[PLJack]

Had a job 3D printing some flexible F2 battery terminal covers.
This was the fourth and last delivery. Been using each delivery as a test ground for coming up with a signature Ponder Labs box for items.
Fourth attempt shown below. I should be able to scale this box in all directions depending on the size of the item.
Still working it out but this was by far the best result. In fact the client said I should just sell the boxes.
Yes. more dowels. I should change my name from Ponder Labs to "Wood dowel labs llc"

Basically its a slot assembly.



Pretty much goes together in a couple steps.





Then just a slide cover. Did not take good picture of it but there is another dowel on the cover for grabbing with your fingers. Can kind of see it in the top view.





Ready to go out the door.





Thanks.
Jack

[ericks]

Great work!!

[Ntl]

That's some rad packaging!! Just curious what kind of printer do you have? I'm really interested in getting one, but I'm not sure if I will use it enough. I also had such a bad experience with a DTG printer that I cringe when I hear the p word. If I get one I want to be sure that it's not going to be a constant project. I need it to just work and be low to no maintnence. Any info would be great.

Dan

[PLJack]

Great work!!

Thanks Ericks.

[PLJack]

That's some rad packaging!! Just curious what kind of printer do you have? I'm really interested in getting one, but I'm not sure if I will use it enough. I also had such a bad experience with a DTG printer that I cringe when I hear the p word. If I get one I want to be sure that it's not going to be a constant project. I need it to just work and be low to no maintnence. Any info would be great.
Dan

Hi NTL.
I have a WitBox version 1. I bought it new for $600 when they released their version 2 model. Which is about 1/3 of what they cost.
Not sure you can justify spending $1800 now a days. The printers have come a long way since then. There are a lot of good models out there for ~$500.

Check out Makers Muse
He has reviews of dozens of printers from a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars.
Same for The 3D printing Nerd.
Surf those two and you should have a good understanding of what is out there.

All of them are not ready for prime time. Very finicky beasts. Not something that aunt Marsha or uncle Joe will be able to use. People on this forum should have no real issues though.
As for my WitBox I have been very happy with it. It's been a couple/few years now. Never had a issue mechanically. To complete the job I mentioned it was running 24/7 for a month. Took it like a champ.

With any 3D printer you can expect about 10% to 20% printing failure rate. That will never change. There are just too many variables depending on the item you want to print.
And tweaking the print setting for each new item. Lots of tweaking.
That being said once you get that nailed down its very reliable. That is what you are after in a 3D printer. Consistency. Otherwise you will be chasing your tail.

My only real advise is to make sure the printer will take standard filament and standard reels. The printer makers are up to their old tricks of proprietary consumables lately. Very disappointing.
BTW that includes MakerBot since Stratasys bought them.

It's not all gloom and doom though. Like I said the printers, and more importantly, the software have come a long way over the last couple of years.
It took me about 15 minutes to model and a couple of hours to print this part last night with no tweaking or fuss. Needs a little tweak though now that I see the picture





Thanks
Jack.

[Ntl]

Thanks Jack, that's what I was worried about. Like I have said before I spent a rediculous amount on a DTG printer a while back and it never worked right. It was the most frustrating and expensive learning experience I have ever had. I finally got rid of it for a massive loss and swore I would never make that mistake again. That's why I was wondering if the 3d machines were mature enough to mess with yet. I was also wondering if it was the same deal where the print heads are always acting up and needing to be replaced. Obviously it won't be like the ink print heads that cost $500+ a pop and get clogged if you don't use them constantly. But I just wanted to know what kind of matence they require and if there are issues if you don't use it alot. Also I was wondering if you knew anything about the Prusa or the cheaper clones that are supposed to be good. I'm just wondering if I would be throwing money away if I got a cheap one like 200-300 range or if I would be better saving up for the Prusa since everything I've read says it's on par with much more expensive printers.

Any thoughts would be great!

Thank you,
Dan

[wmgeorge]

I have a two or three year old MakerGear M3, which I have not used for a while. Uses standard everything but its not cheap hobby grade. Expect to pay$800 used and $2000 or so new. Its as solid as a rock and just works. Simplify 3D is the program to get, not free but it works.

[Ntl]

I have a two or three year old MakerGear M3, which I have not used for a while. Uses standard everything but its not cheap hobby grade. Expect to pay$800 used and $2000 or so new. Its as solid as a rock and just works. Simplify 3D is the program to get, not free but it works.

So sounds like it's going to be a while before I get one lol. My next big thing is going to be a table top mill that I'm going to convert to a Acorn controlled CNC or a small lathe.

[PLJack]

That's why I was wondering if the 3d machines were mature enough to mess with yet.

I would say yes. If you can handle a Saturn you can take on a modern 3D printer.

I was also wondering if it was the same deal where the print heads are always acting up and needing to be replaced. Obviously it won't be like the ink print heads that cost $500+ a pop and get clogged if you don't use them constantly. But I just wanted to know what kind of matence they require and if there are issues if you don't use it alot.

