[seannico]

G'day,

Im looking into bulding my own CNC router.

My router will be used to replicate wooden fishing lures that i currently hand carve. Therefore I would need 4 axis i would assume?

Can anyone help me from start to finish with parts ect? I wont need a large working table as the lures wouldnt be any larger then 300mm long at most.


Any help would be much appreciated!

Cheers

Sean.

[awerby]

You might be better off with a small mill, like a Taig or Sherline, instead of a router. They are more precise than routers, come with a 4th axis and tailstock, and have enough headroom to make use of it. These mills are designed to cut metal, but wood's not a problem. And if you decide to make metal molds for your lures instead of carving each one, they can do that as well.

[tgdavies]

Unless you are really keen to build something yourself, I'd suggest a Chinese 3040 or even a 3020 if you can get away with a working area slightly less than 300mm.

Can you tell us more about the size of the lures, the material you use, and link to some pictures?

[seannico]

Thanks for your recommendation mate. I looked at those machines suggested but wasn't sure if they were any good coming from china and all...
have you used these machines or similar?

The woods ill be using will range from hard woods to soft woods (cedars and pines) depending on the effect needed for that type of lure.

her'es a link to a picture of a similar shape to mine to give you an idea.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=g...%3B2688%3B1460

[tgdavies]

The Chinese machines are generally OK mechanically -- I have a 6040. I did not buy any electronics with it, I built my own based on a Gecko G540.

The accuracy is good -- here's an example of a 60mm knife blade machined from Sterling silver: https://www.flickr.com/photos/41886002@N05/15960048339/ -- it has not had any finishing after coming off the machine.

Some people say that the newer Chinese control electronics, like the black box here: CNC 3020Z+D52(new version) ROUTER ENGRAVER DRILLING AND MILLING MACHINE - carving-cnc.com are OK, but I have no personal experience of them.

I think that you could mill your lures 'two-sided' -- machine one side and then flip them, with a little hand sanding to hide the texture you'd get from a ball end mill. Perhaps 4 sided would be better, but then you can only do one at a time, rather than being able to machine a few in a sheet, flip the sheet and do the other side. You would still need to hand drill the holes for the fittings, and the slot for that sheet of plastic might be tricky, depending on the width and depth it could be hard to get a tool with enough reach. There would also be supports you'd need to saw off.

Do you have a 3d model of a lure?

Tom

[seannico]

The Chinese machines are generally OK mechanically -- I have a 6040. I did not buy any electronics with it, I built my own based on a Gecko G540.

The accuracy is good -- here's an example of a 60mm knife blade machined from Sterling silver: https://www.flickr.com/photos/41886002@N05/15960048339/ -- it has not had any finishing after coming off the machine.

Some people say that the newer Chinese control electronics, like the black box here: CNC 3020Z+D52(new version) ROUTER ENGRAVER DRILLING AND MILLING MACHINE - carving-cnc.com are OK, but I have no personal experience of them.

I think that you could mill your lures 'two-sided' -- machine one side and then flip them, with a little hand sanding to hide the texture you'd get from a ball end mill. Perhaps 4 sided would be better, but then you can only do one at a time, rather than being able to machine a few in a sheet, flip the sheet and do the other side. You would still need to hand drill the holes for the fittings, and the slot for that sheet of plastic might be tricky, depending on the width and depth it could be hard to get a tool with enough reach. There would also be supports you'd need to saw off.

Do you have a 3d model of a lure?

Tom

That's a brilliant idea! I did'nt think of milling one side and flipping over and do the other side and doing multiple at a time! so i would be just left with a thin piece of material around the outer shape of the lure that i would have to manually cut out myself and hand sand off id assume?

drilling holes and cutting the slot for the plastic bib manually does not worry me at all. I just want the shape of the lure mad and the rest i can do by hand.

Yeah mate i do have 3d already made versions of the lure.

thanks heaps Tom

Much appreciated.

[Nico13]

Building is great if you like to make things and can save you a few bucks, depends a bit on how soon you want to get up and running.
I recently built my own 3 axis, see my blog HERE
This took me three months to build in my spare time and has a reasonable size work area of 650mm by 450mm and 150mm in the Z.
I've also had some issues with the computer gear driving it but it's now sorted so if you like to do a bit of building, I very much enjoyed building mine.
Machining one side and then the other is a great idea, just got to be careful with alignment on the flip side or even just do the one side with mirror imaged sides all at once and then just glue the two halves together, you cut the bib slots and holes with a separate tool path. Lots of different ways and lots info here and elsewhere.
Have a look at YouTube DIY CNC, some great ideas there and you can spend hours looking at it.
I recommend you have a real good look before you decide which way you go.

Nico.

[seannico]

Nico,

Thanks for your reply mate.

Your telling me! theres so many youtube vids to sift through and so much info on everything! the hardest part is narrowing it all down to something you want and can use!

Yeah I have definitely thought about mirroring the shape and glueing them together in 2 halves. ill experiment both ways i think. least if i do 2 halves i can add rattles and weights ect.

have you had any experience cutting lures? Bib slots ect?

Im looking at a CNC machine called the shapeoko 2. the dealer is in Sydney and seems like a very helpful guy. you have to assemble the kit from start to finish but it comes as whole kit with what ever upgrades you like.

Sean.

[Nico13]

Hi Sean,
No mate, I have made spinners and a few other lures but none with the bibs like what you're doing.
The Shapeoko looks like a reasonable unit and would most likely lend itself quite well to lure making.
You would certainly get it going a lot quicker than building one from scratch like I did.
Does it come with all the drive electronics ready to plug in and go?

[seannico]

Yeah it comes with everything you need to plug and play! i only need the cam software. which im looking at CAMBAM.

[tgdavies]

MeshCAM is a good CAM program for smooth shapes and two sided machining -- I'd recommend giving that a try.

[awerby]

Give DeskProto a try: DeskProto: 3D CNC machining for non-machinists. It supports the 4th axis with various toolpath strategies, and has a number of "wizards" to make setting up the programs easy. You can use it free for a month, and after that it's quite inexpensive for hobbyists.

[seannico]

thanks for the advice guys! much appreciated. Ill have a squiz at them

[RCaffin]

You are doomed.

Cheers
Roger

[Nico13]

You are doomed.

Cheers
Roger

Interesting comment there Roger. To coin a phrase of a well known political lady (please explain)

[daniellyall]

have a look at fusion 360 to

[RCaffin]

(please explain)

Becoming interested in CNC is a a terminal illness from which there is no recovery ...
(It's a joke, you know? But with some truth.)

Chers
Roger

[daniellyall]

it is a illness most that like cnc are all ways trying ways to make everything better

[Nico13]

Ah yes I see, I also have that illness with another hobby, that of astronomy.
Bigger is always better.
And now it's cnc as well.

[Bad Wolf]

Becoming interested in CNC is a a terminal illness from which there is no recovery ...
(It's a joke, you know? But with some truth.)

Chers
Roger

Yes but the beauty of having a CNC addiction is that you can make your own upgrades My CNC isn't even finished and it is making parts for itself.