As a new CNC hobbyist I really love the idea of using scraps to create the tea light holders. Your channel has been a great resource to help get me rolling on this journey. Looking forward to future content.
I have an XCARVE machine- 750mm X 750mm. I use long reach tools all the time. I also have upgraded the SNOT out of my machine. Longer depth on the Z axis, bigger motors, wider belts, etc. Long reach, deep depth tools work great if you know how to set up your speeds correctly.
Maybe you wouldn't pay it but that doesn't mean others wouldn't. Like I said, $50 is probably too low because of their material cost you'd have into it.
I think location is going to be key to what people pay for things. I live in rural South Texas, it's poor to maybe low middle class town of 1200. Have my own sawmill and very well equipped wood and metal working shop along with heavy equipment. Mill my own lumber from my ranch and have an endless supply of it. I could not sell none of what you make for your asking price. I would consider myself lucky to get half if that. I have to practically give my work away to get rid of it. I do like creating unique things and sometimes think about getting a web site of possibly get on Etsy but so far I have not. I like the idea of getting more customers eyes on it and a market with deeper pockets.
I'm a cnc machinist as my day job though I work with metal; longer tools you have to worry about deflection and slow down so you don't snap the tool. I've used 1/16 ball em ground back .75" and you are taking max .0003 in metal. A 1/4 long bit I think you could get away with, with minimal deflection just slow your feed. cut your stepdown by 30% to 50% depending on material hardness.
Andy, One thing I'd like to see is an info graphic (or video) with a calendar on when to build these, and when to bring to market. This subject in the video is great, but I doubt I could get enough time to bring these to market at this point.
It is a good point! It's best to keep candles away from flammable material. You could put some sort of an insert as a safety measure or use battery operated lights with no flame
Andy the rabbit holes i have been going through are absurd I currently dont have a CNC yet and have been researching everything from large to small what I need to what I might need Looking at manufacturers that have better warranties, better rigidity better software faster spindles ... ugh. Should i buy my second machine first buy once cry once I am sure I will enjoy it but taking that first step is a step I am super cautious about... In your opinion what would be the best second machine to navigate to I know I am asking the question that is probably unanswerable but I figured since I was watching your vids like a groupie. my current interest is between shapeoko, onefinity, altmill and Nextmill. Any ideas you have would be great. I know im asking the impossible but hey giving it a shot
Extra long bits tend to be incredibly fragile, you need to reduce your dept of cut per pass and slow the machine down. (easier to rough out with something like the bader or hog bits. and then use the extra length )
where is a good place to purchase wood online? im fairly close to you in IN and prices of hardwoods is just insane and it dont seem to bring me any extra income and wont pay for the material lol
I put a longer bit in my CNC and got an error message, I cannot remeber the exact words but it was something to do with the Z height. I replaced the bit with a shorter one and the machine started working straightaway.
If we're really lucky, one day we'll be able to eliminate human interference entirely. Just build an app that scours Etsy and other platforms for other peoples' products, (they probably copied them from someone else, so it's ok) and then digitally transfers that data to your CNC. Hook up a packaging machine at the end of your CNC, have it interface with your customer data, and farm out the shipping to a big corp. Before you know it, you're a woodworker.
I’ll give you credit for saying that we can’t compete with Crate and Barrel. They and others are probably getting their stuff from China and they probably aren’t made from Mahogany. And online like Etsy, a lot of those are mass produced too. Don’t be fooled into thinking they are all old retired guys and families working in their little wood shop in the back yard like Santa’s elves. And when you search for some type of ornament, snack tray or whatever, there’s a ton of places making them to compete with, and too many at a sale price lower than you can buy the material for. Then comes the CNC. They aren’t cheap and neither is the rest of the stuff you need to run it, and they sure aren’t a one day learn to run tool. If you intend to produce a lot of product a desktop version and even the ones that are 3’x4’ or a little bigger aren’t going to hold up as well as a commercial machine. The big machines take a lot of money to buy and take up a lot of space. The one I have is a pretty good one in my opinion. It will handle a little shy of 2 feet by 3 feet of material, so I could probably cut 4, maybe 5 of the Christmas trees at a time. But even at a half inch thick, that’s going to take probably around an hour to cut them all. And that’s not counting the material prep, mounting it to the machine, designing the program, which yes should be a one time thing. Then comes the finish sanding, running the branches on a router table to round the edges, drilling the holes in all of them, making the stand and pole, applying finish and assembly. Rough guess of around 4 hours to do all that, 4 to 5 hours total, maybe. So if I cut out 4 of them at a time, averaging one hour per finished tree, $80 per tree sounds pretty good and is $80 bucks an hour. But, I don’t think I’d sell too many, if any for that price. I think more around $20 to $30. Now you’re making around $20 bucks an hour and still have to pay for the machine, all the accessories, the wood and finish. And at least in my experience with a CNC, they don’t run flawlessly all the time. I’ve had it run fine till it didn’t and ruined a project. So, if you already have a CNC, then good luck and have fun. If you don’t have one yet, I’d think pretty seriously about it before dropping at least $5000, probably double that if you’re going to try and run production and not just a project here and there.
