Hi, NOOB here

[artman60]

Hi everyone, my name is Artie, I'm new here, and in search of information. I have zero CNC experience, and very limited wood working experience. I just came into a small amount of money from my inheritance, and after the master bathroom gets remodeled, a new HVAC system gets installed, and a trip to Disney (We've never done a vacation that wasn't on the cheap, and the Missus has never been to Disney, I promised Ma, that was one of the things I would do with the money), I'm expecting to have just enough money to set up a small (very small) work shop in the basement of our townhouse. So to get to the point for the few that haven't moved onto the the next post already, I want to start making cribbage boards, not for a business, just as a hobby. This pretty much means having a CNC machine. I'm thinking about the Shark, HD3, extended bed. Are there any routers that work better with this than others? Are there advantages/disadvantages to getting the 2 HP liquid cooled spindle? I have been doing some reading here and it appears that an aftermarket router collar is advisable, is this also true with the liquid cooled spindle? From my reading, Precise Bits for bits/collets/cutters, and I was thinking I should get the touch plate, and the dust collector. At work I have an almost unlimited supply of the wooden skids/pallets, and I was hoping to make the boards from them. I want to get good enough that people will shell out $25 for them, and my thoughts are you give me a $25 check to the Wounded Warrior Project, or St Judes Childrens Hospital, and I give you a cribbage board. Any suggestions on videos to watch, books/articles to read, opinions, set up pointers, are very welcome. I am looking at the extended bed, because I do want to make some hope chests for some people, and I could see me making some signs, and the like. If you've managed to read this far, Thank You, Artie

[TAW]

first off the noise from the router and or the dust collection will be LOUD for your town house boarders next door. Unless these are really nice pallets - the boards may be far and few unless you can find straight and knot free. may need to be run thru a planer if rough boards- cribbage boards need to be made from good and flat stock.
as for the machine it will work fine for that- lots of learning to do with a cnc. good luck and just my 2 cents worth.

[bill z]

Hi Noob.

I'm new also but I do have a Shark.

About your router motor, the water cooled would be over kill for you if all you will be making are cribbage boards. Water cooled are for shops where the router runs most of the time to make it cost effective.

What artman said about the noise is accurate. You might consider a first project to make a sound quieting cover for the CNC machine and dust collector. Or, pay your neighbors off with cribbage boards.

Know that the CNC machine works pretty much automatic with good software. The hard part is learning the software AND learning how to NOT burn up your bits.

Good luck with your new hobby.

[artman60]

Thanks guys, The way the townhouses were built, there is a concrete wall between each unit (for fire protection, I believe). When our neighbors dog barks, we only hear him if our front door is open, and their front door is open. Good to know about the spindle, I don't mind saving money. I am going to get a planer, and I'm prepared for a lot of wood that is unsuitable for finished products, but man a lot of those skids have some nice small cribbage board sized pieces of oak, just screaming to be put to a good use. I can use the not so good pieces, without any knots, for my practising. As an electricain, I generally prefer Bosch to Porter-Cable, so unless I hear differently here, I'll probably go that way. After watching some of the videos here, I could see this getting addicting. Thanks again, Artie

[rsetina]

Welcome to the forum. You're about to have so much fun with your new machine. I have the Porter Cable 892 running on my Shark and it's done well for me. I thought I'd let you know my thoughts on what router to purchase. Have fun making stuff on your CNC and post some of the thing you make.

[artman60]

Thanks Rick I start gutting the upstairs bathroom tomorrow. Artie

[lsvien]

There is an old adage in woodworking, spend money on boards, not tools. Crummy wood = crummy project. Make sure to check the wood for embedded dirt, stones, random metal. Nothing ruins a bit faster or is more dangerous than a bit spinning at 17,000 rpm and hitting a hidden nail.

I really enjoy using my CNC and it has become an important tool in my shop. There are very few projects now where I don't use it for some aspect of design and construction. It has opened up a whole new approach to my woodworking. But I also want to point out that there are other woodworking tools and methods to make cribbage boards. I don't want to discourage you to purchasing a CNC and using it in your projects, but you are moving into a significantly higher end approach to woodworking and you need to go into it with your eyes open. I have been woodworking for almost 40 years and my CNC has been only recently been added to my shop. You have admitted that you have limited woodworking experience and I would suggest that you work toward a CNC by beginning with a smaller subset of tools, projects, and skill sets.

No you don't need to be an advanced woodworker to benefit from a CNC and the price has certainly come down to more the hobbyist level. But they still cost as much or more than a high end profesional grade table saw. For the price of a CNC you could equip a pretty modest shop with a range of mid-range tools.

My 2 cents.

[artman60]

Thanks for the reply Isvien, My other hobby is metal detecting, so I do have the equipment to check all wood for existing metal objects. The shop is gonna be vey small due to available space, and that won't be changing. I want to learn how to make beautiful wood pieces, but have an interest in making cribbage boards and other projects out of the skids, to raise money for WWP, and St Judes. This needs a more business like approach, hence the thought of a cnc machine for efficientcy. A very good friend at work had his father pass away last month. His dad had a shop in his basement, and my friend had talked to his mother, and got her permission to give me the shop. I do not have the space, and had to turn down his offer. My thought process is to get a Shopsmith, and a cnc table, and make wooden things to raise donations. This will be fun for me. I also want to learn how to make wooden objects, for gifts, and our house. These will be more where I'm trying to make something as beautiful as possible (such as a hope chest for my future daughter inlaw). I doubt I have the room to make anything much larger than a hope chest, but maybe after I start, I learn differently. Right now I'm in the stage where I try to get all the opinions from everyone I can, sort throught it all, and then hopefully make some good decisions. The only reason a cnc machine is sorta affordable is from my inheritance. With a fairly unlimited supply of skid, I figure I can cut out the slats, plane them, and they would be long enough to make cribbage boards from, nice oak ones. Artie