What on earth is a CNC Router, you ask? Why should my loyal and future customers care that I have one? What does this mean to them? What does this have to do with the price of tea in China? I’ll answer the last question first, since it is the easiest. Nothing. There I said it. My CNC router will have no effect on the price of tea in China, as far as I know.

Now on to the harder questions: A CNC Router is a router, which is controlled by a computer. A router is a woodworking machine which spins a small bit around, very fast, to cut through wood. The computer control enables the machine to cut out virtually any kind of complex shape. This has some interesting ramifications for us here at Crazy Monkey Creations, and by extension for our customers.

First, the CNC Router does its work in a semi-unattended way, freeing all of the Crazy Monkey employees (i.e. Me and sometimes Christy) to work on other parts of the production while waiting for the CNC to finish its part. This should hopefully more than double our production capacity, so eventually it will mean shorter lead times for our customers.

Second, the CNC Router can cut a curvy complex shape every bit as easily and quickly as a simple square boxy shape. This capacity will be put to great use in the near future and we are working hard to redesign our product line to make full use of this new capability. Our new products, which we will start announcing in Late July or early August, should be much more attractive, fluid shapes, which hopefully you will find to be as pretty as they are functional. Of course we will continue to make unsurpassed usability our primary design concern.

Third, since the CNC Router can cut complex shapes easily we can use this functionality to implement new and better features for our products. Features that have in the past been too difficult or time consuming for us to include at a practical price will now be implemented nearly for free. This will greatly increase the value of our products to our customers. One such feature will be finer graduations for the winder arm markings, making it easier for operators to set a specific skein size.

Fourth, we will be able to make more efficient use of our materials, since we will be able to cut parts out in a nested fashion. This will of course help us keep costs down, and it also help save the environment by producing less waste. We are always as efficient with out materials as we can be of course, and now we can be even more so.

Fifth, the CNC Router will enable us to make products that were simply impossible for us to make in the past. We are working hard on expanding our product line. In addition to releasing the redesigned skein winders and swifts from our current collection, we will be introducing many new products over the next few months.

So, as we learn to use our CNC Router to its fullest capability, and as I continue to rebuild it to increase its rigidity, capacity and reliability, we will be making more and better products available to you, our loyal customers.

9 Winders and 2 Swifts

If you ordered a winder or swift recently, it’s on this table.

Boards from Collectors Specialty Woods

Curly Sycamore and a Flame Walnut! Can you believe it?!  Ben found this piece of Curly Sycamore

Curly Sycamore Closeup

I walked into the room where they keep their HUGE slabs of burl and some of the offcuts along with some of the nice wood, and there was this beautiful walnut.

The board of Flame Walnut

We also picked up this lovely bocote with the light sapwood.

Bocote Board

And … a cardboard box?

Oooooh, a cardboard box. Wonder what's in it?

On the invoice, it’s a Box of Blocks. It’s a strange mixture of weird sized cuts and leftovers from other peoples’ orders. This box was rather interesting.

Contents of Box

There’s all sorts of interesting things in the box, including a chunk of teak and several offcuts from someone’s job, about a 3″ long piece of glued-up almost square random wood (of which we have several pieces), some square glue-ups, and a glue-up board which looks like maybe teak with a piece of spalted wood in the middle of it. The things that look like rocks in the picture are the real treasures, they’re pieces of burl.

An example of burl from the Box of Blocks

There’s also a piece of blue buckeye burl, which is actually BLUE. Like someone spilled a fountain pen in the tree.

Blue Buckeye Burl. Yes, it's blue wood!

What we actually drove to Gardner  for was a wee tiny bit of finish, as we were running low on the finish for the winders. You know, a wee tiny bit of finish that we drove for 4 or so hours to get.

Just a little bucket of finish

I’ve just finished a couple of drop spindles, and we’re taking them to Table Rock Llamas this morning. Here’s 7 of the 8 I’ve gotten done the last couple weeks.

7 of the 8 spindles I've turned recently

I turn the whorl (the round part), like most people. but I also turn the shaft. I turn both the top and the bottom, to make them pretty and comfortable to use.

The tops and bottoms of each spindle shaft have turned details

Off to storage for us, we’ve got to find the tags for the drop spindles and then we’re off to see the lovely ladies at TRL, then back home to sleep. My work schedule makes me awake at weird hours, as I’m working 7p-7a, and we try to keep more or less the same schedule on my 3 or 4 days off.

So far I have built the Z axis and half of the Y axis.

