Old Man Learning CNC (OMLCNC)

[OMLCNC]

I took the OPs rule one as 'don't spend any money on bits until the design is ready, research done, etc ' rather than do it cheaply. Otherwise money wasted on poor choices . . . And no one including Yorkshiremen like to waste it

Either way no matter, good luck with it. Perfectly possible to build a machine to do what you want. Trick is not to let machine building become the hobby.

Yep, that is how It was intended, but nice to have a confirmation on the budget, for "She who must be obeyed"

I'll try not to let it become the hobby, but its all work and shed related - I fully intend to make it pay for itself.

[routercnc]

I see you like to cut dovetails. Have a look through this thread posted by Gerry:

http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/7688-...ovetail-joints

[OMLCNC]

I see you like to cut dovetails. Have a look through this thread posted by Gerry:

http://www.mycncuk.com/threads/7688-...ovetail-joints

Thanks for that, I am way off the software side of things yet, but glad someone has already done the work for me.
On length of work, I did this credenza and nest for someone and put dovetails on the end of the top (8 feet long) by clamping the Leigh dovetail jig onto the workpiece and using the router verticaly.
If you see what I mean?
But dont think a CNC could do that, well I havent alowed for it in my design. I suppose a rotating spindle thru 90 degrees on anther axis would do it.

[magicniner]

But dont think a CNC could do that, well I havent alowed for it in my design.

You don't have to -

http://www.tailmaker.net/

- Nick

[Ger21]

You don't have to -

http://www.tailmaker.net/

- Nick

But those aren't "real" dovetails.

[magicniner]

But those aren't "real" dovetails.

In the strictest sense possibly not, but you don't need special software for conventional dovetails with a dovetail cutter, just decent CAM ;-)

- Nick

[Neale]

Horses for courses, I guess. Fusion 360 has a very powerful CAM package that knows about dovetail tools, and lets you define your own if there isn't something in the library to match what you have. So F360 could do the job. I might do it that way (my machine is built to take vertical panels at the end of the machine, although couldn't quite manage 8' panels...) if I were just doing a one-off, but I could understand why someone might want a better package optimised for this specific job if they were doing it at all often. I could do V engraving CAM with F360, but it's a whole lot easier with vCarve. At a price, of course. I have tried to use F360 for some relatively complex slot-together tab-and-slot panels but it was hard work, even with a special plug-in, to add dog-bone fillets in the internal corners. I ended up designing the tab-and-slot panels in F360, then writing out the DXF designs, importing into vCarve, and using that for the fillets.

Powerful-but-complex, specialised-but-straightforward? I think you have to try the options and see what works for you. Especially if this is going to be part of a money-making process. A friend who runs a small sign-making business cheerfully bought vCarve; the £400 or so it cost will pay for itself in saved time in just a few jobs compared to "free" software. Gerry's software looks quite good against that. Ho hum - we all have to choose our own ways forward.

The Leigh jig has templates for some really strange-looking "dovetail" interlocking joints. Not sure how many of them are possible with CNC...

[OMLCNC]

You don't have to -

http://www.tailmaker.net/

- Nick

Thanks Nick, Looks great I have earmarked the web site and will look at it when I'm getting near completion of the build.
Long way to go before then.

Robert.