Small CNC job

[ddewees]

I'm restoring a rather primative antique model of a mile-long bridge that spanned Lake Champlain until it was condemned and demolished two years ago. The full-size structure consisted of a series of steel truss spans on masonry pylons. The modeler cut the 16 inch long web trusses (probably with a scroll saw and drilling many starter holes) from solid 1/4" pine, which means most of the individual chords of the web ended up with short grain and essentially zero strength. Much of it has been trashed beyond repairing, but enough remains of the trusses (and some other parts, like hand rails) that patterns can be made. My thought is that some of these assemblies could be replicated using CNC routings in 1/4" ply. Is this a practical approach, considering that only a few duplicate pieces would be needed? The only alternative I can think of is to get someone to do essentially what the original modeler did, except use plywood instead of solid stock. I don't have easy access to a jig/scroll saw myself, so I'll need to get help in any case. I guess the next question is who might I find locally (north western Vermont region)who could help, particularly if I go the CNC route?

Thanks for any suggestions,

Don in Vermont

[R Jones]

Don,

Based on your description I would agree that using a CNC my be just the ticket. If you were in the Phoenix area I could certainly take care of you but... Take a look at 100kgarages.com and see if someone can help you out there?? If you still have no luck shoot me a PM and I will see what I can do for you.

Good luck,

Ron

[ddewees]

Ron, thanks for the lead. I see there is a fabber 5 miles from me (I've driven past a hundred times!) Will follow up here first.

Thanks again,

Don

Don,

Based on your description I would agree that using a CNC my be just the ticket. If you were in the Phoenix area I could certainly take care of you but... Take a look at 100kgarages.com and see if someone can help you out there?? If you still have no luck shoot me a PM and I will see what I can do for you.

Good luck,

Ron

[R Jones]

Awesome, hope it works out well for you:)

[ddewees]

Ron,

Just to close the loop: the folks nearby couldn't do the job in time and referred me to another shop a few miles down the road. They have a laser setup and turned it around in a couple of days for very little money. The result is perfect: everything very crisp and clean, and with many sharp intersections accurately reproduced. The model is almost done, and I will meet the deadline. Thanks again for putting me on the right track. (I even learned a thing or two about vector files!)

Don in Vermont

Ron, thanks for the lead. I see there is a fabber 5 miles from me (I've driven past a hundred times!) Will follow up here first.

Thanks again,

Don

[JayWC]

Don,

Please post photos when you're done!!!

Jay

Ron,

Just to close the loop: the folks nearby couldn't do the job in time and referred me to another shop a few miles down the road. They have a laser setup and turned it around in a couple of days for very little money. The result is perfect: everything very crisp and clean, and with many sharp intersections accurately reproduced. The model is almost done, and I will meet the deadline. Thanks again for putting me on the right track. (I even learned a thing or two about vector files!)

Don in Vermont

[R Jones]

Good to hear it worked out well for you!

[Bobby Slack]

One way to find CNC job shops is to call the manufacturers of big machines and thew will have plenty of leads. So here is a list. Stiles Machinery, Biesse, SCMI, Busselatto. If you call these guys, they will probably have a list of job shops in your area.

[ddewees]

Thanks all for the helpful information. I may not need this kind of machine work done again, but am glad to see there is a community of knowledgeable folks here who are keeping track of the trade and willing to assist when neophytes wander in with questions. BTW, I have tried to attach photos of my project, but have not yet figured out how to both cut down file size and do the attaching so that the site will accept them. I imagine a lot of you have encountered and solved this problem (?)

Don in Vermont