kmmcrafts

I have the Nextwave Shark HD4.. They used to make a small unit that was called the Piranha which a basic unit was about $1500.. I see they no longer make this model but have replaced it with a different name.. I think it's about the same thing though.. I see they also have a very small desktop looking one for about $1200.. As for advise, I don't have a lot to offer because I'm really quite new to using them.. even though I've had mine for 2 years.. I've only made about a dozen things on it.. My main business is scroll work.. and I don't want to change it into a CNC type work business at this time.. I feel I need a lot more experience with it before I jump on that train.. and the scroll work really keeps me hopping which is a big reason I haven't used it much.. Every time I get a day that i think I'll sit down and mess with the CNC.. a custom order or something comes in that is scroll work.. Everyone is different but in my opinion.. the water cooled spindle for the CNC is a must have.. I see guys on the CNC groups saying they've burnt up another router.. some of them claim they put a new router in it every 6 months.. ( they are production working the machines ).. But just from the noise level between the router and the spindle is worth the extra cost in my opinion.. I'd not be able to stand listening the the router noise all day long in a shop.. The spindle is so quiet you don't even hardly hear it run.. other than the bit carving is all you really hear... There are some other folks on here with other brands etc.. maybe if you start a new topic in the other forum section someone with more experience would give some good advise.. Here is a link to some of Nextwave products and CNC's that might be of interest.. The SharkHD510 is probably the closest to what I have.. You could go talk to Matt at LLJohnson's Workbench in Charlotte MI.. That is where I got mine. he is quite helpful and runs them in his own shop.. https://www.rockler.com/power-tools/cnc-machines-and-laser-machines/next-wave

Thank you

Thank you Marg, They are all scrolled.. The one with a base on it is a smaller clock so I had to shrink the text down quite a lot and the details are someone lost in it etc.. plus the angle of the picture makes it looked carved.. If I ever make it again I'd probably size it up some to show the details better..

Yeah you're right.. there are a lot of different cars.. not only that.. some folks get picky and ask me if I can make it have flames since her hubby's car has flames painted on it.. or this wheel style rather than that.. LOL.. Most times I decline getting that technical unless they want to pay a substantial amount more, LOL Thank you for the comments

Yeah, I get to the shows now and then too, I like to actually go sit somewhere near the show when it ends.. kinda fun watching them leave the shows.. and you can just sit in the A/C in the car and watch them drive by, LOL.. As for making money around here selling the clocks at shows... Coming from a person that likes building cars.. I think I can speak for most of them car guys at the show, but they'd never spend the money on a clock with all the car parts they sell at the shows.. They're there to spend money for car parts and won't spend a dime towards a clock or T-shirt etc.. The clocks I sell are 99.9% sold to women buying a gift for their husband / boyfriend / or Teenager... about .01% of my sales actually goes to a guy buying the clock, LOL.. In fact, I think a couple years back someone here got a spot at a car show and had 1-2 sales that only covered the booth and both sales was to women, LOL.. Thank you for the comments

Thank you!

Thank you!

Yes, I have to agree.. I like most anything from the 50's through the mid 70's car wise.. and most any trucks I like but the Chevy trucks from around 64 - 72 are a great design.. actually like the 73-88 Chevy's GMC's too.. Thank you for the comments.

I've always been a car and old tractor enthusiast.. I've always had a vision of doing clocks like these when I first started scroll sawing.. but I couldn't get the word typed well enough in my asking for patterns and would always end up with a portrait pattern... feeling obliged to make what I asked for I did portraits for a long time.. Love doing them too.. maybe better than the clocks because you can stack cut and be more production type work BUT.. they just didn't sell well for me.. Yes they sell.. but not great.. Then when Steve Good did the 57 Chevy pattern I had a vision to custom make the design into the clock as I had envisioned years before.. Then I had a sample of a clock when asking for patterns to show.. Also many CNC machinist make car stuff and there seems to be a lot of vector drawings / coloring pages etc.. out there now that any times I can find an image I can make into a pattern myself.. Most of the clocks I have made was based off if that 57 of Steve Goods.. and All of them was a request from a customer and I made it and then I offer it in my online store.. many of which are just an image of the original one and made to order rather than made and ready to ship.. some cars are real popular to sell while some of the others I've only made the requested one.. It helps a lot too that I'm in a lot of car clubs and groups etc.. to get sales.. word of mouth goes a long way too. Thank you for the comments.

Thank you!

The K-40 comes with exhaust extraction fans and a like Dryer vent hook-up.. Though they say it's weak but doable in the beginning stages.. Most just vent the tube out the window..

