Small CNC machines

Four Suns

Four Suns

Not a pot stirrer
TECHNICAL Contributor
Oct 4, 2006
10,533
Williamsburg, VA
Boat Info
2003 480 DB
Engines
QSM-11 Diesels
I know there are some woodworkers on this board. Does anyone have any experience with the small CNC machines that have come out over the last few years for home wood/workshops? I know Sears has one and then there is another called Carvewright and if you do a search, it appears many others are coming to market. The Sears one seems to have a bad reputation for reliability but I'm not so sure some of this is from using it for more than it was designed for ("I had 50 parts to get out by noon and it broke on day 60").

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921754000P

I'm sure the thing would do great with starboard.

If you make faceplates, brackets, and stuff for electronics (boat, house, etc), these things sure would make life a lot easier and the prices have come way way down on them...

Anyone have experience with them?
 
I've seen them, but can't justify the cost (yet). A buddy of mine is a machinist, so I have had him do some waterjet stuff when precision is needed, but I have seen the infomercial about this thing and it looks pretty versatile and cool.
I have a DeWalt Planer.....but this thing seems pretty interesting.

I don't have any personal experience with it though.
What are you trying to make?

The local guy who will be doing our vinyl signs also has a laser and does some custom dash panels for boats, etc.
Todd%20-%20Nehalennia%20-%20Rev%20003.jpg
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I don't have any personal experience with it, but one of the pilots at work is really big into wood working (has a portable mill, planers, you name it)... He had the sears CNC machine and he seems to like it.

I personally will no longer buy any power tools of any sorts from sears (still love the hand tools!); I feel the quality just is not on par with other brands out there (Milwaukee and dewalt just to name a couple). BUT that isn't to say they are junk. And I imagine when used as a hobby, the longevity of the sears CNC wouldn't be an issue. As you said, it's not marketed as a commercial tool; using it as part of a production process is obviously not what it was designed for and would accelerate the speed at which it runs through it's useful life.
 
Another approach that saves the $2000 up front cost for a machine with limited use is to get a local sign shop that engraves name plates for doors, desks, etc to engrave what you want in regular nylon cover plates.

The other problem I see on a small unit like your example is that you are size limited by whatver you can clamp in place in a manner that will not allow the part to flex. I know the ad copy says it will do an unlimited length, but when you get a part so big that the end isn't adequately supported, it will move or wiggle and when that happens the quality of what you are working on goes to pot.
 
I have both a lathe and mill from www.sherline.com.

Haven't used them for the boat yet but you could build all sorts of small to moderate parts.

I have manual ones but they have CNC packages as well. Reputable company, good service, highly recommend.


6000pic400.jpg
 
If anyone needs anything engraved on a metal/plastic plate, my Dad has an engraver that can accomodate something up to around the 15" wide range?? I'd have to double check.

He just did an engraving the other day for a documented vessel (the documented numbers).

Let me know.

Doug
 
I would have thought there were more people with machine shop experience here... but a 3 axis mill is a very different animal than a laser cutter, water jet cutter, etc.

I haven't used the Craftsman, my experience is all industrial, mills up to 100+' and even then, all I have to do is look at them every couple of years. I have some friends that do small work for hobby stuff and a few months ago were talking about the Craftsman. My main memory, poor reliability, weak mechanicals (chatter, accuracy issues). No, these people weren't looking at putting out production levels either... just small work every now and then. Their feelings were there was better out there for the same price... but I'm sorry, I don't remember their recommendation.

I'm sort of spoiled; out here, we used to have a surplus center for a large aerospace manufacturer that started outsourcing everything so surplus sales was filled with all sorts of goodies (a lot of mills too). You might get better results with a used mill. But then again, what are you planning on using for CAD/CAM software... have a copy of ProE or CATIA and a translator?
 
Four Suns said:
I know there are some woodworkers on this board. Does anyone have any experience with the small CNC machines that have come out over the last few years for home wood/workshops? I know Sears has one and then there is another called Carvewright and if you do a search, it appears many others are coming to market. The Sears one seems to have a bad reputation for reliability but I'm not so sure some of this is from using it for more than it was designed for ("I had 50 parts to get out by noon and it broke on day 60").

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921754000P

I'm sure the thing would do great with starboard.

If you make faceplates, brackets, and stuff for electronics (boat, house, etc), these things sure would make life a lot easier and the prices have come way way down on them...

Anyone have experience with them?
Click to expand...
A while back I checked into these things. The Sears unit is made by CarveWright. At that time identical machines but lower price from CarveWright. They are basically a hobbyist tool, very slow with many limitations. Work quality/resolution is low to medium due to limited tooling choices and other things. There was better stuff out there but also larger price tags.
 
I have fully functional demo copies of ProE and CATIA around here somewhere from when I was selling engineering workstations. Wonder where that stuff landed?

Best regards,
Frank
 
Here are some toys I have; they come in very handy when we need something from scratch :grin:

cncmill-04.jpg


cnc-p-3.jpg


CNC-p-2.jpg


CNC-p-1.jpg


facility-equipment01.jpg


Definitily helps when you need a part for the boat they don't make anymore, or a tool to make maintenance easier. On my old boat we made a new cover for the impeller housing on the Westerbeke and a really cool winterization tool for strainers that made winterizing a breeze. On my Dad's boat (its older) we've made a few parts he couldn't get including a new hatch that Bomar discontinued.
 
I'd like to play on your playground when I need a tool!
 
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