I am a member (more of of lurker) of that group and I would say that most of them are into metal working instead of woodworking. Their tolerances are a lot closer than woodworking, so most of the stuff they are into is not what interest me even though I would love to do metal work since my major in college was in mechanical technology, but before the age of computer controled machines (early 60's)
Just an thought----Learning to use a slide rule was one of the most important courses that was required to take!!!!! I still have mine, but have forgotten more than I ever knew about the thing. There were a few calculator at that time, but the professors would make the comment."what would you do out in the 'field' if your batteries went down!!!!!!' So that was the reason to learn to use one. I think the course was deleted from the requirement in the early 70's.
I have seen several articles on woodworking that I have gleaned from that site. But I was just wondering how many members of this fourm are doing woodwork using this method in flat work and turning?
I have been interested in CNC routers for a long time. Check out the ShopBot machine. There are a lot of web sites that deal with ShopBots and at least one online forum that is in Virginia Beach I think.
In time I hope to add a ShopBot to my laser engraver, this would be an unbeatable package.
If you order the free ShopBot CD there is a video clip included of a ShopBot that drives two routers over a very large lathe bed. Turning wood will never be the same
Shopbot CNC routers are in the 5 to 7 thousand dollar range I think, you would have to visit their web site for current pricing as I don't have any connection with their company.
I have been interested in their equipment for a long time, a 4 foot by 8 foot bed makes for a very attractive platform and lots of capability. Provided you have the shop space to house a machine that large.
Forgot to mention, we also have a special attachment
that allows us to rotate cylindrical objects while engraving,
such as wine bottles, large dowels, etc., so that a pattern
can wrap all the way around.
Good question and good answers. But the only thing missing is where does a person purchase one and also how much is the cost. can you give me (us) any links so I can read more on this. thanks, mike822
Originally posted by Mike822 Good question and good answers. But the only thing missing is where does a person purchase one and also how much is the cost. can you give me (us) any links so I can read more on this. thanks, mike822
I think the one mike is refering to is your laser. They cost about 25K and I dont remember the company name but I am sure Keith or Aaron will let you know.
Sorry if we got OT but I thought you were inquiring about the CNC router.
There are several manufacturers of laser engravers that are suitable for woodworking. Epilog Laser and Universal Laser are two of the most widely known, there are more and a search at Google will provide a very long list. Epilog has been a vendor at a lot of woodworking shows and have been trying to open the woodworking market for some time.
I believe that Dale Sherman has spent a lot of time researching Universal lasers and I hope he will pitch in and post his comments.
Lasers start at around $13,000.00 for the desktop models and go up higher than any space shuttle has ever been. Price is based on the wattage of the power supply, the size of the cabinet and how many other accessories are selected. Some of the more common accessories and features are rotary attachments, auto focus, air assist and vector tables.
I intend to go into detail later concerning all of the accessories I purchased with my machine. I will post pictures of each attachment and try to explain what it does and what it doesn't do.
Note that I didn't include any links to the web sites of manufacturers. The truth is I really don't want to unfluence anyone concerning which is better as I really can't say since I have only used one brand.