Been working on switchin to the meticulous z axis. I didnt get the holes for the ring cut so I plotted the holes thanks to @MeticulousMaynard. Cut the dust chute today and cut the circle portion of the acrylic.
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That’s awesome that you were able to plot the whole template at once. I was worried that stitching it back together like I had said in my other post wouldn’t be as accurate as you’d need it to be, but I’m glad to see you were able to get it in one go! 
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Yeah definitely. If plotting it didn’t work I was going to have Staples print it in one piece.
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Not specifically Maz related but might cut this on the Maz later who knows.
Earlier this year I noticed a maple had fallen over at the family farm. Last weekend I took the tractor down to investigate. I cut into it and my suspicions were correct, it had spalt! Much of the tree was rotten but the center 9’ was mostly good. I hauled it into a local sawmill and I picked it up this morning. I’ve been waiting all week like a kid right before christmas to see how it turned out. I love maple, especially spalted, ambrosia, or wormy maple. Such cool colors and character. This log didnt disappoint, it looks awesome. I stacked it in the shop for drying and future projects. I also picked up a oak, hickory, and a nice pine slab from the sawmill guy for cheap!
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hardwoods…
Meticulous z done. Lots of moving pieces getting that mod accomplished but worth it in the end.
Now I need to figure out my next project!
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Built a shop vac enclosure based on stuff I found on the internet. Repurposed some packing material that very closely resembled sound deadener. Shop vac is now quieter than the router. Love it!
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If it’s not a major listing of websites, could you share the information you found? (ie, a website?)
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http://www.startwoodworking.com/post/how-silence-your-shop-vac
This is the main website I used. Instead of using a door, I made the top lift off.
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Thank you for that!
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I really like this idea of noise deadening the shop vac, have you noticed if it has to work harder or is getting warmer being in that enclosure? Or do you think there is enough air flow for the vacuum?
My plan is to monitor it and find out. I found several sites online building basically the same thing and no mention of heat build up or changes in the design to help dissipate the heat. Still a bit skeptical though. I just made it so I can’t say for sure yet. I did run it for a short time and it seemed fine but I’ll follow up later after a lengthy run.
Depends on your ambient outside air. If it’s 60 degrees F and under you’ll probably see it climb to 80-90 degrees after an hour or so (gut feel). I tested mine in 90 degree ambient and after 10 minutes is was over 110 degrees in there and climbing. Plastic around the motor was too hot to touch. I had to add more ventilation and a separate fan to flush out the motor exhaust. You can see here for what I did: Custom Hinged Maslow Build/Vice/Dust Collection/Silencer
It sure is nice having the vacuum quiet though!
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Thanks for that! I live in Texas and my shop has no AC or insulation currently so I would probably need to add some fans to mine as well. I’m checking the build out now!
Boom! V carving! How cool?! Since doing the meticulous z I’ve dove into this idea. Hardest part was finding a program that worked well. Tried vcarve free trial. Can’t cut your own work so i tried one of their samples. Worked I guess but was ridiculously slow and I gave up after three hours of very little progress. Tried Easel but wasnt happy with it either. Tried F engrave and I think its great but more than I want right now. Carbide Create works great for simple v carving! Carved this word fast and simple. No problems, very satisfied. Bit was a cheapo menards 60 degree bit.
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Also got the shop vac silencer worked out I think. Added the duct fan and temps have been great so far.
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Wait… Is that the vacuum cleaner from the Teletubbies? 
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Not in my shop! But could be his cousin by the looks of it lol!
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You might want to try EstlCam for v-carving as well. That’s what I used for several projects now with pretty good results. It’s free (at full feature set) to start, eventually the pauses get annoying, but you’ll carve several projects before you get there…
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