Wading into the World of CNC Routers

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Just before the virus responses kicked into full gear I added a tool to the wood shop. A gantry style CNC router. After a fair amount of research I purchased a Shapeoko XL from Carbide 3D. All of these systems involve the hardware, software to create the patterns and another piece of software to send the appropriate instructions to the machine.

Contributed by Bill Tumbleson

Hardware comes down to a frame to support the carriage /router, a drive mechanism to move the carriage /router in three axis (left/right – forward/backward – up/down) and a motor to spin the bits.

Colin's New Workshop Secret - CNC Woodworking

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Woodworking on its own can be quite challenging, and if you have been woodworking for many years, even a lifetime, some parts of it can become mundane and repetitive, which is one of the reasons we often pick new projects to make. In my case, I got inspired by Paul to change the way I do some things and learn how to use a small shop CNC machine.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/KPR-tbAEvzY

During that video and article with Paul (click here for article and video), I became enthralled with some of the potential things that I could do with my own CNC machine, things like Jigs, Parts for Jigs like knobs and hold-downs ... 

Tips & Tricks for Making Boards Longer / End-to-End Woodworking Joints

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How many times I wished there was some sort of magic machine that could make my boards longer. Sometimes I measured wrong, sometimes I cut off a board too short, and sometimes I just underestimated how much lumber I would need. All the times that just one board ... a bit longer would have finished the job.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/yef7-vD60mo

Does that sound familiar?  I get frequent emails from people looking for a way to make one board longer ... so here are some ideas ... 

Why Colin Knecht Quit Using Pallet Wood

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Many, many years ago I worked next door to a business that sold ceramic tiles that they imported from all over the world. Of course, these tiles came in on pallets, and sometimes there were some exotic and gorgeous woods that they used. Yes, it was still not very good wood, but some of it was salvageable.

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/EJhxFfQ0DQ8