[dwil]

I have looked into a few designs, and I want to build a small machine.

One of the things I want to be able to do is find coin-blanks, or aluminum rod and cut blanks for coins. I want to use the CNC machine to cut/etch the face of the coin, I flip it, do it again.

Would a dremel have the power for it?

Also, maybe there is a person in St. Louis who would run one though their finished machine for me?

[diarmaid]

lol. Im not sure thats legal......actually......Im sure thats not legal!

[Kipper]

Theres a thread somewhere here (try a search for "are you making money with your cnc" ) lol what would be amusing would be to mill onto the end of a length of bar and stake it into the ground to watch people try to pick it up

[max_imum2000]

come on guys
i am sure he means memorial coins and funny coins and stuff like this
i think aluminum will work with a dremel and with the correct bits

[dwil]

Oh yeah, I want to make nickels by the basket! I will then go to CoinStar and dump them all in.

I do Geocaching, a GPS treasure hunt type game. People leave trinkets in ammo cans around the country. I want to have a personalized coin I can leave. I don't want to pay $7-$15 per coin, and have to buy 250 at a time. I remembered this forum, and my previous interest (lack of time).

So, all nefarious activity aside... is there a $100 coin at the US Mint?????

[austin.mn]

i have seen a spindle that a guy has been making and selling on ebay, i would imagine that it has a lot more precision than you could ever get from a dremel. i have been meaning to find out if anyone from the forum has gotten one and what they think of it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TB-650M-High-Spe...QQcmdZViewItem

if anyone knows anything about them i would like to have some more info. especially regaurding the actual precision. my experience with the dremel and other small hand rotary tools is that they aren't rigid enough to do quality work in metal, unless you are willing to take a long time to finish the parts.

i make a lot of custom emblems for cars and have been using a porter cable router for the engraving. it is definately more rigid, but doesn't have the precision that i really want. the power is really overkill for engraving, to be honest you really don't need much at all for engraving and light cutting.

i have added a picture of some center caps that i made for a friends car, much nicer than the cheap plastic ones that were on the wheels. i don't recal how big they were maybe slightly larger than a coin, but not much.

[CNCRob]

Oh yeah, I want to make nickels by the basket! I will then go to CoinStar and dump them all in.

I do Geocaching, a GPS treasure hunt type game. People leave trinkets in ammo cans around the country. I want to have a personalized coin I can leave. I don't want to pay $7-$15 per coin, and have to buy 250 at a time. I remembered this forum, and my previous interest (lack of time).

So, all nefarious activity aside... is there a $100 coin at the US Mint?????

That would be pretty cool. I have been wanting to get into Geocaching, that was one of the things I intended to do a few years ago when I got my gps.

[dwil]

I had mine for about 4 years before I did the first one. I like it alot.

I want to make a small CNC to coins, and pens. I need some plans... I don't want a big machine, no place to keep it. But I can give a small space in the garage to it.

The ones austin.mn did are perfect!

[dwil]

Austin.mn what material did you use?

[austin.mn]

i just use aluminum for almost all my parts. it cuts easy, polishes easy, and is fairly easy to maintain. after i get a new spindle, just for doing fine work, i may start doing stuff from stainless. i have done a few parts in stainless, but just engraving, i have yet to do any milling of stainless. the bolt head was 1/2" stainless. i had to sand off the raised lettering then polish it before engraving.

[dwil]

I am going to have to get moving on making my own CNC... You could find some Corvette people, and sell them $30 bolts, just like the government buys!!

[HayTay]

Instead of building one, you may want to contact/PM WidgitMaster and inquire about one of his "Mini CNC Routers" (see thread here: http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21872). They are small, already built, and ridgid enough to machine the coins you have in mind. Combine that with the spindle recommended by austin.mn, a few stepper motors and a driver board and you'll be all set to start minting your custom coins.

[pminmo]

How close are you to St. Peters?

[dwil]

O'fallon........ Illinois.

But I work in Creve Couer. So I am over there often...

[austin.mn]

i agree with HayTay. the widgitmaster machine looks like a nice unit. and at $600 it is probably the best deal around. you could add the spindle to it, and a small stepper drive kit and probably have a real nice machine for under $1200.00

now i just need to convince my wife that i need another machine.....

[Sanghera]

What kind of bits are used for engraving? V-bits? Carbide?
Thanks.

[diecutter]

Split point for 2-D work; ball end for 3-D work. Check out www.antaresinc.net for types of engraving cutters as well as a wealth of how to and technical information.

[Sanghera]

what does a split point cutter look like?
Thanks.