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The nice folks at GearBest.com got in touch with to see if I was interested in reviewing one of their 3D printers. I thanked the but told them 3D printers were not really woodworking machines. They then told me they have a "wood" type filament available. At that point, I thought ... how do I know a 3D printer is not a woodworking tool, I've never tried one, maybe there are some things it can be used for and maybe I should try this, and so sometime later this 3D Printer arrived
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Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/Xd4JbxWDT0Y

The Creality CR-10 printer comes in a fairly large box, which to me was a good thing, because it told me that it wasn't going to be a bunch of parts and pieces I had to figure out how to put together, and sure enough, there are of course some components that need to be set up, but it is substantially together when it arrives. I also received a roll of the Wood Filament for the printer but also took some time to investigate what other 3D printer options that are available, always good to know what other things might be needed some time. 

3D Printed Wood
3d Printer Wood Filament

Of course, it took some time to unpack and set up the printer and to connect it with a computer and set up the app that communicates what the printer will be making, but that's all part of the fun of getting into new things. 
 >>>> Link to Woodworkweb Amazon Affiliate Store - https://www.amazon.com/shop/woodworkweb <<<<

Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/ywwsrb2qq2E
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3D printers have been around for a number of years but in the last few years the printers have come down in price to the point that they are now affordable for home, or in my case "shop" use, and a good opportunity for me to see what they can do and how and if I can integrate them into different aspects of woodworking. Also, other people have done some of the pioneering in making things and setting up templates for the computer for making things so things don't have to be started from scratch every time. 

creality cr-10
Creality CR-10

I have seen other 3D printers in operation, they were quite small and would have been older versions than this one so I was intrigued to see what sort of speed this printer would print at. To my surprise, I discovered it has 2 print mode, a draft mode, for printing things quicker and a bit rougher, and a final mode which is slower but does a better job of laying down the filament. 

3D Printer Filament
3d Printer Filament

Some industrious and talented people have gone to work and designed templates for making an assortment of woodworking, tools, jigs and even some woodworking projects made by the 3d printer. The "wood" filament that was using is something that can be sanded and even stained, at least to some degree, making it very similar in many ways to working with an actual wooden project. 

3d Printed Tools
3d Printed Tools

 

3D Printing Wood Filament