CNC Shark Forum

Wondering if anyone has experience working with thin wood/wood products with the Shark. I'm looking for a machine primarily to cut 1/4 plywood pieces/parts all day long (laser cutters are out of budget right now). Will primarily be cutting rectangles and odd shapes as well. Would this fit the bill to cut them individually and still get clean cuts? Or would I need to clamp several pieces together and cut more than one at a time? And would doing so cause any issues? On the other hand I am wondering if clamping / unclamping (and resetting up the machine which might not be needed) is really going to save me any time / effort which would be the entire reason for getting this machine.

If there are better fully or partly automated solutions for doing the above work, please do suggest since I am relatively new to woodworking. At the end of the day I just trying to avoid doing this repetitive work on table saw / band saw / router table etc.

Thanks in advance for your time...

I've cut a lot of plywood, and the Shark will do fine. What the challenges is is to keep the bit(s) from wearing out and the plywood from chipping out when cut. A down-cut spiral bit is highly recommended for the first pass. An upcut for the second to last. The Sharks won't change the bit for you, so that is one thing that could get boring after a few days of cutting. With 1/4" ply I might try using the down-cut for all the passes. You'll need something to use for a spoil board if cutting through. I've usually got a scrap/damaged piece of hard board or MDF I can cut up for spoil boards.

Plywood is extra hard on bits, with the glue lines doing the most damage. When you invest in bits, haggle for a volume discount.

Hope that helps.

Well, if you want to cut several pieces of the same part, you can just make copies of it on the sheet and the Shark will cut all of them in one go.
Read the instructions about tiling.
Cheers
Wolffie

Thanks 4DThinker and Wolffie1. I appreciate the help.