Hi i am new to this site. I am looking at purchasing a Onefinity Elite 48x48 but before i pull the trigger i would like to know how the Onefinity performs when cutting a one piece MDF shaker style doors.
1 Like
We have a user on FB, gincreekmakershop, that just did a full kitchen and made the doors on his onefinity.
1 Like
I tried finding gincreek shaker post on Facebook and could not find it but did see a lot of their creations, great stuff. I recently carved shaker drawer fronts and they came out great. My machine is the Elite Journeyman. Be sure to flatten your waste board and tram your machine before making your doors. I had not done this yet when I did my drawer fronts and by not doing it I had a lot of sanding to do.
1 Like
Thanks, Scott! I am looking forward to receiving my new Elite Foreman. Good to hear you have had some success with the shaker doors!
i did full kitchen on my machine. upside, machine (elite forman) is very good and repeatable. down side is work holding, since it does not hold vacuum. i’ve used shop sabre with atc and vacuum and it is much faster and easier. not any better on quality. i put 30 deg bevel on my shakers as i like that style. i also make doors for replacement for cabinet upgrades. again, easy if 1, a bit of hastle if 4x4 sheet. i’m working on setting up vacuum now.
btw, i use mosaic on mine for cabinet design. works great.
1 Like
Thank you very much for this! This is all good info
I can see now that some type of vacuum is necessarily when cutting shaker doors. I would be interested to see what you came up with.
Terry
Did you use MDF or HDF, the cabinet makes around here have been using HDF, they are pretty nice.
Pat
1 Like
I was planning on MDF but i will have to look at the HDF as well now.
Thanks
1 Like
You might check to see if you can get WR MDF. It’s water resistant and commonly used for kitchen & other cabinets in Europe/UK so you’re not just relying on the finish for protection against spills.
You won’t find it at big box stores but a real lumber store or wood provider can order it for you.
Awesome! I’m going to look into that.
1 Like
MDF, it works great, once sealed, paints and sands out easy
1 Like
Hi Layne
Any day suggestions on holding down the MDF when cutting doors
Terry
I would use Carbide 3D Tiger Claw Clamps, if you go this route put anti- seez on the screw before using, Stainless on Stainless, easy to gaul.
Pat
1 Like
OK I will check them out, thanks!
So far, I have cut a total of 32 MDF doors / drawer fronts using the Elite. It works great. I use PWNCNC toe clamps combined with their track washers and track nuts:
I design the doors in VCarve Pro, and have it nest them into a full (1/2) sheet (which for my machine is 48 x 44 because I have ATC racks across the back. Then I use the toe clamps to hold it down around the perimeter. They only overlap onto the material by about a 1/4".
MDF (most any sheet good, in my experience) will have a bow to it. Put that facing down, so that the toe clamps pull the perimeter down on the table… holds the whole sheet nice and flat.
I’ve attached a pic of a recently completed door… right off the machine, not sanded or anything yet. I just used MDF from the big box store… I’m told you can get better MDF from sheet goods suppliers, but I haven’t looked into that yet. Also, be aware that MDF is tough on bits.
Lastly, good dust collection is ESSENTIAL more than ever when cutting MDF.
1 Like
This is good to know as i have approx the same amount to cut as well. You mentioned that MDF is hard on bits, with 32 drawers/doors which bits did you use and how many would you of went through. I just have the makita router im hoping that will do the trick for now. Im also curious how long it would take to router that many pieces.
You mentioned use VCarve Pro, my plan was to use Fusion 360. I currently have no software yet as my machine will only arrive in 10-12 weeks. Im leaning towards Fusion as i hope to eventually design furniture with it(long term goal), how do you like your VCarve.
Thanks again!
1 Like
Looks good, you must be doing the outside profile as a second operation?
Pat
Terry,
I used the following bits:
Main pocket clearing toolpath: Amana RC-2254 1-1/4" surfacing bit
Main pocket finishing: 1/4" down cut EM (Downtown Jenny Bit)
Inner and outer round-overs: Amana 1/4" round over bit (RC-1052 w/RCK-473 insert)
Inner round over corners: molding toolpath using Amana 1/32" tapered ball nose
Profile cutout: Bits & Bits 1/4" up cut EM
Hardware hole: 1/8" up cut EM
The bits made it through all 32 doors, but the surfacing bit and the round over bit were showing noticeable dullness towards the end. That’s why I bought the Amana’s with the 1/2" shanks and replaceable / rotatable inserts… so I could just turn or replace the inserts. I’m not sure if that really saves money in the long run, because the inserts aren’t cheap, but that was the theory anyway.
I don’t know anything about Fusion 360… I know a lot of people use it. I started out with the 1yr free CarveCo that came with the Onefinity… then I experimented with VCarve and liked it better… it just seemed more intuitive to me. But that’s one of those personal preference things. They’re all excellent pieces of software. I actually recently upgraded to Aspire for 3D modeling, but haven’t had too much time to play around with it yet.
Pat,
The inner and outer profiles (if you mean the round overs) were done each as their own vector / toolpath, using an Amana 1/4" round over bit. Then followed up on the inner round over with a molding toolpath using an Amana 1/32" tapered ball nose bit, in order to square up the inside corners, otherwise they would be rounded, and I didn’t want that. The profile cut-out was done with a 1/4" up cut EM. But the entire door, including the hardware hole, was cut on the CNC machine as one operation with multiple tool paths.