'll be along to part with a few beer tokens.!
1 Attachment(s)
Re: Is anyone interested in cutting dovetail joints?
Gerry,
like this
Attachment 13193
Re: Is anyone interested in cutting dovetail joints?
That's a very poor joint that I would never recommend. Too much end grain to end grain.
Also, cutting joints like that with a router in solid woods is always problematic, as the wood will tend to chip where the bit exits the cut.
That's also an issue in the wood joints you PM'd me about. Cutting a lot of those joints in solid wood is very difficult, unless you are starting with an oversized stock in both length and width, to allow trimming off the chipped edges.
Re: Is anyone interested in cutting dovetail joints?
I was thinking about a loose tongue now, similar to a biscuit but full width and shaped like the joint, probably plywood, that eliminates the end grain issue.
The grooves in the end of the boards could be cut with a T slot cutter so they all lie flat on the table. but . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER1k4Pcyn0M
With regard to the other cnc joints, I would never make them myself and you are correct about oversize, I like to take at least one shaving off with a sharp hand plane.