CNC Work

 

OK ... not every furniture maker has or needs a CNC, but we

bought one back in 2005 after working with a local signmaker

who helped us with some very tricky inlays while reproducing

a pair of federal era card tables for a special client ...

it must have taken forever to build a couple of those tables

by hand back in the 1800s.

the link above takes you to a discussion of

handwork vs machine work, and does it matter? 

  

what i have found is that a cnc allows you to confidently

create designs that very few clients would pay you to do by hand.

so many things are possible ...

Will's banjo inlays, 

mother of pearl, abalone, steel ... here's a slideshow link to

'stuff you can do with a cnc'  about 150 photos there

that, literally, barely scratches the surface of what is possible

some background ...

here's ours ... a 2005 multicam 1000, 50 x 100 work surface.

it has held up well, and still holds tight tolerances for

inlays where the difference between the size of the pocket

and the size of the inlay piece is measured in thousandths.

 it handles bits from 1/64th of an inch to up 2.5" diameter for surfacing

  it was quite a project getting it to the second floor, but luckily

we put everything back together with stainless steel screws in case 

we decide to move it (likely) to a different building next year.

straight bits, pointed bits, round nose bits, big bits, little bits ...
two of our favorite cnc projects below ...

 the duck bed

 

and..

  The Crow Bar

a studio style desk

people ask me all the time now 'so, what are you up to now that you are retired?'

actually, i am not 'retired' per se,
but TOTALLY enjoying working in the shop by myself, organizing my

tools and supplies, jigs and fixtures and making new pieces.

this recent one is a  perfect example of the kind of project i enjoy.  

it's a desk, 22 x 48 x 29 in what i refer to as my 'studio style'.

if you click that link, you will get many blog posts and more of a history 

of the style i am referring to ... there have been a LOT of those pieces ...

tip of the iceberg above ...

close up here, with the quartered cherry figure showing up 

in the hand planed bevel on the edge of the top ... 

coincidence yes, but a beautiful detail ..

this piece has a lot of the nice woodworking challenges:

mortises and tenons

dovetailed drawers

inlays

proportion questions

just a bunch of nice processes to work your way through,

i see it as kind of an exercise in craftsmanship

start with a drawing

most of my guys in the shop in the past would have used

our JDS multirouter to create the mortises in the legs above.

but since i am learning a new tool pathing program for the CNC,

i decided i would do the exercise ... after a bit of a struggle,

 i reeled them in ... very fast, and no measuring or laying out, now that i've got 

the process down.

next up, taper the legs ... new style taper jig

create the angled rails and tenons

dovetail the drawers

link to a blog post on our dovetail method at this link

make the inlay block and the individual inlay pieces.

i actually had to figure that out too as i personally hadn't 

done any for a long, long while ... i wrote down and illustrated the inlay block 

process for myself and anyone else who is interested at this link ...

add some aniline dye and some black milk paint to the legs

and apron borders, glue it up, fit the drawers, and send it to connecticutt.

the woman who ordered this one, bought one just like it from me in,

i think, 1997.  this one is for her grandson ... 

warm and fuzzy feelings here ...