[DBMacKay]

Hi All,

I am fairly new to the CNC game and V-Carve. I have a project that I would like to finish that I have had on the back burner forever. I have couple of old fashioned school desks that come out of my wife's fathers' school. When the school was torn down the desks were left outside for many years. I rescued a couple of them from a wheat field in the Big Beaver School Section about 20 years ago. To say the least they were a mess. About five years ago I started working on them. None of the wood parts were salvageable but I did keep them for measurements. The metal parts were sand blasted and powder coated black and I must say they do look spiffy. Now to the problem: replacing the wooden parts which were made from hard maple. The seat backs and desktops are not a problem as they are flat they just require jointing several pieces together and cutting to size. The seats however are a different issue. The the joinery they originally used in the factory at the C.O. & School Furniture company, Preston Ontario, used a specialized very large canoe bit cut the joint as well as a formed plates to form the seat.

As the finished product is going to be ornamental, I was not concerned about the joint strength. I found a 3/4" bull nose/ogee combo to cut the joints and set up the angles so the initial seat had the profile I wanted. I then made a form out of 2 x 4's that followed the contour that I wanted, made sure the maple I was using was not kiln dried, tossed it in the steamer, took it out and placed it in the form and the results were terrible. There was hardly any bend at all so it looked more like a corduroy road. I am assuming that this is because the manufacturer was using high pressure steel clamping plates and steam during the process so it was being bent and steamed at the same time.

So I came up with the brilliant idea that I could mill it out of a block of solid Maple. In theory it is simple enough but in practice I have now idea how to replicate the curve required in V-Carve or if it is even possible. I included a picture of the curve that has to milled out of the block as you look at is side on. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Dan

[Mike 1948]

Vcarve cannot create a 3D model of the "curved" seat. You would have to have Aspire or have someone create the 3D model then import it into Vcarve for machining. Or make the seat flat since: "As the finished product is going to be ornamental"

Mike

[KOC62]

I too am at the phase of selecting software to do the 3D modelling. I can't justify the Aspire cost yet, so I'm looking at other options.
Have a look a look at FreeCAD and see if you can model the seat with it. It does 3D parametric modelling.
Then there is Sketchup to try.

I like the "original" restoration venture, rather than the "flat" seat method.

Give your basic seat dimensions (L X W X thickness) and perhaps someone here could model it for you?

[Mike 1948]

I too am at the phase of selecting software to do the 3D modelling. I can't justify the Aspire cost yet, so I'm looking at other options.
Have a look a look at FreeCAD and see if you can model the seat with it. It does 3D parametric modelling.
Then there is Sketchup to try.

I like the "original" restoration venture, rather than the "flat" seat method.

Give your basic seat dimensions (L X W X thickness) and perhaps someone here could model it for you?

Dan,
I just downloaded FreeCAD and modeled up a curved piece and it seemed to work fairly well. I then exported a OBJ and STL file from it. They both imported into Aspire just fine. That means the import should work for Vcarve8, also and you should be able to create toolpaths for machining.

Good Luck
Mike

[DBMacKay]

Vcarve cannot create a 3D model of the "curved" seat. You would have to have Aspire or have someone create the 3D model then import it into Vcarve for machining. Or make the seat flat since: "As the finished product is going to be ornamental"

Mike

Hi Mike,

After a little research I discovered the same thing. I have been seriously considering purchasing Aspire anyway. I can't leave it flat as the seat has to follow he curve of the metal seat support or it would look pretty cheesy. A simple two rail sweep would do exactly what I need.

Thanks for the responses all.

Dan