difalkner Posted January 6, 2019 Report Share Posted January 6, 2019 This was not a difficult project but the Walnut is so pretty I figured I'd show y'all. Originally they wanted me to cut all the detail in the IG Badge but it was over 19,000 nodes and it brought Fusion 360 and my computer, which ain't too shabby a computer, to its knees. Each time I would make a slight change in the file to clean up a jagged edge or something it took my computer and F360 about 15 minutes to refresh and hand control back to me. Ultimately we settled on the trophy shop doing the detail on the laser and I would just cut the outline and add the block on the bottom for a brass plate. This has a couple of coats of Nitrocellulose sanding sealer and gloss lacquer and it's about 14" tall x 9 1/2" wide. The knot and cracks look far more pronounced in the photo than in reality and are very smooth. There will be so much laser burning in this area that I don't think it will be noticed anyway. When I talked to them a couple of days ago they indicated they'll probably want 10 to 12 of these. Here's the graphic - Front - Close up - Back - Like I said, not difficult or really worth of a thread but I just love the Walnut so y'all get to see it. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted January 6, 2019 Report Share Posted January 6, 2019 Where ya gonna get 10 or 12 more pieces like that! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted January 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2019 I actually have some but what they'll get for the next ones are the straight grained Walnut. It's rare for me to use the figured woods for a trophy blank but I just decided to on this one. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted January 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2019 The laser shop did the engraving on the IG Badge and while I would love to have done it all on the CNC, I think it probably looks better engraved on the laser. What do y'all think? David 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 18, 2019 Report Share Posted January 18, 2019 What do you use for a laser engraver? That looks nice and crisp did you follow with paint? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted January 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2019 Oh, I didn't do the engraving. I do work for a local laser shop, a very busy laser shop, and they did the engraving. I have just been waiting on them to engrave this so I could post an update. We both use CorelDraw and swap files back and forth. They sent me the artwork and I took the outline as an svg out of CorelDraw and brought it into Fusion 360 to do the CAD/CAM portion. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalWoody Posted June 6, 2019 Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 That turned out really nice, I love walnut too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted June 6, 2019 Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 I need to be more open minded and quit not looking at this topic as I don’t have a Cnc. Great looking piece David! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted June 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 Thanks, Guys! I know what you mean, Coop. I don't have a lathe but I really like seeing what those guys turn. And they use bandsaws, table saws, planers, joiners, miter saws, etc. to get that piece to work on the lathe. Same with the CNC for me - it's just another tool in the shop. I turn it on, use it, turn it off, and then move on to the next tool in the lineup. Sometimes it's the final step and sometimes it's just one tool of many to get to the final project completion. David 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted June 6, 2019 Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 You turn out some lovely pieces, Dave! Like Ken, I tend to breeze past many of the CNC posts. Not biased against those that use such machines, but after staring at screens all day for my income, the last thing I want in my hobby is a computer. You sure make it look inviting, though! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted June 6, 2019 Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 After using the ShopBot at the makers space near me I am a convert. These are very clever and useful tools. There's one for sale in the market place and I am resisting the urge, for a lot of good reasons, but it's still an effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
difalkner Posted June 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 They are really quite handy tools. You can very easily let the CNC dominate your woodworking and greatly shift your mindset to nothing but CNC work, but I prefer to just use it as another tool in the shop. There are some pieces we sell on Etsy and these designs have come about because we have a CNC. But there are others where the CNC just makes the job quicker, easier, and therefore more profitable - just a better tool for the job. Sometimes I use the CNC for very simple tasks and sometimes the engineering side of me takes over and manipulating the work piece on the spoilboard coupled with multiple bit changes begins to look like a choreographed work of art (or nightmare )! Below is a simple cut I made yesterday for our mailman. He has a CarveWright machine and engraved a sheet of acrylic but the engraving didn't come out like he wanted, so he asked me to just cut the outer circle. It took all of 5 minutes to draw it up in Fusion 360 and generate the G-code. Then I found center of the circle and used carpet tape to hold the circle and clamps to hold the entire piece. The cut took about 30 seconds. In this case the CNC was the perfect tool for the job, far better result than if I had used the bandsaw or rigged a way to cut this with a hand held router. David 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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