Hello, I'm looking at getting a CNC router for some wood projects that I do. I'm not sure exactly how much money I want to invest but I do know that I can sell my wood projects much faster than I can make them. My main project is pallet flags. I take pallet boards and rip them down to (13) 1/2" wide strips, stain, and then glue them together. The total flag dimension is 37"x19.5" and I currently carve all 50 stars with a Dremel. It's very tedious and time consuming. Given that my surface isn't always the flattest, can this be accomplished with a 40"x40" CNC? I know the 60"x60" model will work but takes up more space. Should I piece together my own machine and what all would be needed? What type or style of bit should be used? How would I build the file for the star pattern or are there readily available files that I can use? What other advice would you give to a beginner?
i can imagine (-: no, please buy a kit from the store, then follow the instructions. As your first build you will be learning a lot, save the 'roll your own' for the second build (-: I would go for a V carved pattern, which means a V bit and software like Vectric Vcarve. You will just draw a star, test it for size and depth etc till you get what you want, then pattern it as needed so the machine cuts 50 of them in the right place. something like this
Thanks David. I'll start with the complete kit. Do you know if the 40x40 kit would support the 19.5" Width and 37" length? Or can part of the flag (not being carved) extend out past the platform? Is it difficult to expand the 40x40 to a 60x60?