Lots of ideas come to my mind when I see the products you make. I will make them in different shapes. Have a nice day
Fantastic!
As a new CNC hobbyist I really love the idea of using scraps to create the tea light holders. Your channel has been a great resource to help get me rolling on this journey. Looking forward to future content.
Awesome! I'm glad you're finding the channel helpful.
I have found that solid oak stair treads make a good tray, they are a glue up, so they wont cup when you remove all that wood.
Always love your videos. Still learning CNC.
Glad you like them! Keep on learning!
I have an XCARVE machine- 750mm X 750mm. I use long reach tools all the time.
I also have upgraded the SNOT out of my machine. Longer depth on the Z axis, bigger motors, wider belts, etc. Long reach, deep depth tools work great if you know how to set up your speeds correctly.
I'm glad to hear your experience with long-reach tools. Thanks for sharing!
Good ideas Andy. Thanks for your time
You bet!
We make ornaments, but I use a 1/16 downcut bit from spetool, and it works out great. That tree would be cool with round wooden beads as the spacers.
I like the idea of round wooden beads, thanks for the tip!
Good job Andy
Bro, youre slightly disconnected thinking that santa tray would be 50 even worse 75. But I still love you!!!!! Thanks for the inspiration Andy!!
Maybe you wouldn't pay it but that doesn't mean others wouldn't. Like I said, $50 is probably too low because of their material cost you'd have into it.
I think location is going to be key to what people pay for things.
I live in rural South Texas, it's poor to maybe low middle class town of 1200.
Have my own sawmill and very well equipped wood and metal working shop along with heavy equipment. Mill my own lumber from my ranch and have an endless supply of it.
I could not sell none of what you make for your asking price. I would consider myself lucky to get half if that. I have to practically give my work away to get rid of it. I do like creating unique things and sometimes think about getting a web site of possibly get on Etsy but so far I have not. I like the idea of getting more customers eyes on it and a market with deeper pockets.
As a monthly weekend warrior, these are great
Ideas. I love how you scale the difficulty levels! I’m going to make them all…when I find time.
Glad you enjoyed the video! Hopefully you get some time in the shop soon
I'm a cnc machinist as my day job though I work with metal; longer tools you have to worry about deflection and slow down so you don't snap the tool. I've used 1/16 ball em ground back .75" and you are taking max .0003 in metal. A 1/4 long bit I think you could get away with, with minimal deflection just slow your feed. cut your stepdown by 30% to 50% depending on material hardness.
Good points! You're right, I need to keep my deflection in mind!
Thanks for the projects
*Andy Definitely has some Good Ideas!!!*
Great video and thanks for taking the time to visit at the Texas Woodworking Festival.
It was great to see you there!
Good and great work thanks man
Glad you liked it!
The audio on this video sounds amazing. Keep doing whatever you did with your audio.
Thanks for the kind words!
Andy, One thing I'd like to see is an info graphic (or video) with a calendar on when to build these, and when to bring to market. This subject in the video is great, but I doubt I could get enough time to bring these to market at this point.
The first one and the last one. Thanks for sharing.
You bet! Glad you enjoyed it
Nice projects
I'm going to have to make some of these
Still haven't set up my machine yet but excited to do so
I hope you get it going soon!
Thank you Andy!
My pleasure!
Great stuff!
Glad you think so!
Ill defiantly be adding these to the work load.
Sweet!
The tea lights holders look awesome! I would just worry about the relationship between wood and fire. Typically doesn't end up well.
