Jump to content
MSW Spring Donation Drive

dewalt57

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    145

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by dewalt57

  1. dewalt57
    Mike..... so tell us about the sander!!!! How does she drive???? AL
  2. dewalt57
    YEPPERS!!!! Thanks guys!! Yes, these things are addictive !!!! LOL Saving my lunch money so I can get more toys from Jim!!!!....LOL Love these machines!!! And to think I drove an old Dremel table saw for all these years!!! Now I'm driving the Lotus Europa of table saws !!!!!!.... LOL AL
  3. dewalt57
    Just got my Model Machines 4" Table Saw from Jim & Donna Byrnes!!! All I can say is WOW!!!! A very well made machine!!! Cuts great!! Very quite running!! A very solid saw for serious small wood work!!! AL
  4. dewalt57
    Tim..... YES!!! Jims fantastic little table saw got here!!! Its one serious table saw and very well made, I love it!!! http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/6464-model-machines-4-table-saw/ Michael......Thanks!! Its only limited by the imagination!! AL
  5. dewalt57
    One thing I must stress to anyone thinking of building a Cnc wood milling machine is they need to know how to use at the minimum a 2D CAD program!!! Like any tool, to get any use out of it at all, you're going to need drawings to turn into gcode for the Cnc machine to cut. The gcode software needs DXF files which a 2D CAD program generates, and as with most things, your on your own when it comes to DXF files so without any 2D CAD knowledge to make your own drawings your dead in the water!! I've built 3 cnc machines and did it all with a cheap 2D CAD program, you don't need 3D CAD, Solid Works or any of those expensive programs to do it. Every part on my cnc machines started out as a drawing in 2D CAD before the metal ever got cut, like the old draftsman said ...... if you can draw it , you can build it!!! AL
  6. dewalt57
    Thanks Tim for linking that! AL
  7. dewalt57
    Nigel ......I've worked in machine shops, and a metal fabrication plant working with alum & stainless steel for many years and kind of picked up a talent for this hobby.... LOL Plus I'm a hobby machinist, with electronics knowledge, jack of all trades, master of none of them..... LOL Also having a HF mini-mill & HF mini-lathe sure helps to make parts for the Cnc wood mill. The software took me awhile to feel comfortable with and I still don't know everything that it can do, you only learn what you need to do the job..... LOL And like most computer software, easily forgotten if not used often!! AL
  8. dewalt57
    I have about 6" of Z axis clearance at the table top thickness I'm running now. I can push lower thru the table top by a 1.5" inches, so total travel is 7.5". Thats a set thing due to the bearing slides I'm using and how I have the trucks set up on the backplate that holds the router. The 4th axis is inside the 48" x 48" , probably eats up about 10.5" x 48" inches of real estate for it to have clearance. The keyboard is in that same area due to no space in the room, kind of tight in there!!... LOL The room is approx. 11' x 11'. AL
  9. dewalt57
    Yes.... Its the same size stepper 425 oz. on all 3 axis, the 4th axis is a ready made gear box (18:1 gearing) with its own stepper motor 125 oz. and seems very capable for what it does. But a 425 oz. could be used with no problems on the 4th axis provided it was set up with its own reduction system. Yes, it will cut alum with light passes .020" deep and slow speeds 10 IPM and the router set on lowest speed! I've made quite a few alum parts with it. I'm sure it would cut brass with no problem. For just the parts for a machine like this figure a starting cost of approx. $2000.00, The software (Aspire, Mach3, 3D CAD) alone cost me more then my machine.....LOL But thats spent over a period of time, not all at once. But do you really need a big machine or will a smaller one do? The 4th axis set up. The 3-jaw chuck is off my HF 7x10 mini lathe, with a homemade backplate of alum. The gear box with stepper motor was from MPJA surplus, its no longer available from them. AL
  10. dewalt57
    I've found that the moisture of yellow glue will warp wood but if you use epoxy glue it won't. Try 30 min. epoxy and see if that works. AL
  11. dewalt57
    Nigel...... Yes, done all kinds of things with it from 2D cutting to 3D cutting plus rotary 4th axis cutting! AL
  12. dewalt57
    Machine stats: Cutting Area: 48" x 48" Router used: Hitachi M12VC Variable Speed 2.25 HP, 8,000 RPM to 24,000 RPM Cutting Speed: 80 Inches Per Min. (IPM) Max. Stepper Motor Size: Nema 23, 425 oz., 8 wire Drive Screws: ACME 1/2" diameter 8 thread 2 start which means 4 TPI (Threads Per Inch). Electronics: HobbyCNC Pro 4 axis Driver board..... http://www.hobbycnc.com/products/hobbycnc-pro-chopper-driver-board-kits/ and Gecko G251 4th axis driver card, CNC4PC C1 & C10, AnTek 30VDC 20A power supply. All Alum construction, NO MDF or WOOD used other then table top. AL
  13. dewalt57
    Done deal Tim!! And the PDF booklet about CNC is posted with it! See "Modeling Tools and Workshop Equipment" section for the post! AL
  14. dewalt57
    A Doll house I made using the Cnc machine to cut parts out with! AL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWty0nIWePM&feature=player_embedded
  15. dewalt57
    This is my machine. All homemade from parts. AL
  16. dewalt57
    Hi folks.... my name is AL, and I'm a CNC wood milling machine enthusiast. I've been asked by a few members here to show my CNC wood milling machine and share some insight into the world of CNC'ing and what you need to know to possibly build your own. There are many web sites devoted to CNC machines, in fact there are many sites showing how to build a CNC wood cutting machine, I've been there.... done that, and now over 14 years later I'm designing and building my own machines from scratch. I do not know everything about them, just enough to make it work for me. I firmly believe in DIY, and knowing how to build your own machine will help you keep it running and improve it over time. Just like building model ships, the more you build them the better at it you become, the more you learn!! Now if your really interested I have a PDF file made by Richard Wildey who can explain whats its all about a lot better then I can!! Getting Started in CNC.pdf That being said..... I'll next be posting pictures of my machine, if you have any questions, jump in and ask! AL
  17. dewalt57
    No problem Joe..... I have to admit I'm a bit of a show off when it comes to my Cnc wood mill....LOL Its not just a hobby to me but a way of life it seems!!... And now its Model Ships!! AL
  18. dewalt57
    Thanks Wacko Joe!! Good to see another Mach3 user here!!! Win7, 32 bit here...... Yes !!!, Mach3 can be a royal pain at times to configure, it has so many options to it!!! I about pulled what little hair I have out trying to set up this rotator with it..... LOL Yes, maybe we do need some postings on Ship building using a Cnc wood mill over in the "Modeling Tools and Workshop Equipment" section!! Also in the news....... in about 6 hours I'll be receiving a Jim Byrnes mini table saw!!! I'll be doing a unpacking and review of it, not sure its been done on here lately. I'm really excited about getting it, been waiting 3 weeks now for Mr. Byrnes crew to get er done and the day is now here!!!....YIPPEE!!!! So yes, looks like I've got some work to do posting things on here, if it will help people build ships models!! AL
  19. dewalt57
    Thanks guys!! Now back to the drawing board and redesign how that cannon is cut, got to be able to drill the hole in it squarely before I cut it to shape and it would be nice to have it all one piece as I cut it. AL
  20. dewalt57
    Video of the finish cut being made: Watch in HD full screen for best viewing!! The noise in the video is the dust collector running, try listening to that for a few hours ......LOL AL
  21. dewalt57
    Thanks guys!! Here's the finished cut before I slice off the ends. I made a video, waiting for U-tube to digest it.... LOL The wood is Poplar, took 45 mins to do the finish cut with a 1/8" Ball Nose bit, 5% step over, 70 IPM. AL
  22. dewalt57
    Thanks Tim!! If enough people were interested then I could post some info over in the "Modeling tools and Workshop Equipment" section! Spent all night doing the fine tuning and got all the configurations in Mach3 set so it would all work correctly together and......Drum roll here......the first test Cannon in almost done with its rough cut!!!! Well....shiver me timbers!!.... its done with the rough cut!! Now to do a tool change and get the finish cut done! Here's what it looks like so far, the tail end is modified somewhat so as to have some meat for the 3-jaw chuck to hold on to, I'll cut and add the tailpiece later. Took 1 hour to do the roughing cut, 1/4" Ball nose bit, 10% step over, 70 IPM. More coming so stay tuned in!! AL
  23. dewalt57
    Thanks Tim!! Got the Tailstock mounted, just a bit of fine tuning and power hookup and she'll be ready to test on some wood!! That completes all the mechanical work on the rotary 4th axis, next will be the re-learning of the software again, been awhile since I've played with Aspires Wrapper software, which is what I'll be using to make the cannons gcode. AL
  24. dewalt57
    Got the 4th axis rotator done, just need to complete the electrical connection and rig up the tail stock for it, then set up the Aspire software to make a canon. Sounds so easy.... wish it was that easy, there are a few checks and setups to do before I get to cut any wood. This completes a 14 hour day for me playing with this, now I need a rest and then clean the mill room, what a mess in there, tools everywhere.... LOL Its amazing how many tools are needed to do a project of this magnitude!! The pivot point on the rotator gives me the ability to rotate the whole rotator manually from horizontal to vertical or any point in between. It could be called a 5th axis but its not Computer controlled, I manually adjust it by rotating the wooden gear on the plywood faceplate, which has a friction lock to keep it from moving during use. Much like a table saw blade tilt lock. AL
  25. dewalt57
    Thanks Tim!! tapping the last couple of holes now, trying to get this wrapped up and get on to the Cannons!! AL

