I’m in a pickle; I’m on the waitlist and have access to pre-sales for a couple more days but am still unsure whether to take the plunge. I would really like your input on whether you think I should get the Maslow including z-axis kit.
To put into context the proposed usage, I’m on the cusp of building a new house and wanted to use the Maslow to create a whole bunch of custom items including:
Doors for all cabinetry (kitchen, bathroom, laundry), leaving the carcasses to the cabinet maker to fabricate out of MDF/particleboard.
Stair treads and risers for the staircase with a perforated pattern within the risers to allow light through.
Partition sliding doors with a perforated pattern to allow light through.
Ribbed ceiling panels, using the maslow to route channels into ply sheets to accept the vertical ply fins. (see image below).
Eventually all the bookcases and entertainment unit.
The main driver of doing all this work myself is cost, for instance off-the-shelf timber ceiling panels are AU$340 per square metre (~US$25/sqft). I am quite handy, a tech nerd and a civil engineer by profession so the maslow perked my interest!
My question to you, maslow owners and users is: do you think the maslow is the right product to use to produce the items detailed above or should I start looking at other options? Your input and opinions will directly lead to me either purchasing the maslow or not.
Welcome to our group. I’ve fielded this before sort of. It is my opinion the Maslow is the best bang for your buck. The education you get in learning to use it is well worth the investment. That said it depends on the experience you are looking for, if you expecting to down load a file from a web site and just hit print wait a few hours and presto! No it isn’t going to do that. If you are willing to tinker, learn, and use it as a partner in what you are building I think it’s well worth it. I see it as a tool like my hammer or a planer. A tool is a device that helps at a task. I think you could do quite a lot with it. Some of what you are describing requires what is often called 2nd Ops. Once the Maslow is done you will still need to finesse the parts sanding , trimming, filling, glueing. If your building a house you know how this goes. I hope you decide to try it out. I’m not paid to say this, I’m just a advocate of the product because I like it.
I would say for any sort of perforated wood anything, CNC is for sure the way to go. For the other stuff, however, I don’t think Maslow would be the best solution. For any application that requires long, accurate straightaways, using other tools like a table saw (or router table in the case of the ceiling panels) would be much quicker and more accurate.
My thoughts are that the Maslow will really only help you a significant amount with the perforated panels. If you really want the panels and want to do it yourself, go for it!
Also, here is a thread from a user looking to adapt the Maslow sled for use as a router table, which you could use to make the ceiling panels.
I’ll go through the projects, mind that my maslow won’t get here for another 2 months so my advice is not from experience, just from what i’ve read on this forum.
Depends on the type of doors you’ll make, but i’m planning to make the paterns for mine on the maslow, but afterwards cut out the straight parts with my track saw.
Absolutely, holes and wierd shapes would definitely be easier with a maslow
Same as 2
I wouldn’t do it, but if you have a maslow, you have a router, so you can build a dado jig to do it a lot faster and more accurately.
That is a table saw job, could be done, but it’s not ideal.
Niels,
My only comment was that if you were to go ahead the Z-Axis would be mandatory. I missed the boat on the Z-Axis which was not available when I purchased my unit so I am forced to either source my motor or wait for the the kits are available in early January 2018.
There is no way I would wait for the router to stop, do a manual adjustment then continue, especially if tabs have been put into the cutting path and manually retracting the bit when it traverses for the next cut. I would not be that patient and not doubt mistakes would occur.
Most of what I want to say has been addressed, but I would like to add my two cents. The Z-axis kit is a must have. It makes the cutting process much smoother and means you don’t have to babysit and assist the machine through a program.
All of the projects you’re describing are doable with the Maslow. The limitation is going to be how long you want to spend programming and waiting for the machine. The reason I like making cabinet parts on the Maslow is that it automates the process, so I can work on finishing and assembling while it makes more parts for me. It is definitely slower and less accurate than a production CNC, but it’s also a fraction of the price. The accuracy is also good enough for making cabinets.
What style doors are you planning on making? Carved MDF? Slab? Flat/raised panel? The first two would work pretty well on the Maslow. Slab doors you could even have it route the hinge cup pockets for frameless hinges. Flat and raised panel doors are easier with a table saw and a router table, however.
Thank you for all your great responses! Based on your input I think I’m going to purchase a dado jig like M.Power’s CRB7 (http://www.m-powertools.com/CRB7-MK3-combination-router-base.htm) to do the ceiling panels AND a Maslow with z-axis kit to do all the perforation work.
Dlang,
I would support you with the fact that the Z-Axis should be a mandatory inclusion. Some may say that it may not be suitable for my router type but the reality is that some level of customisation will be required anyway if you cannot source the Ridgid router so better to have the Z-Axis motor as a minimum.
Another thing I would like to see is the option for more than one collect adapter but not sure how that will impact weight and shipping costs.
@stuartri You can always buy another coupler if the one you initially purchased doesn’t work. In a previous reply I made, I had linked a McMaster part but it was something like $45 US, which is just about as expensive as the Z-axis kit. I’ve done some looking around and they can be found for a little as $5 US on ebay.
