CNC services

[Kudzu]

Looking for recommendations for someone to do some CNC router work. If you have know someone and have had a good experience please let me know. Parts are small so location is not a big issue. Southern US would be nice though.

Jeff

[JimConlin]

Call Shopbot (http://www.shopbottools.com/)and ask then for someone local who has one.

[Simmons18]

Kudzu,
Go to the nearest, large, cabinet shop. They probably have one, and need the work.
Simmons18

[Kudzu]

Call Shopbot (http://www.shopbottools.com/)and ask then for someone local who has one.

Thanks! I went to their site and was impressed with their map to find people with shop bots.


Kudzu,
Go to the nearest, large, cabinet shop. They probably have one, and need the work.
Simmons18

Good idea but no large cabinet shops around here. I live in a small town and I don't know of anyone with a CNC. If I did I agree and as a small business man would myself I would support them.

[TimH]

It would be a fun toy to find an old one and buy it.

[paladin]

Build it...I have built two for other folks...still have the software somewhere. They are not that expensive if you do most of the work yourself.....before I had the second one finished, the fellow that had me assemble it made his money back before it left my shop, just from small jobs. He made the tool to turn out the strakes on a 9 1/2 foot dink that I was playing with, just for a first project.

[TimH]

There is open source control software for Linux.

[G. Schollmeier]

ShopBot has another site called 100K garages with a map also. MechMate has forum and a RFQ section . Back in MN I had good luck with local cabinet shops. Out here it took me a while but I found a Shopbot shop that is fair. The rates very from outrageous to cheap, so look around. If your art is in clean digital form there is not much setup for the shop. I’m pay $60 per hr shop rate with a ½ hr minimum. They can cut a lot in a short time. I found I can not justify the expense of my own machine.
Gary :D

[paladin]

The shopbot stuff is interesting. I made a model and had it programmed at 1/12 scale. Made a metal keel using precut parts with tabs and slots. It was literally stood up on a flat surface and slipped together and a friend tack welded the tabs, then went back and finished the welds, completely foil shaped with all the curves and holes to insert the 3/4 inch keel bolts. Then the thing was filled with poured lead over a several day pour, a little at a time, a couple of hundred pounds until the thing was filled to the line. There were holes horizontally through the keel where the bolts could be welded in place after being placed in "pipes" in the keel....then the plgug holes were filled with lead plugs, and three layers of epoxy glass completely sealed the unit, lifted in place and bolted to the hull. A lot of work, an experiment that I and the owner was happy with, and all done in a back yard except for the metal cutting on a local machine, about $200 worth.

[Kudzu]

Build it...

No thanks. Maybe down the road. I have all I can handle right now without adding to my work load. I can see one down the road that will handle a 4x8 sheet of plywood. But I prefer to let someone else deal with the headaches right now. I have my own! ;)

[MiddleAgesMan]

Most of my former customers, large and small, either had a CNC or were shopping for one. If you're near Pensacola or Nashville I can give you names. If you're near Birmingham or Atlanta there should be dozens of them in cabinet shops there. Unfortunately, a lot of shops, large and small, have closed their doors in the past year.

[Kudzu]

Not to far from Birmingham and I am sure there are some there, but I have yet to find one. Besides that, marine grade plywood is hard to find around here. Good marine grade is even harder.

[Ron Williamson]

You could try Thermwood/ ecabinetsystems.com
or the CAD forum on woodweb.com
R