About us

Modelshipworld - Advancing Ship Modeling through Research

SSL Secured

Your security is important for us so this Website is SSL-Secured

NRG Mailing Address

Nautical Research Guild
237 South Lincoln Street
Westmont IL, 60559-1917

Model Ship World ® and the MSW logo are Registered Trademarks, and belong to the Nautical Research Guild (United States Patent and Trademark Office: No. 6,929,264 & No. 6,929,274, registered Dec. 20, 2022)

Helpful Links

About the NRG

If you enjoy building ship models that are historically accurate as well as beautiful, then The Nautical Research Guild (NRG) is just right for you.

The Guild is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to “Advance Ship Modeling Through Research”. We provide support to our members in their efforts to raise the quality of their model ships.

The Nautical Research Guild has published our world-renowned quarterly magazine, The Nautical Research Journal, since 1955. The pages of the Journal are full of articles by accomplished ship modelers who show you how they create those exquisite details on their models, and by maritime historians who show you the correct details to build. The Journal is available in both print and digital editions. Go to the NRG web site (www.thenrg.org) to download a complimentary digital copy of the Journal. The NRG also publishes plan sets, books and compilations of back issues of the Journal and the former Ships in Scale and Model Ship Builder magazines.

Our Emblem ®

Modelshipworld - Advancing Ship Modeling through Research

Nautical Research Guild ® and the NRG logo are Registered Trademarks, and belong to the Nautical Research Guild (United States Patent and Trademark Office: No. 6,999,236 & No. 6,999,237, registered March 14, 2023)

×
×
  • Create New...