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Thread: Am I crazy?

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    0

    Am I crazy?

    We are building a house ourselves and I told my wife that we could probably save ourselves some money and build our own DIY CNC router table (such as Joe's CNC) for building kitchen cabinets.

    I have not used a CNC machine before however I am very capable with Autocad, Solidworks, Rhino, etc. I also design and program embedded microcontrollers for work and feel fairly confident about building a CNC machine and in learning the software. But here in lies the real question - am I crazy.

    What are the gotchas that I should be considering?

    I would love to hear some opinions before I rush off into something I might regret.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    419
    Building a cnc with no experience takes time and energy.
    If the goal is to make kitchen cabinets during building the house I'd say forget it.

    Cnc would distract from the build.
    I also think that you can not beat the price of the base units.

    If you want the kitchen to look different than what you can buy off the shelve then cnc may be worth while but I use standard parts first and start cncing when the house is finished.
    Sven
    http://www.puresven.com/?q=building-cnc-router

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Posts
    35538
    My guess is that you won't save any money, and unless you have pretty good woodworking skills, you'll probably end up with an inferior product.
    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    0
    Well Ikea it is then. Sometimes realism is a bitter pill to swallow. Thanks for the advise and opinions.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    419
    Placing a standard kitchen is a breeze compared to making a cnc and then making a kitchen.

    Maybe a little bitter now but a lot less bitter in the end
    Sven
    http://www.puresven.com/?q=building-cnc-router

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    105
    Buy your cabinets but build your shop/garage large enough for a CNC router.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    483
    Quote Originally Posted by IBBruin View Post
    Buy your cabinets but build your shop/garage large enough for a CNC router.
    agreed

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    394
    Just a tip about buying cabinets.

    Spend the extra money and get the option for drawers built with Dovetails. The cheaper cabinets you buy off the shelf at Lowe's/Homedepot have drawr sides stapled or glued together and they come apart easily.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Posts
    590
    Here's an IKEA kitchen I did a year and a half ago. I don't see how you could ever do even something as simple as this cost effectively (if at all) with a home built cnc machine.

    Chris
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Kit_1.jpg   Kit_2.jpg   Kit_3.jpg   Kit_4.jpg  

    Kit_5.jpg  

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    394
    If you have enough experience in building cabinets, It can be done, but not with a router, unless you're doing the same style/size over and over again. For a 1 kitchen type job...I wouldn't even set up a cnc router. It's faster to cut the parts on a table saw, except for drilling the shelf holes.

    These big companies who manufacturer these cabinets, don't just have CNC Routers. They have CNC Routers with built-in Line Bore Drillers and Horizontal Line Boring, CNC Panel Saws, Edge Banders, and more. Most of them, smaller shops anyway, order their doors through companies like Design Craft Doors.

    There's alot of programming in the CNC's to get all the parts to come together right. Drilling for the drawer slides to fit perfectly, as well as for the door hinges. These routers have pod based systems. What I mean by that is, the cabinet parts sit on pods that use vaccuum to hold the part down. This allows the router to use horizontal drilling that is used for the predrilling for screws or dowels that hold the cabinets together.

    Also, you need to take into considerations installing. If you're not experienced in installing cabinets, you won't know some of the tricks. One of the tricks is to clamp the upper cabinets together, then predrill the frames for screws, before you put them up on the wall. But don't place your screw holes just anywhere, take off the hinge plates, if they are frame mounted hinges, and put the screws behind them. Then, after installing, put the hinges/doors back on, and all the screw holes are hidden. Makes installing easier. Also, at the same time, pre drill the nailer strips on the upper cabinets to attach it to wall. If you don't have help to hold the upper cabinet up on the wall, install the base first, then cut two pieces of 2x4 18" (standard height between counter and bottom of upper cabinet) and set the upper cabinet on top of those. Even with help, I'd advise doing this. WIth the holes predrilled in the correct spot for the frame and nailers, it makes it much easier to install.

    There's other tricks as well, like the plumbing under the sink. Whenever I installed cabinets, even if the customer didn't pay the extra money to do it, I would still do this trick anyway.....Unscrew the valves (or cut off) from the plumbing, where you only have the straight pipe coming out of the wall. Then measure correctly, and drill 1" holes where the pipes are, then slide the cabinet in place and fix the plumbing. It looks soooooo much nicer then just cutting a huge hole in the back of the cabinet and sliding it into place.

    Another trick....If you're applying crown molding in finished hardwood, meaning, you're not going to paint the stuff, make sure you place your pin nails (from pin nailer gun) in a dark grain. If you do that for every nail, then the putty you use will match up pretty well and make it hard to notice.

    Also, pay the extra money to get slab granite installed. Formica counter tops are just crap imo. Tiled counter tops are bad in my opinion for a kitchen. People don't understand how much cleaning is involved on an almost daily task. The bacteria gets into the grout lines and just hangs out. Plus, you're always having to apply sealer on it, which is a pain to do. If you do go with tile, don't use grout. Use the new Epoxy grout they have. You never have to seal it, however, it's messy to install. Solid surface counter tops, like Corian, is also a good choice, but make sure, just like the granite, that you find a good manufacturer/installer. There's nothing worse then staring at a huge glue line day after day. The really nice thing about solid surface...if you get a reall bad scratch in it, you can just usually sand it right out.

    If you choose to install your own cabinets, take your time on the measuring. Measure two or 3 times if you have to before drilling that hole.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2020
    Posts
    4

    Re: Am I crazy?

    Lol man no
    It's great idea

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