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Completed machining the first set of 16 black chess pieces out of Madagascar Ebony. Also machined a piece holder out of foam. Average machining time per piece about 2 hours.

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First cut with 4th axis - still need to figure out how to set up properly

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G251 GeckoDrive for fourth axis integrated with G540 GeckoDrive - ready to roll!

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Quite satisfying to use the CNC machine to accurately drill the mounting holes in the 8mm aluminum mounting plate for the 4th axis!

Just received my 4th axis drive and tail stock ordered from China. Seems solid and sturdy enough and should be perfect to cut the chess knight using indexed cutting with DeskProto, and also to cut...

First complete model of Chess Knight milled from MDF. Took about 3 hours to complete. First a rough cut with a 3mm Dremel bit, followed by a finishing cut with a 1.4mm bit. Quite satisfied with the...

Thanks for the link. The seller indicated that he can ship to South Africa. Are these cutters good quality carbide cutters that can be used on hard woods? They are much cheaper than anything I can...

I am sure it is finger trouble on my side. I may have switched off all the USB ports in the BIOS at some point in an attempt to get the parallel port jitter as low as possible. But I must admit, with...

Using LinuxCnc to get the machine up and running made me realize very quickly that unless you are a Linux expert, this is not the way to go. Could not get the USB ports on the PC to work, and...

Thanks for the good feedback. The picture shows a first attempt at a Blender model of a chess knight that I want to machine out of hard wood. Would Cut3D be suitable for something like this, or would...

Thanks for the suggestion. I am also considering DeskProto. Their pricing for hobbyists is quite reasonable.

Chai from items in linearmotionbearings store on eBay! kindly offered to replace the skew flexible coupler free of charge!

First routing of a piece of foam - using the default demo g-code that...

First time with all three axes being controlled by LinuxCnc. Fortunately no need to use the emergency stop (yet!). Disappointed that one of the Chinese flexible couplers have been drilled skew! Still...

Had to straighten one of the Chinese ball screws that was bent during shipping. Still have to deal with two small dents on the 20mm ball screws that got damaged during shipping. Have to decide on...

Just received the squared T-slot extrusions and rail supports from the machine shop. Attached some pictures of the first partial assembly to check that everything fits. Surprisingly rail alignment...

Thanks for the comments!

I took my idea for two stepper motors from a commercial German design: CNC Fräsmaschinen und Graviermaschinen, CNC fräsen für Profis und Hobby Fräse CNC Technik. I would...

The design of my first T-slot CNC router. Just received the laser cut parts. Expecting the rest of the machined parts next week. Cannot wait to start assembly! Comments welcome!