Work ExamplesThe tables offer a range of speed, price and accuracyThese pieces were routed with inexpensive All Thread rod as the leadscrews, unless noted otherwise. The 25 x 25 and the 24 x 48 Rack / Leadscrew machines were designed to use a variety of better components; the speed and quality of the work will depend on the chosen options. There are also examples of work that builders have shared on the Gallery page.  |
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The above photo is an outline cut of the logo on the right; it was cut in aluminum with a 0.0098" diameter bit. The results of backlash can be seen in the retort's spout and in the bottom of the
circles near the plant. Hardware store threaded rods and nuts were used as the leadscrews and leadnuts. Acme rod with anti-backlash nuts will improve performance, and increase the price.
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This is an 8 x 10-1/4 inch letter cut from 1/4 inch birch plywood.
It was cut with a 1/8 straight router bit in the 5 amp trim router.The feed rate was 36 ipm and the time for the cut was under 3 minutes; it was done in one pass. The CNC machine used hardware store threaded rod as the leadscrews. Note: CNC is addictive; you will find excuses to use your machine for all sorts of projects. |
This is a box for an electric fence control. The routed piece is made
of 3/4 inch pressure treated southern yellow pine and is approx. 20
inches long. It was cut in four passes
with a 1/4 inch straight bit; cutting speed was 30 ipm with cheap All Thread leadscrews. |
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Here a machine is cutting a sign. The feed rate was 30 ipm and a Vee bit was used. Carving five is as easy as carving one. This machine used hardware store threaded rod as leadscrews. Acme screws would permit better speeds and accuracy. |
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This four inch diameter gear was cut from 1/2 inch thick acrylic.It was cut in five passes of 0.1 inch each with a double flute straight bit in a trim router. The trim router's rpm had to be slowed to prevent the plastic from melting. Determining the correct feed and speed is a trial and error process; expect to make a few mistakes before finding the best settings. |
The tables, of course, have full 3D capability; the carving on the right is a set of shapes routed into a southern yellow pine 2 x 10.A 1/4 inch round bit was used and the piece was not sanded before varnishing. The chatter marks on the lower edge are on the original surface of the 2 x 10; the section cut with the router is smooth as evidenced by the clean reflections. The software used to draw and generate the 3D G-code was Rhino3D and RhinoCAM. This 3D software package is over $1000. |
 This sun is a 3D cut that used MeshCAM for the G-code generation. An image was imported into MeshCAM, and MeshCAM interpreted the dark and light as depth and height. MeshCAM is a relatively inexpensive 3D program, but it is more suited to art pieces such as this, rather than pieces that require specific dimensioning. For the most part, it only dimensions height, depth, and width of the entire piece; everything else is relative to these. Mach3 now offers a CAM product that works similarly. 
The work is a four inch square piece of MDF trim that is one of a pair
of blocks for the top corners of a door casing.The parallel path cuts were 0.005 inch apart, so it took over 3 hours to carve at 30 ipm when cut with 18 tpi All Thread. Better leadscrews would permit faster speeds. A Dremel Vee bit was used with an 1/8 inch adapter in the trim router. The cut is quite intricate; the paint's gloss enhances some of the detail. (And jpeg compression diminishes it.) |
They are primarily standard carbide 1/4 inch shaft router bits; the double ended one is cheap high speed steel. Suppliers include Bosch, Freud and MLCS. MLCS also sells collet adapters which permit 1/8 inch bits to be used in 1/4 inch collets. Harbor Freight often sells 1/8 inch bits at a low price. |
The remote speed control is more convenient to use, as compared to a variable speed router, since the speed can be adjusted while the machine is moving. It is also safer since it is unnecessary to chase a variable speed router's speed dial around the table. These controls are available from woodworking stores and Harbor Freight; prices start at $15.
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The PC board on the right was cut with a machine using cheap leadscrews and a 0.03 inch diameter bit.
These are some of the bits that were used for the work shown on this page.
Auxiliary speed controls, such as the one shown here, work well with the lower priced single speed trim routers.