No issues with print heads. They were quite poor in the early days. Depends on what you put through them. If you pump a dozen rolls of wood fiber or carbon fiber filament, both abrasive, you will wear out the head.
I use mostly PLA which is pretty soft. Heads are easy to change as well. I would stick with the 1.75mm filament heads.

Also I was wondering if you knew anything about the Prusa or the cheaper clones that are supposed to be good.

I hear a lot of good things about that printer. Makers Muse on youTube has a lot of coverage on that brand.

I'm just wondering if I would be throwing money away if I got a cheap one like 200-300 range or if I would be better saving up for the Prusa since everything I've read says it's on par with much more expensive printers.
Any thoughts would be great!
Thank you,
Dan

Can't really recommend you buy a sub $300 printer. $500 and above should work fine. Make sure it has a heated bed. Most do now a days. Some don't. Mine does not so large PLA prints can be a challenge.

Jack.

[ger21]

From my limited research, the Prusa i3 MK3S seems to have a lot more features that the $500 printers. I plan on getting one later this year, if I stop buying other stuff.

[wmgeorge]

MakerGear also used to sell a kit, I do not know if they still do or not.

[Ntl]

From my limited research, the Prusa i3 MK3S seems to have a lot more features that the $500 printers. I plan on getting one later this year, if I stop buying other stuff.

I just wanted to know if all the hype around it was legit. I've read multiple places that it is as good as printers that cost 3-4 time's as much. So it's good to hear that it's not all paid advertisement if you're getting one. Let us know know how it prints when you get it. The thing looks so cheap with all the 3d printed part's, but all I care about is the print quality. If it really performs like the claims than it sounds like a great tool to add to the shop.

Dan

[PLJack]

I've lost track of what version this is. Normally I only change versions when the process changes.
The file says V10. So I'm going with that.

The biggest change is that it's no longer a Yin Yang paperweight. More of a tadpole paperweight now. I kinda like it better.
I added the extra "eyeball" to solve the issue of the tail point of the yin/yang tapering to infinity.
I found that it's not possible to reliably mill that tail to a fine point.
With the half eye in the way it takes the point down to about 0.25 mm. A little easier to deal with.

This one still has issues with gaps but I'm getting closer to something that I can sell.
These are harder than they look. Lot's of problems to solve in order to make a lot of them.

Purpleheart for the base. Redheart and a not so spalted maple for the tadpoles.
With a few light coats of teak oil.
Edit: After applying the teak oil I noticed that the different woods have raised. The feel needs to be super flat for effect.
Any suggestions on what to coat oily hardwoods with that will not make the grain swell?










Thanks.
Jack.

[Ntl]

Looks good! Have you tried polyurethane? That's what I used to seal my frames and it dries pretty fast seems to work well for my parts.

Dan

[PLJack]

Looks good! Have you tried polyurethane? That's what I used to seal my frames and it dries pretty fast seems to work well for my parts.
Dan

Thanks Dan.
Do you find that poly raises the grain?

Jack.

[GME]

Edit: After applying the teak oil I noticed that the different woods have raised. The feel needs to be super flat for effect.
Any suggestions on what to coat oily hardwoods with that will not make the grain swell?

Thanks.
Jack.

Jack

While oil based finishes aren't supposed to raise grain, I've seen it happen with most of them. Not often, but it happens - as you've seen. Are you getting the fuzzies most often associated with grain raising, or are you getting something more like swelling? If fuzzies, light sanding to remove them + recoat with finish is about the only answer.

Shellac probably isn't a good substitute, because it's pretty soft. Also, for whatever reason, I've experience grain raising more often with it than other non-water borne finishes.

Your best bet may be lacquer. It dries super fast and doesn't soak in like other finishes. Deft makes a decent brushing lacquer. I'm not a big Minwax fan, but they also make a brushing lacquer. If you have a spray rig, you can do a lot better job. Get Sherwin Williams SHER-WOOD CAB acrylic lacquer. It comes in various sheens. It's what they call "water white" (doesn't yellow over time like the old time nitrocellulose lacquers) and dries to the touch within a few minutes of spraying. You can lay down multiple coats pretty quickly. To give you an idea of how fast it dries, I built an overspray setup with filters. When I shoot the stuff, the overspray is dry by the time is reached the first stage filters. When I spray a lot, the overspray can really build up on the filters. All I have to do is vacuum it off and I'm good to go. Very nice stuff. I keep it on hand in my shop as it is one of my go-to finishes.

If you don't have spray equipment, you may want to consider investing in it, especially if you plan to sell a lot of stuff. Can''t beat it for speed and finish quality. The biggest impediment for many is the air compressor. I use an 80 gal 2 stage, and it runs a lot while I'm spraying. The pro HVLP guns take a lot of air. My main go-to gun is a CAT Jaguar gravity feed, which has Stainless passages; Allows you to spray water borne finishes. They have what is called a CAT Pack, which includes multiple needles, nozzles and air caps. Some are geared more to automotive. Others for woodworking. A great gun, but pricey (almost $400). Here's a link to one offering, if you think you might be interested: LYNK 100H Lynx Spray Gun. The site I linked to has a large inventory of different makes and models. Asturo is decent. I have their mini gun kit. Iwata is a great Japanese made gun. It's LVLP (Low Volume Low Pressure), which allows you to get by with a somewhat smaller compressor. More expensive than the CAT by the time you add nozzle sets. Asturo's SS woodworking gun is LVLP (about 6 cfm @40#), so it uses a lot less air and delivers a nice finish. The cost for a kit is less than either CAT or Iwata.

