My first "real" project

[tjshape]

I've had the Shapeoko2 now for just over 1 month. What a great way to spend my free time! Here is the first "real" item I've made on the thing, which I was commissioned to do by a friend after he saw a posting to my Facebook account of a very basic sign I made when first tuning the CNC. It feels weird selling something I made - but hey, it'll pay for more Shapeoko upgrades!

I designed the whole project in Inkscape, used Makercam to generate the tool paths, and the universal g-code sender to control the CNC. For milling, I used a 1.6mm fishtail bit I picked up at invetables - very pleased with the performance. I currently have my machine set up with a Dewalt DW660, which is a HUGE improvement over the stock spindle which came with it (and broke nearly instantly) and also a huge improvement over my Dremel 4000.

For the main piece (maple), I used a pretty big pocket cut to allow the "The Hanson Family" to stand out. I then used a nicely contrasting stain to make the letters pop even more. I haven't chosen a sealer/polish/wax yet, so feel free to make suggestions. For the frame (reclaimed barn wood cedar), I did another pocket cut which allowed me to inlay the main sign. I made it so I can press the maple sign into the barn wood sign without using glue, allowing it to be removed (with some prying) in case the barn wood ends up not working with the decor of their house. For those wondering what the "A&E" logo is in there for, their names start with A and E. I have a little more clean-up yet to do on it, but for all intents and purposes, it's done.

I'd be lying if I said it this project worked on the first try - more like after 10 tries... Tries 1-9 identified deficiencies in my project design and/or my workmanship in setting up the machine. I have to say though, with all those failed attempts, I learned a ton about what to do, not to do, and a whole lot more. I gotta say, a little win now and then goes a heck of a long way. Anyway, I am pretty happy with the way this one turned out.

front sign.jpg (95.97 KiB) Viewed 3612 times

angle sign.jpg (96.7 KiB) Viewed 3612 times

[zerblatt007]

Very nice both design and finish..
This must have taken some time to mill out - and 10 times too?

[tjshape]

Thanks! With the 1.6mm bit and a 1500mm feedrate dropping 1.5mm per pass, it took a little over 2 hours.

But yeah, the other 9 times sure was starting to wear on me. One thing I did learn was that it's not a bad idea to split the job up into several smaller jobs when possible.

[Camel]

That looks beautiful. How did you apply the stain to the letters and not have it drip all over - like it always does for me?

[tjshape]

That looks beautiful. How did you apply the stain to the letters and not have it drip all over - like it always does for me?

Thanks Camel! For staining on items that require clean lines or where drips are not an option, I cheat and use a stain pen/marker like this:
http://m.homedepot.com/p/Minwax-1-3-oz- ... /100376125

[Dhpenner1]

That's really nice. I've been tossing around some ideas for a sign like that aswell. I was thinking about staining or painting the pre milled piece of wood in specific areas to have a multi coloured sign with crisp edges. Have to do some testing to see if it'll work before attempting a big piece.

I would look into spray on lacquer for a finish on that one.

[tjshape]

That's really nice. I've been tossing around some ideas for a sign like that aswell. I was thinking about staining or painting the pre milled piece of wood in specific areas to have a multi coloured sign with crisp edges. Have to do some testing to see if it'll work before attempting a big piece.

I would look into spray on lacquer for a finish on that one.

Good thought on pre-staining the piece. I'm going to have to try that.

Thanks for the finishing tip as well - I'm still debating what to use and have tried out several on my various failed pieces, but not lacquer yet. Looks like that's in my future.

[Woodworker]

Here is a piece of walnut that was sprayed with aluminum colored paint and then milled with an up cut spiral bit.

[ALuomala]

That looks beautiful. How did you apply the stain to the letters and not have it drip all over - like it always does for me?

One way I managed to apply paint was to dab it on with a cloth that had a foam piece behind it (make sure that you dab/blot the applicator on a scrap piece of something beforehand so that your applicator has a thin layer of paint, not gobs of it).

Another way I had thought of, but not yet tried out, was to have the project piece upside down (i.e facing downward) and then use a roller of some form with a very light amount of paint on it, and apply numerous light coats to the surface, thereby not allowing any paint to be forced by gravity onto unwanted areas. I'm sure that the same thing could be done with the piece right side up, as long as you keep the amount of paint being applied very light.

Any time that I have tried applying paint/stain to a surface before hand has ended up being a waste of time/resources, as I ended up ruining the project in some manner (too deep of cuts, etc) and having to either start again or removing the painted surface (planing it down, so to speak, to start with a clean surface). Down the road, once my skillz have improved, I will likely re-visit that technique, but for now, I anticipate making too many mistakes to merit doing that method.

Allan