Have you ever made the same/similar project twice, but done one on the CNC and one on the band saw? I’m not great with the band saw, but wanted to give it a try and compare both builds. If you have done something similar, please share your pictures, insights and opinions.
Still new enough that I haven’t had an opportunity to do two projects side by side. My workshop is fully equipped ( tablesaw, bandsaw, sliding compound miter saw,jointer, planer. 36" lathe, 24" throat scroll saw, drill press, full size mortiser and a fifty year collection of hand and power tools ) and now the X50 Woodworker. Frankly, I got it because I had become fed up with making all the components for more than 2,000 small boxes with my conventional tools and had an order for 500 more. In particular, seven holes needed to be drilled , twice, from each side to keep them clean. 500 x 7 x 2… I just couldn’t. Thinking I could just design all the pieces in V Carve and let the machine do all the work, I pulled the trigger and got the machine. When the reality that the CNC is A/ actually slower than myself on regular machines and B / all the components would need to be broken out of the sheet and cleaned up, involving still more time and work, I came up with a hybrid approach. The CNC does all the holes and I then cut the components out around them on the table saw. Works admirably. Taught me the lesson that just because you have a CNC , doesn’t mean the answer is always ’ I have a CNC ! '
@LostInTheGarage Just so it’s not all about me, I really enjoyed your video and the premise behind it. Thank you so much for it. Love the blooper reel as well.
Thanks for your thoughts! I was recently thinking about a design and got caught thinking of how to do it all on the CNC. I realized I could save a lot of time by simply doing some of the work with a drill press.
Thanks for watching the video!
Heres a different perspective: I watch a lot of videos. I often think "I bet they’d get that done faster manually with a band saw (or whatever), but I’m a devil’s advocate by nature, so I keep thinking.
I think, if they are batching things and can work on other tasks while the CNC runs, it might still be a time saver. Heck, it could be even if they’re running just one whenever they need one if they can just let it run.
I also think of my situation, where I’ve developed some muscle ccontrol issues, and I hope to get back into the shop again with the CNC.
And of course, there are folks that may just want to play with their CNC or are doing 3D carvings or other things that make using the CNC the overall best choice.
To the original question, yes, when I see things like cutting boards and basic shapes or toys cut out with the CNC and it takes 14 minutes, I always wonder if it wouldnt just be faster to do it manually. And if they’re for gifts, I’d think the projects might be that little bit more from the heart when made by their hands. But I’m biased, thinking back to my Dad making things in the shop always meant a lot to me.
But you can’t drink coffee while running a bandsaw… Maybe…
You’re not thing this through!
Step 1: Buy a Rikon bandsaw
2: put Keurig on top of bandsaw
3: plug Keurig into socket on back of Rikon
4: place funnel in mouth
5: begin making coffee
6: begin sawing wood
7: drink while sawing wood
8: behold! Pre-stained wood!
I see you’ve spent some time thinking this through…