It is a good point! It's best to keep candles away from flammable material. You could put some sort of an insert as a safety measure or use battery operated lights with no flame
I like the ornaments. People are tight for money, but a small ornament would fit into most people's budget.
They have a high profit margin as well!
Since I have so many scarp pieces laying around I think the tea candle designs would benefit me more. But all great ideas
Definitely can be a good use of scraps
Hey Andy!! Great video! Would you happen to have the Christmas Tree file for sale?
Thanks!
I'm still working up the nerve to pull the trigger on a quality CNC!
I get it, it's a big decision!
Andy the rabbit holes i have been going through are absurd I currently dont have a CNC yet and have been researching everything from large to small what I need to what I might need Looking at manufacturers that have better warranties, better rigidity better software faster spindles ... ugh. Should i buy my second machine first buy once cry once I am sure I will enjoy it but taking that first step is a step I am super cautious about... In your opinion what would be the best second machine to navigate to I know I am asking the question that is probably unanswerable but I figured since I was watching your vids like a groupie. my current interest is between shapeoko, onefinity, altmill and Nextmill. Any ideas you have would be great. I know im asking the impossible but hey giving it a shot
Extra long bits tend to be incredibly fragile, you need to reduce your dept of cut per pass and slow the machine down. (easier to rough out with something like the bader or hog bits. and then use the extra length )
That makes sense. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
where is a good place to purchase wood online? im fairly close to you in IN and prices of hardwoods is just insane and it dont seem to bring me any extra income and wont pay for the material lol
I put a longer bit in my CNC and got an error message, I cannot remeber the exact words but it was something to do with the Z height. I replaced the bit with a shorter one and the machine started working straightaway.
Will these files work for Carveco?
Yes, but you will have to set up the toolpaths
If we're really lucky, one day we'll be able to eliminate human interference entirely. Just build an app that scours Etsy and other platforms for other peoples' products, (they probably copied them from someone else, so it's ok) and then digitally transfers that data to your CNC. Hook up a packaging machine at the end of your CNC, have it interface with your customer data, and farm out the shipping to a big corp. Before you know it, you're a woodworker.
Nice
Thanks
a Cool thank you!
I'm glad you think so!
I’ll give you credit for saying that we can’t compete with Crate and Barrel. They and others are probably getting their stuff from China and they probably aren’t made from Mahogany. And online like Etsy, a lot of those are mass produced too. Don’t be fooled into thinking they are all old retired guys and families working in their little wood shop in the back yard like Santa’s elves. And when you search for some type of ornament, snack tray or whatever, there’s a ton of places making them to compete with, and too many at a sale price lower than you can buy the material for.
Then comes the CNC. They aren’t cheap and neither is the rest of the stuff you need to run it, and they sure aren’t a one day learn to run tool. If you intend to produce a lot of product a desktop version and even the ones that are 3’x4’ or a little bigger aren’t going to hold up as well as a commercial machine. The big machines take a lot of money to buy and take up a lot of space. The one I have is a pretty good one in my opinion. It will handle a little shy of 2 feet by 3 feet of material, so I could probably cut 4, maybe 5 of the Christmas trees at a time. But even at a half inch thick, that’s going to take probably around an hour to cut them all. And that’s not counting the material prep, mounting it to the machine, designing the program, which yes should be a one time thing. Then comes the finish sanding, running the branches on a router table to round the edges, drilling the holes in all of them, making the stand and pole, applying finish and assembly. Rough guess of around 4 hours to do all that, 4 to 5 hours total, maybe. So if I cut out 4 of them at a time, averaging one hour per finished tree, $80 per tree sounds pretty good and is $80 bucks an hour. But, I don’t think I’d sell too many, if any for that price. I think more around $20 to $30. Now you’re making around $20 bucks an hour and still have to pay for the machine, all the accessories, the wood and finish. And at least in my experience with a CNC, they don’t run flawlessly all the time. I’ve had it run fine till it didn’t and ruined a project.
So, if you already have a CNC, then good luck and have fun. If you don’t have one yet, I’d think pretty seriously about it before dropping at least $5000, probably double that if you’re going to try and run production and not just a project here and there.
i throw no wood away. i may burn it to keep warm but it gets used lol
That's a good way to go!
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Nice
I hope you find them profitable!