demonx Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 I think there is one in the downloads section aswell. Where is this "downloads" section? I had a look on the main site and it says access through advanced part of forum. Apparently advanced part is limited to members who have donated? I donated about a week or two ago but cannot find it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 So we are going to be mechanized this year. We bought this. Probotix Fireball Comet. Then we built this for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 First order of business is to learn how to cut pickup routes. And learn gcode... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 This was taking too long so time to adjust feed rates and plunge depths. Speed this thing up a bit. Also have to stop this thing from returning to zero after every pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Now that we can cut at a better speed we can check the fit. Very tight. Almost too tight as a pickup with cover is not going to fit at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 A check against the old templates... much better. No more slop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Running a test headstock template cut. Scale was off a little bit but I think this will work. Now back to the computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Last day with RoboRAD out in the open. Tomorrow I am moving it into its own closed off section of the shop. It is loud and dusty... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Lets start cutting some templates. Not what everyone wants to see but better to figure this stuff out here than in expensive wood. First cuts are positioning markers used to figure out exactly where this monster is going to cut. After figuring out were to position everything we start with pup routes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Control cavity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Cutting the body outline. I used very small tabs to hold the body until it is finished. So initially I had the feed rate at about 45 with a plunge speed of 10. This worked nice but I left the depth increment at .015. This was a bad idea trying to cut through .75 in of material. After about an hour I had maybe .25 in cut. Time to change up. I set the depth increment to .125 and tried again. This was fast cutting through in about 8 passes... but it left the edge rougher than I wanted. On the next pieces I am going to go with .0625. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Body clear of the tabs. Check the new template against the original. It is very very close. The places it misses are intentional changes. I cleaned the tabs up with sanding block and used a sanding sponge to knock off the frizz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Cut out the neck template. The main disadvantage of a 25x25 envelope is that I will not be able to cut a full neck on the machine. I am not worried about it as I will probably use 2 operations for necks anyway. After checking the neck template against the neck pocket I might need to adjust the template a hair as it came out a hair under my intended measurements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Headstock template done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Some other templates that are going to save several hours in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Necks in two operations? What goes on in the middle of straight lines that requires a machine to carry out the operation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Necks in two operations? What goes on in the middle of straight lines that requires a machine to carry out the operation? Not sure what you are getting at. I can't cut out a full neck... I can probably do bolt on necks but you know I don't build them much. I am still trying to decide exactly how I am going to build my necks. My old method involved a lot of careful planning to get a neck out of a certain sized block with very minimal waste. I am contemplating creating a scarfed blank and doing the neck outline and profile and leaving the headstock. Next move would be to reposition the headstock blank onto the table and cut it out. The problem there is doing the trussrod ... would probably have to do that by hand still before going to the cnc. Alternative is to cut the headstock outline and neck outline and do a scarf joint after. Then I would still be left with a trussrod slot and doing the neck profile. I have too many options and I am still too inexperienced to decide on the best method yet. I also still have to adjust my gcode to get somethings to cut the correct size... some things came out a few thousandths off.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Just kidding you there, RAD :-D Perhaps the joke was too subtle. I'm sure that cutting truss rod routs and shaping necks will keep you busy whilst the CNC chugs away in the corner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Just kidding you there, RAD :-D Perhaps the joke was too subtle. I'm sure that cutting truss rod routs and shaping necks will keep you busy whilst the CNC chugs away in the corner! Sorry still touchy about my CNC inadequacies. You would think being a drunk yet highly skilled IT Engineer and Programmer for all these years that this would all be easier. On a side note I am buying a fire extinguisher. Apparently CNC machines can not smell smoke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 On a side note I am buying a fire extinguisher. Apparently CNC machines can not smell smoke. Speeds & feeds are a pain! I watched burning embers come off of mine once Usually its from going too slow, or a dull bit. I have multiple fire extinguishers in my shop. I am still trying to decide exactly how I am going to build my necks. My old method involved a lot of careful planning to get a neck out of a certain sized block with very minimal waste. I am contemplating creating a scarfed blank and doing the neck outline and profile and leaving the headstock. Next move would be to reposition the headstock blank onto the table and cut it out. The problem there is doing the trussrod ... would probably have to do that by hand still before going to the cnc. Alternative is to cut the headstock outline and neck outline and do a scarf joint after. Then I would still be left with a trussrod slot and doing the neck profile. I have too many options and I am still too inexperienced to decide on the best method yet. I also still have to adjust my gcode to get somethings to cut the correct size... some things came out a few thousandths off.. It can get frustrating "wasting" time in front of the computer, when you could already have a neck done by hand in the same amount of time. I spent almost 2 years (and a lot of wood) figuring out the