BlueBus320

My Feedback: (57)

Currently I form all of my plywood pieces with my clamps & a Dremel tool, but I know there is a better way (& they look like I made them with a Dremel). Can anyone tell me the tools to research to produce factory looking wood pieces?
I see some guys making truly professional looking UAT holder etc, but I don't know how they do it. I'll attach some example pics.
thanks in advance, Jay

Hydro Junkie

I only know of three ways to do the parts shown in the left hand picture and they all take time and patience:
1) Laser cutter
2) Scroll saw
3) Spindle and stick sanders, files and Exacto knives with the miniature saw blades(http://www.micromark.com/no-15-blade...of-5,6792.html )

I built the following boat frame with a scroll saw, band saw and Ridgid horizontal belt and spindle sander as shown below. The end result was the boat shown at the bottom picture

BlueBus320

My Feedback: (57)

That looks excellent Hydro junkey! I'll research all that you said. I'm assuming the rigid tool you posted the pic of is one of the tools mentioned.
thanks, Jay

BlueBus320

My Feedback: (57)

Have you seen any YouTube vids on producing that type of woodwork? I've searched, but no joy as of yet

Hydro Junkie

Yes, it is. The reason I like this one is the belt unit can be removed and the sanding drums stored on the front installed to make it a spindle sander. In both configurations, the sanding head moves up/down around 1/2" so the sanding surface doesn't clog as fast. Not visible is a blank off plate that fills the area the belt drive sits in and the filler rings(shown on the left side, next to the 1/2" sleeve) fit in to to prevent parts from falling inside the unit. It's also equipped with a vacuum port to control sanding dust
I would recommend a variable speed 16" scroll saw and 14" band saw if you are looking to buy one as anything smaller tends to actually get in the way

ww2birds

My Feedback: (14)

Anyone here using some of the CNC routing tools
(e.g. https://www.inventables.com/technologies/x-carve)
for modeling purposes?

There seem to be several companies offering similar machines in the $1K to $2K range and look like they would be excellent for a lot of what we do. Would work for plywood (thicker than you can do with laser machines), fiberglass and even carbon fiber. I've seen some posts of folks doing carbon fiber parts while submerged in a 1/8 to 1/4" of water to control the unpleasant dust .. using a clever "swimming pool" to hold the part.

Would be nice if there were a community of like-minded users to join in our RC world..

btw, nice work, Hydro!

Dave

Hydro Junkie

I know Rockler Woodworking Supply carries the CNC machine you mentioned and I thought about mentioning it but decided against it. Like laser cutters, they are expensive and require a bit more than most have in regard to computer skills. I only mentioned lasercutters since they are better in doing the kind of work pictured than the router type machines due to the sharp corners shown.
As far as the boat goes, thanks guys. I only posted the pictures of it to show what can be done with the tools I mentioned. I can post pictures of others I'm working on when I get them done, if you want, even though it's off-topic. It may be a while though since my job keeps me hopping.

TonyBuilder

My Feedback: (11)

Find a local independent to laser cut your stuff, if you want pro looking parts.

TB

marc s

Hi cutters like laser or cnc however small and cheap need to be driven by code, if you are not relatively competent in Rhino or AutoCAD you have a long and potentially frustrating journey ahead.

Many years ago I did a build thread for the Skygate Hawk "virtual build thread', I made a lot of parts out of carbon plate or FR4 (G10) and a few ply parts, for this I used a Proxxon hand milling machine, they have simple 2 axis movement (by thumb wheels) if you draw out the lines it gives avery nice finish - that is provided most of the parts are small and have straight edges, curves are not possible. Other option is the Proxxon scroll saw, in fact all Proxxon tools are superb and well worth the investment.

marcs

marc s

Here are some of the items I mentioned.

marcs

ChuckC

My Feedback: (24)

You can get a lot cut by independents, like Laser Design Services (and others; I just am familiar with Bob) for what a laser or router costs. I'm still fumbling around trying to get a recycled CNC router (an old ISEL) up and running. It's not so much the hardware as it is a massive amount of time setting up the tooling path (drawing to CAM to Machine Code to machine via electronics compatible with stepper motors). There are places like Build Your CNC dot com that help for the "budget minded", however you're still looking at a chunk of experimental money.

Right now, I'm trying to learn Inventor and finish Mach 3 set-up using an old-fashioned HobbyCNC controller on top of an approximate 2 foot by 2 foot router bed. It's a whole hobby within a hobby and really distracts. Now, learning to draw in a program like Correl Draw, AutoCAD etc. where you can get a real vector based drawing out that you could send to someone with a machine would allow you the full creative ability without the investment in the mechanics. Of course that doesn't give you the immediate, unrestricted freedom either... That's about all I've got - a lot of spurts and starts and not hours at length to dedicate to setting it up, because of work and family. You know, the usual song and dance..

thunderchief

I built a cnc router a number of years ago and thus cut all my parts with it. Parts fit and look great but you have to know how to use a program like autoCAD or such. The drawings are then changed to gcode for the cutter.
Glenn

Hydro Junkie

Any updates? Just curious as to how this one worked out

BlueBus320

My Feedback: (57)

Nothing yet. I have a 2.5 Futura that I want to do the vectoring thrust on, so looking to skimp on every wood/carbon platform/support I make. It's a winter project though, & I may just pay a builder also, but if I make some really cool light stuff I'll post.
Jay

BlueBus320

My Feedback: (57)

Hey Marc S, have you ever worked with the "Proxxon Micro mill MF 70"? This is the one i'm thinking of ordering, but I'm having a hard time finding videos of it working with wood. I'm pretty sure that this is the type of machine that if you can draw it on the wood, carbon etc, then you can make it, correct? can it make perfect circles?
Thanks, Jay

stevekott

I draw out all of my previous parts on AutoCAD LT. It a 2d program that outputs a vector file as a .dxf file. Then I import the .dxf file into sheetCam which produces the GCode to drive an XY table with a water jet cutter I built a few years back for work.

The obvious disadvantage using a water jet is the parts are a little wet after cutting but they dry out beautifully. I cut with just water, no abrasives and can cut up to 1/4" plywood no problem.

ChuckC

My Feedback: (24)

I'd love to see how that water jet cutter works on wood - the results/photos or any video you've got on it; quite interesting.

BlueBus - the mico mills don't give you the ability to cut perfect circles without an additional and usually expensive accessory. At least not by hand. They can be converted to CNC, but that isn't a simple nor quick task - just possible as it's been done numerous times. Same thing for the Harbor Freight mills; you can even get conversion kits with the motors and the hardware, just not all the electronics (drivers, computer, couple of different software packages, etc.). If your really interested in automatic/CNC on the cheap, I think one of the most friendly web sites is "builldyourcnc" dot com. Still not cheap...