[notimeforwork]

I think the wierink joints might be 4 axis routings anyways.they sure are pretty, and if you could do something similar, I'm sure you'd have a pocket full of money...

Still, I will be looking forward to see what you finally release as version 1.0.

[WasteOfSpace]

I think the wierink joints might be 4 axis routings

I see nothing in the joint that would require a 4th axis.

Bob Willson

[notimeforwork]

Looking at it more closely - you are right, there isn't a need for fourth axis.

[zool]

Found this idea, might have application to Ger's endeavors


EL34's CNC P5

[ger21]

For anyone interested, I'm still working on this, and making pretty good progress.

I've re-written a lot of the code 2 or 3 times, to both simplify it and add more features.

Right now, I can do just about any type of half blind dovetails anyone could want. Or I will by the end of the week. I spent all day yesterday getting the code seen in the screen shots.

It'll also output both Mach3 g-code and ShopBot code.

The bad thing, though, is that all these dovetail options add a lot of complexity, which takes a lot of time. It may take 6 months to a year before I get it finished. Although I do expect it to go quicker once the full dovetails are finished

The sample in the pic is off a little due to my test fixture not being in the right position on my machine.

[GaryCorlew]

Looks Good Gerry!!

[RonaldoNZ]

Impressive

Sent from my Vodafone 875 using Tapatalk

[notimeforwork]

Any further update on this project? It looks very promising at the point of the last post.

Sent from my HTC EVO 3D X515a using Tapatalk

[ger21]

Half blind dovetails are finished, and I'm currently working on full through dovetails.

[Gallchobhair]

I am ready to buy depending on price.

[lambodesigns]

I am ready to buy depending on price.

Same here. I did these cuts programming the code by hand but it sure would be nice not to have to do that again. Just finished up a new dovetail fixture today so I'm ready to roll.

[CarveOne]

That's a seriously nice looking joint, having three different color woods like that.

[TOTALLYRC]

Awesome work.
I can't wait to retire so I can busier at home than I am at work.
Mike

[lambodesigns]

Thanks guys... The joints are based on ones from incra and looking forward to trying some different things now that I've got the cnc dialed in a little better. It has been a lot of learning.... and starting over... but lurking on here has taught me a lot and it is amazing how many times I read something and said "now that makes sense" and the name next to it was ger21.

[ger21]

Sorry to say that my software won't do those joints easily. Or at least not automatically. You'd probably need to either do a CAD drawing to get dimensions, or do some trig.

The main issue is that I specify pin and tail widths, and the software varies the spacing to accommodate this. A joint like that requires a constant spacing (center to center distance) for each of the different woods, but at different depths.

If you have a CAD drawing, you can just enter the numbers from the drawing, and it should be pretty easy. But there's nothing built in to automate a joint like this.

It still should be a lot faster than an Incra jig, or hand coding, though.

I've been working on the code for through dovetails for the last week or two, and there's a lot of trig involved, but I have it mostly figured out. It'll still be another 2-4 weeks of coding to get all the dovetail work done, though.

[lambodesigns]

Pretty much there is nothing easy about those joints However, they are all cut at the same depth but in a multi-step process. I used corel to lay them out and stared the programming with sheetcam but had to do some hand coding so that it wouldn't lift at the end of the cut, etc. The maple is cut first, then the next layer is cut (extra thick) and glued in. That "ribbon" piece is cut as dovetail slots and then you trim off what you need. Once glued it is cut 3/32" deep to match what the inner dovetail will be and routed. The corner blocks are then routed as separate pieces and the inside corner is trimmed out so the joints show on the inside of the box. The joint showing on the inside is my deviation on the incra design. There would still need to be some hand programming to do these but I'm getting ready to do a bunch of standard half-blind drawers for our house and your software would be just the ticket. It still looks like your software would help out a lot on cutting the incra joints but it wouldn't be something straight forward to do nor would I ever expect it to do that.... my head hurts enough trying to make them let alone try and program for all the steps.... especially leaving the extra 1/8" between one of the joints for the saw kerf when I cut it apart.

[jim_r53]

It still should be a lot faster than an Incra jig, or hand coding, though.

I've been working on the code for through dovetails for the last week or two, and there's a lot of trig involved, but I have it mostly figured out. It'll still be another 2-4 weeks of coding to get all the dovetail work done, though.

Gerry,

Do you have any pics of cutting the pins and tails and specifically how you have the pieces secured for the cuts?

[ger21]

There's a You Tube video in post #39 showing how the half blind dovetails are cut.
My machine can't actually hold vertical pieces, so I made a fixture to cut short samples for testing.

Ideally, you want to vertical fences to locate the vertical boards. Depending on which axis you're using, one of the fences is the Zero position. You'd also want horizontal fences in line with the vertical fences. When cutting half blind sets, a spacer is required for the horizontal boards. The software tells you the spacer thickness.

[jim_r53]

Thanks Gerry,

Either I missed the video or merely forgot that I had watched it.

I haven't started by build yet and in thinking about your dovetail program I have been contemplating incorporating an opening in the bottom similar to what Mac did in his X2S. Hmmm.

[ger21]

Finally finished the code for through dovetails, and went out to do a test cut. Came out great. I think.
The scrap pine I'm using has a big cup across it's width. I clamped it to my fixture to take the bow out.
After cutting the parts, they appeared to not fit correctly, as if the spacing was slightly off. With the first tail lined up, the last one appeared to be 1/32" off. I was about to start digging through my code to check where the error was, but decided to try clamping it back onto the fixture. Once I did that, I was able to slide it together. The fit is very good.
I still need to code the opposite handed version of these, but I'm making good progress.