Wood, CNC and Bacon

As a non CNC guy being able to flatten large slabs like that would be a pretty handy trick. Needs a big CNC machine though :)

I probably would have done the matching cuts on the two slabs by using a bearing bit on one slab as the template to cut the other slab to match. That probably is also due to thinking in non CNC terms :)

I'd be somewhat afraid of that large slab warping without any backing to help keep it flat. Not sure how you'd address that here.. on a table a dovetail or even screw on batten would do the trick.. but would also kind of ruin the "large slab" look for a door like this. He may well get away with it well enough using redwood like that though.

Fun project anyway.. Frank has way to many toys!
 
Honestly it IS a really nice to have, BUT, as Bill recently demonstrated with his gorgeous Chocolate table - CNC - is NOT the end all of all end all's. Nice to have, fun to use, capable of a lot of stuff, but not everybodies cup of tea. I watch Frank and Roger and several others, that do woodworking and also have CNC. I am pretty sure those guys would agree.

Yes it IS about how you think in the shop. If you don't have a bandsaw - you make due with a jig saw. If you don't have a table saw you make due with a circular saw. But, that band saw sure is a nice to have. I remember cutting miters with a back saw and a guide. Now, the compound sliding miter saw sure is nice to have.
 
Yeah I was kind of coming at it with the "everything's a nail (or is it?)" perspective. Clearly the CNC was easier to cut the initial profile for matching but was it as good of a choice for matching the two sides precisely? I'm not quite as convinced about that.. but it would be the obvious way to do it if you have a CNC machine :)
 
Further thought to your comment Ryan , how would we have executed getting those two pieces together not doing it his way.

Flatten how? By hand plane, powered hand plane? Or router sled.

I guess with those big boards, rip the pith out on table saw, then what do you do to joint it with hand plane ??? On edge ?? Or rely on table saw cut? Joint with a router or take chances trying to hold the board square edge up on a jointer bed?

Those are seriously big boards, need space to work with them.

I appreciate the bacon reference but personally i would have liked to see nice large dovetails going down the middle instead of the way he "artistically" joined it.

Frank Howarth sure has an amazing shop and does great work both on his videos as well as woodwork. Like his humor too.
 
Further thought to your comment Ryan , how would we have executed getting those two pieces together not doing it his way.

I think you could likely do the curved match using one side as a template to cut the other side. That has some problems - notably you have a "width of router bit" mismatch in the curves (I think something very like that happened with Frank as well) and with a piece this thick you're risking bit deflection. I'm going with "might work" but challenging. To add to that you'd need to make a template for the first pieceto get fair curves (hmmm... so yeah you could get a closer match on the templates and pattern route both sides). It would be, I freely admit, somewhat impractical. If you asked my how to do it with hand tools I'd say "very slowly" hah.

Flatten how? By hand plane, powered hand plane? Or router sled.

Sure any of those would work. In the example he was basically using the CNC machine as a giant router sled. Planes would work but with a lot more sweat equity. I flattened my bench top which was much nastier wood than that but only maybe half the size after doing "bad things" part way through (it was horribly dished because.. reasons...) in about an afternoon to flat enough a 6' level didn't show light over ~98% of it.

I guess with those big boards, rip the pith out on table saw, then what do you do to joint it with hand plane ??? On edge ?? Or rely on table saw cut? Joint with a router or take chances trying to hold the board square edge up on a jointer bed?

For edge jointing you could get it within tolerance with a decent track saw, or if you have a sliding table saw (hey I didn't say you had to not have crazy tools.. just without a CNC). I can't see most folks getting it close enough on a regular saw and that would be an ... interesting piece.. to try to run through a jointer so lacking those I think you're down to a hand plane and skill.

But your point here is good - I suspect lacking a CNC would anyone have even tried to do the crazy curved join? Likely not, certainly not for a home piece like this unless you're a real sucker for punishment.

I'm not saying his way is bad (quite the contrary).. Its just interesting to think about the problem in different ways.
 
I like Frank's work and especially like his video production. This was a cool project, but I was disappointed at the end with the finish he put on the door. All that work, only to be cheapened by scrimping on the finish. Two coats of wipe-on poly was clearly not enough to get an even, consistent sheen across the entire surface. I don't care if it's high gloss, semi-gloss, or matte, the finish needs to be consistent, in my opinion. Frank's apparently more of an engineer than a craftsman. ;)
 
Yeah I was kind of coming at it with the "everything's a nail (or is it?)" perspective. Clearly the CNC was easier to cut the initial profile for matching but was it as good of a choice for matching the two sides precisely? I'm not quite as convinced about that.. but it would be the obvious way to do it if you have a CNC machine :)

With this kind of stuff the CNC has no real advantage, with some caveat. It's really in the setup. For me, I have taken actions on my CNC machine to ensure that the table is parallel with the drive rails in "X" and "Y" and perpendicular in the "Z". This would be done with setup even if a #8 hand plane were used, except is may be done with winding sticks and by eye. The CNC machine would be more precise.

To flip it over and do the back side, I would shim the piece on the CNC machine to ensure the machined face was parallel to the axis drive rails in "X" and "Y". That would be really easy on the CNC because the reference surface, the table, would be true to start with.

If I were using a #8 hand plane, I would use a marking guage and scribe a line from the newly planed face to give me a reference line to plane to. Easily - the CNC would be FAR more precise.

Even with a jig like Bill used there would be setup.

The big advantages on the CNC would be
1) Precise regulated cutter control in feedrate and stepover amount
2) Precise alignment of the setup due to alignment of the table surface to machine bed.
3) Precision of the movement of the cutter along precision guideways

I have no doubt in the slightest that the CNC cutting is FAR more precise than the hand operated methods. It would take some SERIOUS skill level to achieve the precision of a CNC, or even Non CNC machined surface. However, if the CNC machine operator is not skilled in the setup, then all bets are off.

For doing glue line edging, the machine is better than my jointer - but setup is critical. The jointer is faster.



Vaughn - I agree - Frank is more Engineer than craftsman. Speaking from personal experience, it is very difficult to transition from engineering to creative and artistic and finely detailed. I think in straight lines and symmetry. Curves, colors and textures are something I struggle with, but I am working on it.
 
...Vaughn - I agree - Frank is more Engineer than craftsman. Speaking from personal experience, it is very difficult to transition from engineering to creative and artistic and finely detailed. I think in straight lines and symmetry. Curves, colors and textures are something I struggle with, but I am working on it.

LOL, I thought of you when I made that comment, because you're an engineer who HAS crossed over into artistic territory. :thumb: I've seen enough photos of your work to recognize that. ;)
 
That was fantastic!!! I hadn't ever seen one of his videos that I know of. I cannot imagine what a door like that would cost to have made. :eek: To widen it with that set of tools I probably would have gone with the word pantry in capital letters vertically down the center, hooking them together utilizing the puzzle peg and hole method. :rolleyes:
 
LOL, I thought of you when I made that comment, because you're an engineer who HAS crossed over into artistic territory. :thumb: I've seen enough photos of your work to recognize that. ;)

Humbly, I thank you, but that is not my primary thought pattern and I don't feel like I have crossed over. I see further into the artistic than I have been able to achieve. Toni's carvings are those things I see but feel beyond my grasp. It's one thing to duplicate, yet entirely another thing to create. But thank you.
 
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