Z Axis

Z Axis

Z Axis

Z Axis

]]> http://woodshop.crazymonkeycreations.com/posts/the-beginings-of-a-cnc-router/feed/ 0 http://woodshop.crazymonkeycreations.com/posts/a-better-tour-of-the-shop/ http://woodshop.crazymonkeycreations.com/posts/a-better-tour-of-the-shop/#comments Mon, 05 Apr 2010 08:37:42 +0000 christy http://woodshop.crazymonkeycreations.com/?p=134 Benny showed you what the shop looked like before we went and freed some of our imprisoned tools from the storage unit we’ve been keeping them in (in the back, behind all of the rest of our stuff), and while the Moving of the Table Saw was dramatic (and traumatic), the best picture I have of that day is this one:

Muddy hand

That was my hand after digging out the car from the mud, probably the first or second time. And this is the cleanest it was for the rest of the day.

So, the tour… Let’s start at the right side of the shop. Photos after the jump This post is picture heavy, so if you’re on a slower connection, you may want to click and grab a cup of coffee (or tea).

The Front Right of the Shop

This is my favorite part of the shop, because that’s where my –I mean our — lathe is. It’s also where the back seats of the car are, as we’ve been moving tools and buying wood, plywood, and accessories, and having seats in your car just takes up space and weight. When you’re moving cast-iron tools, weight is definitely a consideration.

Since we’re looking at the right wall, shuffle to your left to the middle of the wall.

The Middle Right wall

Here’s where we have a, um, trash can and a box that I think is full of the little bubble wrap things that we’ve been packaging the fingers in. Oh, and the dust pan. It’s important to have a broom and dust pan, or else you’ll find your shop knee deep in sawdust before long. Ok, ok, shuffle along a little more left, and don’t run into the 5′ square table.

The Back Right Corner - Home to the drill press and the Rocket Finisher

Here’s the back right corner, where the drill press and Benny’s custom-made Super Fast Rocket Ship Winder Arm Finisher live. Right next to the 5′ square table that we’ve managed to not run into . The table is pretty cool, it has enough room to finish winders, sand parts, or glue up winder arms. Just usually not at the same time. Ben’s also made clamp storage and drill storage underneath, so neither of those kinds of tools wander off.

From here, let’s turn around and look at the back Left Corner:

The Back Left Corner of the woodshop

Here’s where the router table is, and where we store parts. Some parts we have custom-made for us, like our yarn guides, some we order commercially, and the rest we make from plywood or blocks of maple. The buckets that we keep parts in stack nicely, and will generally be stored stacked. I just got photos at a time when Ben was actively making winders.

Ok, shuffle leftwards again!

The Middle Left wall.

Here’s the middle of the left wall, as seen over the table saw. Here we have an electric dryer, plywood and board storage, and you can see the jointer and planer from here. What? your woodshop doesn’t have an eletric dryer? Ok, ok, so it’s not going to stay there. We’re in the middle of a bathroom/laundry room remodel, and we got this one for free when Ben rented the shop.

Let’s mosey onto the front left wall:

The Front Left of the shop

This is kind of where the guided tour ends. We have the jointer and the dust collector at the front of the shop, as well as a clock and a place to hang our jackets.

Since this is the woodshop blog, I figured I’d show you some of the tools, and explain kind of what they do.

The Table Saw

This is the table saw. Table saws make little boards out of big boards. They make straight cuts. Our table saw is a General, which I believe is made in the Great White North. Its cast-iron top is levelled so that you get straight perpendicular (or other accurate angle) cuts.

The Planer on Its Stand

Here’s the planer on its stand, underneath the table saw. The planer makes thick boards thinner and parallel. It’s a DeWalt, if you’re interested in such things, although its name plate is much more readable.

Our Band Saw is some weird French brand, and doesn’t yet have its own stand. Band saws are generally used to make thick boards thinner, or to make cuts that aren’t as safe to make on the table saw, or to make curved cuts in wood.

The Dust Collector and The Jointer

This is the dust collector, which keeps the shop cleaner, by vacuuming the air coming from the tools and spinning the sawdust out of the air into the collection bag. Also pictured is the jointer, which makes the edges of boards straight, so that when you’re making a cut on the table saw, it will be parallel to a straight edge. The jointer is a Jet, the dust collector is made by Central Machinery.

The Lathe (close up)

The Lathe. Ah, my friend the lathe. I use the lathe to make drop spindles. I turn boards so they’re round, and then decorate them by making decorative cuts, beads, etc. I then turn the spindle shaft ends to make them look pretty. Ben also makes bowls when he has the time and space to. Those are generally made with the head of the lathe tilted toward the user, especially on larger pieces which are deeper than the distance between the head of the lathe and the bed. The legs and bed of the lathe are made of cast iron, as is the tool rest, which makes them less susceptible to vibration because of their mass.

The Magic Rocket-Ship

This tool, the rocket-ship shaped thing, is something Benny invented to help him finish the arms of the inders. It’s full of the finish we use, and he can just dip each section of arm in. The handle was made on the band saw, and the triangular bits which keep it upright are made from scraps left over from winders.

I think that’s a pretty thorough look at the tools and the shop. I hope you enjoyed the tour!

Here are a couple pictures of the shop so far.