best way to approach my CNC'd necks. Half of that time was spent trying to get the 3D model the way I wanted it. The rest of the time was experimenting with machining operations. In my case I found it's best to leave a small amount of "sanding stock"...usually .010" to .020". Smaller CNC seem to have a certain amount of deflection due to their size, which may be why yours is off a few thou. What I settled on was laminated necks with no scarf joint...which can be a selling point. The Jackson CS charges extra for no scarf. And, I find they are very stable. I make my blanks 3" x 36" which yields 2 necks. It comes out to less than 1.5 BF per neck. If I didnt have a 13 degree angle on the headtstock, life would be much easier, and I would use less wood. As far as the number of actual operations... I havent counted. I do them in batches of 12, so all of the roughing is more of a production. When I schedule a build, I pull from the roughed in stock, slap it on the CNC, and hit "start". It actually helps to do the TR channel before the CNC. Get some .250" x 1" ground dowel pins from Granger. Pop three .248" dia. location holes about 3/4" deep in your spoil board that are centered in your neck model. Then, use the tr channel to seat on the pins when you machine the neck profile. It will keep the blank centered on the TR channel...."Pins are our Friends" Here is a recent video I did of the process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eUKrZsASQc&feature=g-upl&context=G2740dccAUAAAAAAAAAA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 On a side note I am buying a fire extinguisher. Apparently CNC machines can not smell smoke. Speeds & feeds are a pain! I watched burning embers come off of mine once Usually its from going too slow, or a dull bit. I have multiple fire extinguishers in my shop. I am still trying to decide exactly how I am going to build my necks. My old method involved a lot of careful planning to get a neck out of a certain sized block with very minimal waste. I am contemplating creating a scarfed blank and doing the neck outline and profile and leaving the headstock. Next move would be to reposition the headstock blank onto the table and cut it out. The problem there is doing the trussrod ... would probably have to do that by hand still before going to the cnc. Alternative is to cut the headstock outline and neck outline and do a scarf joint after. Then I would still be left with a trussrod slot and doing the neck profile. I have too many options and I am still too inexperienced to decide on the best method yet. I also still have to adjust my gcode to get somethings to cut the correct size... some things came out a few thousandths off.. It can get frustrating "wasting" time in front of the computer, when you could already have a neck done by hand in the same amount of time. I spent almost 2 years (and a lot of wood) figuring out the best way to approach my CNC'd necks. Half of that time was spent trying to get the 3D model the way I wanted it. The rest of the time was experimenting with machining operations. In my case I found it's best to leave a small amount of "sanding stock"...usually .010" to .020". Smaller CNC seem to have a certain amount of deflection due to their size, which may be why yours is off a few thou. What I settled on was laminated necks with no scarf joint...which can be a selling point. The Jackson CS charges extra for no scarf. And, I find they are very stable. I make my blanks 3" x 36" which yields 2 necks. It comes out to less than 1.5 BF per neck. If I didnt have a 13 degree angle on the headtstock, life would be much easier, and I would use less wood. As far as the number of actual operations... I havent counted. I do them in batches of 12, so all of the roughing is more of a production. When I schedule a build, I pull from the roughed in stock, slap it on the CNC, and hit "start". It actually helps to do the TR channel before the CNC. Get some .250" x 1" ground dowel pins from Granger. Pop three .248" dia. location holes about 3/4" deep in your spoil board that are centered in your neck model. Then, use the tr channel to seat on the pins when you machine the neck profile. It will keep the blank centered on the TR channel...."Pins are our Friends" Here is a recent video I did of the process: <snip> You sir are a wonderful saint of the CNC. Thank you for sharing your process. I like the locater pin idea and I will definitely steal that idea. My 14 degree headstock is killing me as well but I am not redesigning my main model to fit the machine as I intentionally chose 14 degrees after a lot of experimentation and general R&D. However I am thinking about designing a lower angle headstock for a different model I am thinking about doing mostly on the machine. Carvin uses 8 degrees but in my experiments it seems too low. I think 9 or 10 on the string is what I might try (meaning the headstock could be lower). I tried to have this discussion before but didn't get any real help on the idea. Maybe it is time to just do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 When I first got started, I spent waaay to much time doing the "trial & error" thing. Like I've said before...I wish I had someone to bounce ideas off of. Shoot me a PM, I'll get you my phone # Feel free to call me if you need to pick what is left of my brain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 When I first got started, I spent waaay to much time doing the "trial & error" thing. Like I've said before...I wish I had someone to bounce ideas off of. Shoot me a PM, I'll get you my phone # Feel free to call me if you need to pick what is left of my brain Now that is a deal. PM Sent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 However I am thinking about designing a lower angle headstock for a different model I am thinking about doing mostly on the machine. Carvin uses 8 degrees but in my experiments it seems too low. I think 9 or 10 on the string is what I might try (meaning the headstock could be lower). I tried to have this discussion before but didn't get any real help on the idea. Maybe it is time to just do it. I remember that thread. What type of experiments did you do, and what happened that made you think 8 degrees might be too low? My last HS was at 11, and the high E string is at least a couple of degrees less....I never measured how many less....but that string has never lost the break point on the nut that I ever noticed. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Nice! What CAD/CAM package are you using? Also, why make a template for neck fitting for yourself instead of simply cutting the entire body (pockets, outline and all) directly on the machine? Purely a question of (lack of) spindle power with the Colt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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