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Hi guys first post on the forum so be gentle. I was hoping to get some feedback and opinions on a project I’m working on. I was hoping I could send someone who has an x carve some CAD drawings and see if they thought it would be able to handle carving them and to find out if they thought there would be any major problems. I currently have a couple of quotes from a local CNC shops (for cutting 1) and I’ll admit I’m not a rich man but their prices were kinda high, so high in fact I could purchase the x carve (1000mm fully loaded) and still have some money left over. I’ve watched a lot of the videos and read quite a bit on the forum and everything seems pretty straightforward as far as assembly, etc., and I understand that it’s not an ultra precise machine but since I am only looking at producing rough prototypes at this point, I think the x carve would be perfect but again, I would like to get some opinions before pulling the trigger on getting one. As far as my skills, I’m definitely not a professional carpenter or machinist but I have tackled rebuilding engines, replacing suspension components and electronics, frame and sheetrock renovations, light plumbing etc., so I guess I would categorize myself as a handyman willing and excited to learn a new hobby skill.
Thanks for the reply Angus. I didn’t know the X carve would have difficulty with a roundover? Can it do a roundover or are you just saying it would be less trouble and quicker to do the roundovers on a separate router table. And, I apologize and the drawings don’t show it but yes, each of the circular cutouts do have a 3/32" roundover as well.
Hey Stan, thanks for the reply. From a tactile aspect a rounded edge works better for this project and I would really like to keep it if I can, but I will definitely keep the chamfer in mind as it is a prototype and time and money always creep into the equation when putting one of these together.
Understand Angus, thanks for laying it out. I’ll go with your suggestion and use a router table (especially since I already have one ) to complete the roundovers.
If you do get and use an XC to make your project, make revisions and run it again for the things you did not think of in the first place. Once done, you still have the XC for other projects in the future, and a little extra coin in left in your pocket.
Send it out to a cnc shop, and you will have your finished piece, it would cost you again to make any changes and re run it.
You would need to pay again for future projects, thus LESS coin in your pocket.
There is a learning curve with these machines, It begins when you first open the box it ships in and goes as far down the rabbit hole as you desire.
I too am a jack of many trades and a master of none. With a strong hobby interest in small craft woodworking and I dont regret taking the leap one bit. This online community also serves as an enhancement / support group that makes the experience that much more enjoyable.
being able to modify and tinker until I was happy is a big selling point for the x carve for sure and not having to adjust my schedule based on the CNC shops timeframe and $cost$ are 2 more
If you go into Easel, you should be able to create this easily enough (without the roundover). The roundover is more advanced than Easel can handle, so you would need to design it in other software if you wanted the roundover done by the X-Carve, but like Angus said, you could always run the roundover on a router table. That would be a lot quicker too, and wouldn’t require you to have to hope everything’s aligned when you flip it over.
It sounds like you definitely have enough experience to put it together, you’re probably as over-qualified as any of us. If you take the time to learn it as you assemble it, and dial it in, you’ll be able to get .010" accuracy easily and even down to .003" or better. Since you’re only using HDPE, that shouldn’t even require any of the mods, although the mods let you go faster.
) to complete the roundovers.
If you take the time to learn it as you assemble it, and dial it in, you’ll be able to get .010" accuracy easily and even down to .003" or better. Since you’re only using HDPE, that shouldn’t even require any of the mods, although the mods let you go faster.