Shop Seen From One Corner

Shop as Seen From Another Corner

Among the many tools which will be retrieved from storage is our lathe. some of you my be able to guess at the ramifications this will bring, some of you will just have to wait and see the awesomeness as it is produced.

The heater seams to work well, and even on cold days the temp is well over 50º. The large thermal mass of the concrete and earth keep the room from getting too cold, so my glue will be safe there. A good thing, as I am tired of replacing frozen glue. This will sure beat working in the refrigerator/freezer that was the ranch shed this winter.

Construction of my new CNC router which I still haven’t told you about should begin sometime next week too, at which time I will actually tell you about it. This will eventually be the most exciting news on this blog.

In other news: We are switching to a new motor for our electric skein winders. This motor is more powerful, quieter, smoother, and American made. However it does cost more than the old motor did, and so the price of the electric winders will be going up by about $50. The motor mounts to the winder a little differently, so I  have yet to build a prototype of the new mount design. This should happen on Sunday or Monday, and once I have the prototype finished and tested, I will officially announce the new price and design. Any winders ordered now will receive the new motor, but we will continue charging the old price until we officially make the announcement on the Crazy Monkey News web page. This is effectively a $50 off sale! Hurry because the official announcement  and price increase will probably happen late next week.

Round about 2:00 we headed out for the ranch in a last ditch effort  to extricate my tools. We made it to the gate around 4:00 and began with the interesting bit. It took about and hour and a half to travel the 2 miles, but with the help of our 14 new traction pads ($7.50 per pair) we made it all the way to the shed where all the tools were.

At the Shed, Loading Tools

Once at our destination, we loaded up the table saw, drill press, router table, routers and various odds and ends. Loading didn’t take too long, and we were on our way, just as the sun started setting. Loaded down with tools, the way out proved to be more difficult.

As we approached the one truly hard part of the route, we became unable to proceed forward, on perfectly level ground.  So, once again, we deployed our 13 traction pads and inched our way forward. Then, we made it safely down the super muddy hill, and even most of the way up the other side.  Enter the dozen traction pads and about 15 minutes of effort.  From here on, the journey went very smoothly… until I slid sideways into a ditch and really high centered the car. Once again, our 12 traction pads came to our rescue, this time with the noble assistance of the car jack. We left this spot with 6 of the pads, and drove another 50 feet before the car simply would not go any farther.

Everything we tried failed, which was really frustrating because this was not one of the “problem spots”. I walked back, found and dug out some more of the pads, bringing us back up to 11, but they just didn’t help. We even tried unloading most of the tools, laying them out in the mud, this had zero effect.

By now it was 10:30 and we weren’t getting anywhere.  So, I called the very nice people at the Huerfano County Sheriff’s office and they gave me the number of a tow company. The nice guy at the tow company agreed to come out in his own vehicle, an old 4×4 Bronco with huge mud tires to pull us out.

We very hurriedly loaded the tools back into the car, and proceeded to walk the remaining mile to the road so we could show him where the gate was. We got to the gate at almost exactly the same time as him. Christy and I piled into the Bronco and rode back to the poor stuck Element.

Once at the Element, the guy put his Bronco into 4 wheel drive, hooked up a chain, and pulled me down the hill, and out into the field, where I got stuck again, and again, even with him pulling me. We tried everything, and with lots of yanking, tugging and mud flinging, we made it up the hill.

Finally at the top of the hill and on dry ground, I ventured forth under my own power. The car still didn’t want to move! It turns out the back wheels were so full of mud they didn’t want to turn. But, after a few revs and popping the clutch, we were on our way. Back on dry, rocky soil, the wheels cleared out quickly enough, and I drove most of the remaining way out under my own power.  I did get superficially stuck one more time so the guy came back and pulled me out again.

Finally, we were all back at the gate, back on dry ground, and had no more mud to contend with. We agreed to follow the tow truck guy into Walsenburg to get cash from the ATM so we could pay him for all his hard work. Round about midnight, I very happily handed over $260, and we were all glad it was over, except of course the 3 hour drive home.

At the Gas Station, Covered in Mud

It was a very good day.

Epilog

In the end, I knew where 5 of the traction pads were, and that’s probably where they still are.

So, now I have a few possible options for Plan B:

1. Pay someone with a Unimog or Pinzgauer to drive into the ranch and get my tools.
2. Buy a Unimog, Pinzgauer or Haflinger
3. Buy tank tracks for the Element
4. Buy all new tools
5. Buy used tools from a pawnshop
6. Borrow tools and shop space from a neighbor until I can get my tools
7. Borrow tools to build the CNC router, which will then do all the work and I won’t need my tools
8. Try again with the Element in the mud instead of the snow

I am open to any other solutions anyone may have.  Once a solution is found, winder production will resume on a fairly short lead time.

Our New Shop

Look for the lead time on winder production to drop back down to a week here pretty soon, once we get the tools re-calibrated after the move.