Wooden CNC

[routercnc]

Hi Andy,

Hang in there. My first machine was built just over 5 years ago from plywood and unsupported rails. It used a normal router for cutting. It would cut balsa wood, and liteply, and if you were not in a hurry plywood:



If you pushed it then it would tend to cut ellipses not circles, so it had it's limitations. Basically it was not very stiff. So here it is cutting bits for it's successor (the gantry sides):



And here is machine 2 which used alot more aluminum, plus linear profile rails on the Y and Z, and a water cooled spindle:



But it still had limitations especially when cutting parts off centre (single ballscrew tends to rack the gantry). The gantry sides were still plywood, and the roller bearings on the X axis needed continuous adjustment and cleaning. So here it is cutting parts for it's successor:



And here is that machine:


And here it is munching through some 20mm aluminium plate for the Z axis upgrade:

to make:


And here it is at the moment:


So it depends on what you want to achieve, and not being too disappointed if you build a basic machine. Good news is you can always build a better one, it just takes longer and costs you more. Good luck with the machine and your life circumstances in general . . .