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Thread: How do you leverage CNC to be unique in your local marketplace?

  1. #16
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    Oct 2005
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    Jim,

    When I requested a quote. They couldn't get through to my e-mail if they initiated it. I ended up having to send an e-mail so they could reply. The guy told me it as pretty common. You might want to give them a call.
    Cary

  2. #17
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    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cary Falk View Post
    Jim,

    When I requested a quote. They couldn't get through to my e-mail if they initiated it. I ended up having to send an e-mail so they could reply. The guy told me it as pretty common. You might want to give them a call.
    Cary
    I appreciate the heads-up for the email thing and can dash a note off to them in a few moments. As to calling, I really prefer to avoid that unless things go way too long...kinda for philosophical reasons. I just spent the last 21 years prior to retiring from full time work at the end of September in the telecom industry selling Customer Engagement solutions for a large part of it. I'm a very strong believer that if a business offers a particular communication channel to customers and prospective customers, they need to treat is just as importantly as they do a voice phone call. That's what I was selling (very successfully, which is why I was able to retire at age 60) and what I preached. And when they don't...it doesn't stop me from buying, but it also doesn't stop me from suggesting to them that they are missing opportunities when there is no or delayed response when they offer "a button" or whatever to a customer or prospective customer. Yea, I know...it's a trivial thing, but the world has changed and a large percentage of people prefer to communicate in channels other than voice.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  3. #18
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    Feb 2003
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    Hayes, Virginia
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    Jim,

    You will be hearing from Thomas, the owner of CAMaster, shortly
    Thomas will take real good care of you my friend.

  4. #19
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    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    I did speak with Thomas...a very enjoyable conversation, too. That came coincidently after a sales person finally called me about 15 minutes prior. I guess we got their attention. LOL I have one of the two quotes I asked for so far. The Stinger 1 SR-24 is very much inline with the cost of the Axiom Elite machine I was considering of the same size. I still need the "what if" quote for the Stinger II SR-34, 'just for grins. I cannot fit anything larger in my shop, unfortunately.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #20
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    May 2009
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    black river falls wisconsin
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    If you can fit the stinger 2 and can afford it would skip the stinger 1...

  6. #21
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    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    Quote Originally Posted by eugene thomas View Post
    If you can fit the stinger 2 and can afford it would skip the stinger 1...
    I have to decide if I can afford the cost delta between the SR-24 and the SR-34. This investment is something I originally wasn't contemplating and the very reason I started this thread was to explore creative and unique ways to monetize it. While it's not a lot of money compared to what many pro shops invest in CAM, for someone moving from "serious hobbyist" to something beyond that, at least part time...it requires careful consideration since at least part of the money will have to come from my source of retirement income for the next thirty years. (hopefully 30... )
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #22
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    Feb 2003
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    Hayes, Virginia
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    The downside to the Stinger I is that you must have a very sturdy table to put it on. When the gantry is changing directions and moving fast it can cause the table to shake or vibrate. A welded steel table would be my choice but a very strong table like the one that Bruce page built will do nicely. You have to factor in the cost of the table if you don't have one that is suitable. The Stinger II removes the need for a table and if you ever need to move the machine its a snap. I use a floor jack to lift up one end and place small roller dollies under the feet. I then can use the floor jack on the opposite end and pull the machine anywhere I want to go by myself. No worries about the frame losing square or how level the floor is, the frame is as strong as a Triton Truck. I think my Stinger II (48 by 36) weighs about one thousand pounds, it has the CNC lathe on it which accounts for the additional weight.

    I'm considering a new 4 by 8 CAMaster Panther
    Last edited by Keith Outten; 01-10-2018 at 5:53 PM.

  8. #23
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    Mar 2003
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    Keith, if I go with the Stinger I, it will have the welded steel base. While I "could" build a nice wooden table like many have (the design Bruce used from Mick Martin is a great example), it's worth it to me to pay $500 for the steel table they offer for it. And it comes with casters.

