Sorry it was a metal day in the shop today!

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328
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Tahlequah, OK
Ted said some might be interested in seeing the lifesize metal targe elk project but my friend hasn't made it over to weld it up yet BUT today was a metal CNC day for me to rest up from learning VCarve and doing something a little more familiar!! I needed to cut one more panel to skirt the table so my fume exhaust system would work well and had some scrap 16 gauge on the table so I cut a couple welcome signs. Then I used muriatic acid and a flap disc to clean before using Steel F/X patinas to give them a little character. Then a couple coats of automotive clear. I'm excited to work metal into a wood project in the near future so this won't be so.... off topic.. :):):D I don't plan to keep the theme all western but these were quick, easy, and are usually a pretty easy sell in my area. My son helped me in the shop today and made (and patina/dyed) himself a piece for his room but I didn't get a picture of it. Sorry he's sideways but it's still pretty easy to see that I desparately need him to help me clean the shop one day SOON! :eek:

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Thanks very much everyone! I think that mixing the metal with wood carving is going to turn out some neat pieces. I'm watching VCarve videos about inlay toolpaths and figuring out how I can use it to mill out an inlay and hopefully create toolpaths for the plasma that I can use to cut and that hopefully the two processes (and two parts of the CAM/Control program) will work together!! To get a little more concept of one idea that kind of embodies this, think a coffee table with an engraved top of mountain & meadow scene, then on top of that metal cut to accent the details of the mountains etc and metal cut wildlife in the forefront, all covered by glass so the table is functional. Just a thought concept at this point but seems that would be a fun place to head.

I'll post some pics of the shop and CNC soon. FIRST, did you SEE the sloppy state of the place!!??!! Downright embrassing and shameful!! We moved here 3 short months ago and I've been setting this all up and trying to keep the wife's stuff in the house and out of the shop while watching the 2-year old full time (wife is a midwife and works at a Dr office so I'm a stay at home dad), I feel like a salmon headed upstream!! This is the same machine that I've added routing to and have a plate engraver to set up too. I need to plumb air in the shop and get rid of the hoses and cords I've strung through the rafters.... ugh, the list is a mile long! I've got the gantry crane built for loading wood, metal, and hopefully soon , handling the clamping wood bed (that I've got to build) on and off the table. I've been looking at T-track and other clamping systems/mechanisms that I can use as holddown for the CNC router projects but my mind is going numb. Somewhere in there, I've got to clean, clean, clean! :pullhair:
 
Im with Ted and Vaughn and I couldnt see much of a mess, ya want-a see mess come to my shop. I have been trying to get it set up for 3 years now and one of these days I am going to get the wide-belt sander off of the pallet it came on (yeah right :rofl:)
 
Here's my latest metal creation! I promise I'll be working with some wood very soon! I have some shellac, a few different oils, and wax but I'm gonna be bugging you guys with ideas for finishing I promise! :D20150806_192318.jpg
 
Thanks guys!

Ted, the resolution on the Sampson 510 (PlasmaCam) table is .0005" on the X&Y axes and .002" on the Z axis. The kerf width is right at .06" with 45 amp process cutting this 10 gauge mild steel. If I design a part, the software offsets the cutpath to compensate for the kerf - the 2 3/8" hole that I cut for this clock was a perfect fit! :D Is it bad that I got this clock from WoodCraft to put in a woodworking project but when I was playing around with the faith/hope/love theme yesterday I thought I'd get it out of the drawer and draw up the file to make a desk/shelf/mantle clock with it in .... metal. :whistling:

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I did price some 1 1/8" advantech and 3/4 MDF to make my table bed from so that's a start! I''ll have some pictures for a build coming up soon, I want to build a torsion table that rests on/in the table frame rather than my metal cutting slats so there's a build coming up! :)
 
...Is it bad that I got this clock from WoodCraft to put in a woodworking project but when I was playing around with the faith/hope/love theme yesterday I thought I'd get it out of the drawer and draw up the file to make a desk/shelf/mantle clock with it in .... metal. :whistling:....

Bad??? No way! You get extra credit for creativity.:thumb::thumb:
 
Here's what I turned the last patch clear 24" x 10" patch of 10 gauge metal into. Now the table is clean, measurements taken, and material list made for the CNC machine bed. I've decided not to go too fancy since when I want to put in T-track (which is when I get to Tulsa 60 miles away to pick up some or order some whichever comes first) I can just use the machine to make the recess. I'm ready to carve something so I can come up with an idea for the swap and catch up with the overachievers! :eek:

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Hung it up on our family picture wall to get a picture for Etsy. :)

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