My Maslow kit arrived today! Placed my order on December 1st, 2017,
first thing in the morning, #05648. We have been on the road going South and West since then, and have only been home for the last couple of weeks, so the timing is perfect. In the last week I have been fiddleing with Easel, and created the G-code for the latest sled design. I am in the process of building a woodworking shop, and am hoping to create work surfaces and cabinets with the help of the Maslow. To that end I have converted plans from Ron Paulk (paulkhomes.com) for his compact workbench to cut files using Easel, and am pretty excited to see how the Maslow performs. Of course, the first thing I need to do is actually build the machine.
This is my first post on the forum, where I have been lurking off and on for the past 4 months… I am sure it will not be the last. Since I have your attention, a nuts and bolts question… the workbench has dozens of 3/4” holes on the work surface… if these are cut using a 1/4” bit, will the resulting 1/4” scrap cause any problems, or will it need to be tabbed?
Thanks all! So excited to be a new member of the club!
My intuition says that a scrap that small won’t cause a problem, though I don’t have any experience here. I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to have that cut start and end at the top of the circle, so the scrap drops away from the bit.
The other scenario would be if you are trying to cut a 1/4" diameter disk using a 1/4" bit. In that case, well, I wish you luck!
I too doubt it will be a problem, but if you are worried, you can always do a profile cut and it will just away all the material (i.e., turn it to a cloud of dust).
Also, make sure you have your machine dialed in really, really well before moving on to the workbench project. I’d hate for you to ruin a perfectly good piece of wood by finding out your holes aren’t coming out aligned correctly.
Thanks for the input! I will run tests on on the 3/4 holes to see what happens. The Easel software estimates almost 7 hours run time using a 1/4” bit, 4 passes @ .2”/pass, cutting 3/4” birch ply. Doing a profile cut (Easel calls it fill) the cut time increases to almost 11 hours. I suppose a lot could go wrong in that time.
All of the above is pure fantasy from a new-be with zero experience. I will be pretty excited if the thing can do a decent job on the sled. Probably at least a week away from turning the machine on the first time.
Yes, the scrap will cause a problem. That’s what the “pocket” function is for. It removes the scrap in the hole by turning the whole plug to sawdust. Just make your pockets slightly deeper than the 3/4 (probably 23/32") thick material. In Easel, the holes should be black spots instead of circles.
I was actually going to suggest that. You could even have Maslow mark the centers, but a Forstner bit with a drill guide is probably the best bet. I would also have some sort of waste board behind the plywood to drill into to eliminate blowout on the back. I just drilled a bunch of holes into plywood with a masonite/tempered hardboard backer. The shavings were different colors so I knew when I was through.
Have considered doing it by hand, and I will set up an alternate file with .020 depth x 1/4" marks where the holes will go. Yes, I understand the fine line… but the fantasy of working on other things in the shop while the Maslow drones away is compelling. Are any of you confident enough in the machine to do this?
Question on the Easel set-up… With a 1/4" bit cutting .02 inches, is the feed rate of 30 in/min correct? Where in the forum is the best place to look for or discuss these type of machine set up variables?