    The Stinger II I'm looking at as an alternative to the Stinger I appears to be the same model you have...the SR-34. I can't fit an SR-44 in my shop physically. I just have to talk myself into the extra money relative to what I mentioned in my previous post. "How soon" do anticipate moving up to the Panther and will that replace the Stinger II or be in addition to it? (Just curious... )

    Speaking of level...help me out here. My shop has a sloped floor because the previous owners had the building built as a 3.5 car garage. My slider, Stubby lathe and my bench are all "leveled" because they perform better that way and all tools are either parallel to or perpendicular to the slope...nothing on an angle. Do I have to be concerned with getting the Stinger actually level? Whichever I buy will be "perpendicular to the slope" in my intended position for it. Maintaining mobility might be nice in case I want to do something longer than the bed using tiling, but it would complicate things if I have to block it up level. That's not a problem...I'd just like to understand your thoughts on "level" for a machine like this.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Marquette, MI USA
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    519
    Jim...
    There will be no ill effects from having your machine sit "parallel" to the floor. That said, I prefer not to leave them on the casters as inertia can move the machines causing a collision with objects or humans. The second reason for no casters is to use levelers to remove the "short leg" syndrome that is true to most 4 legged tables on non-perfect floors. It is not important to be level, it is important to have all 4 legs adjusted firmly and evenly to the floor. Not likely with casters.
    Gary Campbell
    CNC Replacement & Upgrade Controllers
    Custom 9012 Centroid ATC

  10. #25
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    Feb 2003
    Location
    Hayes, Virginia
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    Jim,

    I just started looking at the Panther today but I have been considering going back to a 4 by 8 router for a long time. I spoke with Thomas about this today and told him I would get back to him shortly. Should I decide to upgrade the Panther it will replace my Stinger, I don't have room in my shop for two routers. It will be cramped going back to a 4 by 8 machine but its possible...the ShopBot I had was a 4 by 8 machine.

    I'm going to talk to Thomas again tomorrow.

  11. #26
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    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    Thanks, Gary. I appreciate the advise.

    Best wishes for your negotiations, Keith! I gotta do that, too, once I decide the "exact what"...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Deep South
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    3,970
    Jim, I'm going to go out on a limb here. I think you are going to take to CNC router work in a big way. Based on many years of reading your posts, I think it is your kind of thing. With that in mind, I am going to recommend you read your signature line, take a big breath, and buy a nice machine. I consider my Stinger I to be commercial grade. But, my regrets are that I didn't buy a bigger bed with a real spindle. At this point, I am building a new shop and after that, I am likely to upgrade. It will be a Camaster. I want a 3X4 or a 4X4 machine.
    Last edited by Art Mann; 01-12-2018 at 11:06 AM.

  13. #28
    Jim, in my thread about inlaid laminate I did find one person , "artist" who still does it. Added her name to the thread,and some examples of her work can be found on line. They are fine as examples,but I prefer Deco for that medium. I say again it is ideal for cabinet doors and can be done with CNC. The problem with queries for new ideas is the replies are always "ain't nobody asking for 'em"

  14. #29
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    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    Art, I appreciate your thoughts and mine are inline with it. I could be "happy" with the Stinger I with all the options (including spindle) that I've configured and it's very close in price to the other machine I was considering originally, especially if I was going to do the "mostly hobby" thing. Really close in cost, but there are now clear benefits to the yellow beast as I've learned more and actually listened to several folks I trust. But I do tend to 'practice what I preach' most of the time--hence the signature line--and the SR-34 is slowly moving toward serious consideration. It's about $4K more and I'd be less than honest if I didn't state clearly that I have to take that into consideration. What's helping is that are the monetization possibilities that I've asked for input in this thread. I cannot go 4x4...I do not have the space for it in my shop and there'd be exactly zero possibility of getting it upstairs. I may move my lathe up there at some point, but that still would entail construction I can't fund to make it conditioned space.

    And yea...the technology is also appealing, having spent most of the last 38 years prior to retirement in IT and Telecom (including technical sales and beyond) as well as having an avocation background in many artistic pursuits. I'm already working seriously on leveraging my investment in SCM/Minimax and Festool in that manner and this machine, should I move forward, will get the same treatment. I've already done about half of the video based training for VCarve Pro and "get it" for the most part...and that's the tool I'd be starting with for the design and tool path work.

    And congrats on the coming new shop...I'm sure it will benefit from your prior experiences and look forward to seeing the photos you ARE going to post in the workshops forum area.

    ---
    Mel, I'll check it out!
    Last edited by Jim Becker; 01-11-2018 at 3:45 PM.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  15. #30
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
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    mid-coast Maine and deep space
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    I'm reading and thinking on this one ...
    "... for when we become in heart completely poor, we at once are the treasurers & disbursers of enormous riches."
    WQJudge

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