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Finally I got some time off again and could spent more time in my garage and actually got some stuff done that was in my head since june or july. First I wanted to carve this GoT Mirror, I already attempted it once a few months back, but after a few hours in the carve the belt of my x-axis broke. That made me do the 9mm belt upgrade. This time it came out really nice and I already put a black primer on it. I still didn’t decide if I will use my airbrushes which I only used on plastic model cars before or if I will hand paint it with the dry brushing technique. Either way I’ll probably mess it up…lol. I like the way poplar carves. Never tried my hands on maple or cherry
After that I wanted to raise my Gantry plates by 60 mm to have enough clearance for a 4x4 just in case I get an idea what to do with all the rest pieces I got sitting around. Having milled aluminum only once before I did a few test cuts on flat bar with a 1/8" 3 flute Destiny Viper. For the Gantry plates I used a 1/4" thick plate and cut with 90 ipm and a depth per pass at 0.003 and it turned out nice and had no issues with reassembling.
I also installed the new drag chain, but was a bit disappointed that it came only with some flimsy plastic arms. But since the aluminum milling worked out so well I decided to made my own out of 1/8" aluminum plate, as well a laser mount “stolen” from Phil’s stl. model.
Now everything is back together, the controller box got it’s new spot and the laser is installed. Time to play with my new toys for the remaining 2 1/2 days of my vacation.
I know what you mean by incorporating the arms. I wish I would have known back then when I bought the aluminum plate. If I recall correctly I think the stl. file is under the free models thread on cnczone. If you don’t want browse through 60 something pages of whining I’m sure we can find a way to share it with you. Like Dropbox or something
The only place I have seen that Modle is for purchase on eBay. At least that’s where I got it. Would you mind sharing the work flow you used for cutting it out. What size is it.
I used a 20x12 3/4"thick poplar board, imported the stl file into aspire and since I actually want to make it a mirror I drew a rectangle over the model where I wanted the recessed area on the backside. I also started on the backside by cutting a rectangular pocket. Then flipped the board and started the roughing toolpath with a 1/4" ballnose @160 ipm. The finishing toolpath was done with a 1mm tapered ballnose @ 120ipm. total time was around 5 hrs. For the mirror I found a pack of 10 mirror tiles at homedepot for $10. They’re 1/8" thick.
Where did you find it? I had this (and several other GOT themed files) that I lost when my hd crashed, but I’ve not been able to find it again. From my phone it’s a bit more difficult this time around… TIA!
Darryl be - VERY - careful when downloading this file. The site it goes to has a lot of spam. Because of this my computer would not let me download it. I’ll try to download it from another computer and post the file here, but if you want to try downloading it yourself then here is where the link can be found;
Today I thought since I already made a brick pattern I might as well make a wall. The main idea was also to try how precise I can zero the laser after carving. Turned out pretty nice. Might need to try to make the grouts more pronounced though.
Question to the laser experts: How do you guys do the finish after burning? On another piece I wiped off the soot with a damp cloth, but then it looks a bit faded. Can you put a clear finish over the soot to retain the dark color?
I have not attempted this so I would test on scrap first. But what I would Spray on several Extremely light coats of Zinser Shelac Sanding Sealer (No Wax). Give each coat plenty of time to dry. This Should lock everything in. If you put the finish on top thicknor by hand, I would assume that the “soot” will bleed.
