By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more

Member postings for Christopher Knight

Here is a list of all the postings Christopher Knight has made in our forums. Click on a thread name to jump to the thread.

Thread: To CNC or not to CNC - that is the question.
13/01/2012 07:00:38
Nigel, those are some very impressive bits and your comments on using CNC as an alternative to casting etc. certainly give pause for thought. John, thanks for the great post on your training session.
 
I am not bothered about the computing aspects of CNC, I have tweaked enough code in various languages to feel comfortable with yet another. Probably the most relevant was writing some routines to use a daisy wheel printer as a graph plotter for curves I needed to draw in my work - only two axes but a bit like driving a CNC machine in a way. These days, I use mainly Sketchup and TurboCad in support of my woodworking.
 
The idea of starting manually then converting or trading up to CNC is starting to gel in my mind now.

Chris
 
 
12/01/2012 07:00:49
OK- it's all clear now, I need both a manual and a CNC machine, to be 20 years younger with time for proper training and of course a bigger workshop with space for the machinery.

Seriously, there is a lot of interesting and thought provoking stuff in these replies and I am very grateful for your advice. One thing is clear, looking at Terry's hand made parts and that is that excellent work can be done purely by hand. In that regard, I hope that the hand tool skills developed for my cabinet making will translate in part to metal.
 
Chris
11/01/2012 19:21:26
Thank you very much Mick and Terry, for your thoughtful and very helpful replies.
 
To a large extent, you have confirmed what I was holding as reservations in my mind, especially getting to know the characteristics of machining different materials etc. Reflecting on my own journey as a woodworker and now that I am teaching my grandsons, I rely on a wealth of practical know-how regarding the behaviour and capabilities of hand tools and the different species of wood I use.
 
I think I shall be following your advice.

Chris
11/01/2012 16:34:21
I have been an enthusiastic amateur cabinet maker for many years but an increasing sensitivity to allergens in wood is forcing me to do less. I am planning on switching my hobby to model engineering and wish to buy a milling machine. A question that is exercising me now is whether I should jump in at the deep end so to speak and go for a CNC machine.

I have had a Myford Super 7 (with a vertical slide) for a long time and have used it in support of my woodworking to make various metal fittings and the like so I can claim a small amount of machining experience albeit not to very fine tolerances. Whether this translates to useful experience in running a milling machine I don't really know. I do know that I don't wish to spend too many years becoming an accomplished manual machinist per se, I should like to see some end results before I get too old to do anything!

Practically every model engineering forum I have looked at has a section devoted to folk talking about CNC - usually converting various popular manual machines. This has caused me to worry that should I buy a manual machine, it wouldn't be very long before I too wanted to convert it etc. and if this were the case, I would much rather simply get a CNC machine straight away. One machine I am looking at does have the possibility still to use manual control even when CNC equipped which I guess is the best of both worlds but it is an expensive machine and I am not sure whether such a facility would be really useful. (My Volvo car can be driven as a full automatic or with sequential gears but I always use it in auto..)

I'd appreciate any thoughts.

Chris
Thread: Milling machine speed range
02/01/2012 17:43:14
Jason,
Thanks for your points and the link. I'd be happy to be able to do that standard of work with anything!
 
Chris
02/01/2012 12:58:09
Jon,
That's a pretty damning view of the thing and the first negative review I have found online.
 
I shall definitely have a look at it but hopefully get the importer to demo a hefty cut or three.
 
I wonder if the machine has been upgraded since you had yours?
 
Chris
01/01/2012 07:45:21
Rod, thanks for your reply. you make a good point and it is useful to hear your experience.
 
Chris
31/12/2011 08:50:25
Thanks for the response Clive. I take your point about the size of the table - the basic one is pretty short indeed.
30/12/2011 18:53:30
I wish to buy a small milling machine and am considering a Wabeco (on account of the hoped-for benefits of German Quality). I am a bit puzzled by their product offering of a high speed machine - at considerably more cost than the basic model.
 
Can anyone explain why 7500rpm max of the higher speed machine should be useful versus the 3000rpm max of the lower speed machine? I would have guessed that most milling is done at substantially lower speeds than either of these, except when using very small cutter sizes.
Magazine Locator

Want the latest issue of Model Engineer or Model Engineers' Workshop? Use our magazine locator links to find your nearest stockist!

Find Model Engineer & Model Engineers' Workshop

Sign up to our Newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter and get a free digital issue.

You can unsubscribe at anytime. View our privacy policy at www.mortons.co.uk/privacy

Latest Forum Posts
Support Our Partners
cowells
Sarik
MERIDIENNE EXHIBITIONS LTD
Shopping Partners
Subscription Offer

Latest "For Sale" Ads
Latest "Wanted" Ads
Get In Touch!

Do you want to contact the Model Engineer and Model Engineers' Workshop team?

You can contact us by phone, mail or email about the magazines including becoming a contributor, submitting reader's letters or making queries about articles. You can also get in touch about this website, advertising or other general issues.

Click THIS LINK for full contact details.

For subscription issues please see THIS LINK.

Digital Back Issues

Social Media online

'Like' us on Facebook
Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter
 Twitter Logo

Pin us on Pinterest

 

Donate

donate