A friend of mine suggested I start publishing my experiences putting together my home CNC machining shop in a blog. I’ve been at this for a little over a year, documenting most of it with pictures, and learning quite a bit as I’ve gone along.
What has been most interesting about this process has been discovering that if you design something in high precision, using tools that remove much of the human error from it, you get out something that fits together easily and works.
More importantly, the more you put into refining your design before you cut the first piece of metal, the more likely you’re going to get what you’ve modeled when you actually build it.
In February of 2016, the garage was hot in the summer, filled with one car, a band saw, a drill press, a workbench, and lots of assorted stuff. In June of 2017, it’s air conditioned, organized, there’s a Tormach PCNC 1100 mill where there used to be piles of stuff. (The stuff is still a problem – it’s in a tent on the back patio at the moment – but everything has to eventually go somewhere permanently – if it isn’t in the model, it doesn’t go in the shop)
So at least for the moment this blog is to share the process of putting together my garage and installing the heavy equipment. The next few posts will cover
- Modeling the garage in Fusion 360, making models of the major parts, and placing them in the model.
- First steps in making it real – adding the air conditioner, having the floor epoxy coated, and painting the walls (badly).
- Picking and installing an air compressor as well as a distribution system to serve the whole garage without having hoses everywhere.
- Ordering the Tormach and getting it delivered and assembled.
- Adding the power drawbar and fog buster
- Making my first project – the three copper plates that kicked off this entire enterprise.
- Getting the lumber off the floor without throwing it out
- Organizing my toolbox
- Designing a custom enclosure for the Tormach
- Fixing the compressor drain so it doesn’t blast into the garage
- Assembling the enclosure
After that, we’ll see where things go. The bandsaw is still on the back patio, needs a new 240V outlet and a new mobile base. The drill press also needs back in its new (as yet undefined) spot.
So what the heck is the name about? And what does a henge have to do with Computer Numerically Controlled machine tools?
Well for one, it’s memorable. It yields an easily recognizable logo, and touches on one my interests, astronomy – the layout of the stones indicates the the seasons and the time for planting and harvests, which tie in the the position of the sun and the stars.
But mostly it’s just for fun.
More to follow…
Standing Stones CNC 