Having said all that, you can get a decent (but not 1st class) finish with about any gun - even one of the cheapos from Harbor Freight. I have a couple. I use them for primers and enamels when shooting "nothing special" steel projects, e.g., I have an antique steel outdoor dining set that I used the Harbor Freight to prime and paint.

Probably way more information than you wanted. If so, sorry.

Gary

[PLJack]

Thanks Gary. No such thing as too much information.
As for the swelling it's not fuzzies. The top face needs to be perfectly smooth for a nice hand effect. I carefully sand all the way down to 400 grit until its super smooth.
After applying finish, and it dries, I can feel the difference between the woods. Especially with the eyes. I've gone back a resanded after finish and then applied a super light coat.
Same effect. I was hoping to get away from the gloss look but I may have to go down that path. Worth a test at least.


Thanks.

[Ntl]

Thanks Dan.
Do you find that poly raises the grain?

Jack.

This is what I've been using and I haven't noticed that, but I haven't done any inlays yet. Maybe try a small can of it? I like it so far, you put a light coat sand and repeat.

Dan

[ger21]

What type of glue are you using? It may just be wood movement.

[GME]

Thanks Gary. No such thing as too much information.
As for the swelling it's not fuzzies. The top face needs to be perfectly smooth for a nice hand effect. I carefully sand all the way down to 400 grit until its super smooth.
After applying finish, and it dries, I can feel the difference between the woods. Especially with the eyes. I've gone back a resanded after finish and then applied a super light coat.
Same effect. I was hoping to get away from the gloss look but I may have to go down that path. Worth a test at least.


Thanks.

Okay, Jack. I think I understand the issue and have a couple of suggestions.

I perceive the issue to be a "tactile" one, i.e., pupleheart, redheart and maple all have a somewhat different "feel" to them. This isn't uncommon when combining species of wood with different characteristics. I haven't worked with purpleheart much, and never with redheart. I don't recall purpleheart being a particularly open grained wood like oak, walnut or mahogany. The sources I looked at suggest that purpleheart and redheart may have similar properties. However, neither appears much like a very closed grained wood like maple. It's more than open vs closed grain though. Grain "patterns" and all sort of subtle differences can come into play. When sanded properly, the differences may not seem all that obvious, or even particularly detectable. However, once you've applied a finish - even one coat, the differences come out and can seem accentuated. Does that describe it?

First, I would forget about using teak oil. I believe you need to build up the surface to get past the wood differences and get to a perfectly flat glass smooth finish.

You can try a water based grain filler to get past surface imperfections. They are pricey, and are tough to use. I've used a product called CrystaLac for years. With that product, you have to throw out the instructions. It's not as easy was wipe on/squeegee off, as the instructions suggest. It dries to fast. I sometimes thin it with a very small amount of water, which slows drying enough to get the excess off. If I recall correctly, the instructions say you can sand in 30 minutes. I've never been that lucky. If you try to sand too soon, the stuff gums up your sandpaper. You just have to keep checking to until is comes off in a nice fine powder. Unless you are a finish hound, like me, you may want to skip this method.

There are other water based filler products on the market, but I haven't tried any of them. I have almost 2 quarts of CrystaLac on hand, which will last a very long time. You may want to research them, including reading the reviews. One may do the trick for you. It may be faster than the alternative.

The other way to handle the problem is to apply several coats of finish, letting each coat dry before adding the next. You keep going until you've built you a surface thickness sufficient to get past the differences in the wood. From where I sit, no way to estimate how many coats it will take. Probably at least 6. You don't have to keep going and hope you put down enough. Put down several, and lightly sand. If it feels okay, put down an final coat and you should be good. Lacquer is the fastest way to go, because it dries so fast. You didn't say whether you have spray equipment, so I'll assume you don't. I mentioned deft brushing lacquer before. That's one way to go. What I forgot to mention is that Deft also comes in spray cans. My local Home Depot carries spray in satin, semi gloss and gloss. It's about $6/can. The brush on will probably go on a little thicker, so brushing may get you there in less overall time.

Dan suggested polyurethane. You could do that, but it will be slower. I'm not a fan of most Minwax products, so his recommendation would be low on my list of brands. I don't use poly much, but when I do, I usually use Varthane or General Finishes brands. If memory serves, I used Varthane on a 16' oak handrail I installed recently. It came out nice. I think I used about 4 coats over a couple of days. You have to be careful with poly. Unlike lacquer, if you let poly dry too long before recoating, you don't get good adhesion. You have sand again, but it's not as good as it would be if you didn't wait too long.

Hope this helps.

Gary