I've been trying to get a few new items made to add to my arsenal.. Here is a few I recently done.. Just playing around.. have more new ones on deck to cut today.. Couldn't remember if I shared those last two trucks or not.. but if so here they are again, LOL

Thanks Don, I'll check those programs out.. I hope to fire the laser sometime this summer.. I need to order a fire extinguisher before I set the shop on fire with it, LOL I've read some pretty bad stories on some of the laser groups.. I'm not firing the laser until I have some safety measures in place... otherwise I'd have probably already done a test run..

When I got my CNC I had the option to get the water cooled spindle or a 7W laser.. I went with the spindle because at the time that was a $600 upgrade.. same for the laser attachment.. Instead of getting the laser for the CNC I bought a Chinese K-40 40Watt Co2 laser.. Its powerful to cut through 1/4" supposedly.. I plan to not install the software it came with and instead will use Whisper designed for the K-40 machines.. I've bought some upgraded parts for it like air assist etc.. but I have not even plugged the thing in yet..

I like the laser way of signing the works better to be honest.. and I did buy a laser a couple years ago when I got the CNC.. I haven't messed with it at all yet because I wanted to learn the CNC first and thought I might get confused with learning two machines at the same time.. I'm getting close enough now with the CNC stuff that I think I'll set up the laser sometime this summer.. The CNC I bought was one of the larger models.. they have much cheaper smaller models.. I think some would fit on top of a desk or bench... Anyway mine is a Nextwave brand Model Shark HD4 I also went with the water cooled spindle.. I wouldn't have a CNC without a spindle.. the routers are way loud.. you don't even really hear the spindle running.. the bit carving is all you really hear.. but if you have a router they're typically so noisy you barely hear the carving , LOL The Software is Vetric V-carve Desktop 9.5 The software is actually very easy to design and work with.. in fact.. I've been using it to design some of my scroll saw patterns.. It's a lot like Inkscape I think.. But for me.. it's actually easier to work with because inkscape and the others come with a lot of design stuff that pattern makers really never use and there is just a hunt to find the right stuff for patterns.. having less garbage to sort through with Vcarve and smaller amount of buttons to work with makes it simple and quick.. Anyone interested in the software or machines a good Youtube source is to look up Mark Lindsey ( hope I spelled the name right ) ..

Thanks Jerry, that's how I feel.. and as I said.. handmade / handcrafted can have a very different meaning from one person to another.. The important thing to me is that my customer is satisfied with whatever they buy ( most could care less how it's made.. they're just happy to buy something unique that cannot be found in a local Walmart ).. If my products were to be 100% handmade.. heck I have no idea how to make the clock fit-up.. nor can I hand draw patterns.. Lot's of folks make "handmade" round signs.. They scroll the words and glue them to purchased rounds.. most of which are made in China.. I feel my CNC carved base is more handmade than the China purchased rounds that the handmade signs are made from.. which by the way.. I do consider handmade.. I just wish they'd buy USA made rounds etc if they're doing that.. but who am I to judge them. My opinion.. saying my CNC made base makes my products not handmade anymore is like saying a hand woodburned image on a china made wood shape purchased from hobby lobby isn't handmade..LOL and I'm sure some feel that isn't handmade because of that.. At what point does one draw the line to decide what is really hand made and what isn't..

Nice work! Several years ago I did this same basic thing.. and had the same results.. It's great cheap stuff to use for just playing around it the shop that is easier on the pocketbook.. but it's not something sturdy enough for my opinion to make and sell the pieces.. some cuttings are very fragile even with a quality BB ply.. and i don't think this stuff would be at all a good choice for those types of projects.. Looks like you had a good time cutting it and a nice experiment.. so that's a win win for you..

Hope the crowed was good and had their stimulus money handy for you

I prefer hand crafted too.. That is why it's still hand crafted.. I'm only carving the web address on the bottom.. then carving "most" of the material away of the profile of the base.. then I take it to my scroll saw and hand cut it the rest of the way out ( close to the edges of the profile ) and then hand sanding on my belt sander to shape the 1/8" small amount flush to the rest of the work the CNC did of the profile.. this gets almost a perfect rounded corners.. You see.. before doing it this way the scroll saw was never ( rarely ) involved with the bases.. as I cut the boards into 2" strips and the rounded off the corners with the disc / belt sander.. These cut out with a scroll saw a lot faster when I'm cutting 1/8" thick vrs. the 3/4".. I see this way no different than before.. other than I no longer hand sign my website on the bottom with a Sharpe.. I bought a high end wood burner set to sign with but waiting for it to heat up and cool down to put it away for 1 custom ordered piece was too time consuming to do.. I like doing things in batches.. but it doesn't always work that way when a made to order or custom order piece comes up.. The bases are almost always 8" or 11" so I made these two programs for the CNC to run.. I made 16 bases today just playing around testing things.. total time was probably around 1.5 hours.. normally I have 20 - 30 minutes per base the old way.. The CNC can run it's thing while I'm scrolling next to it to watch over it.. I also do not see this being any different than someone buying laser buttons from Steve Good and drilling a hole to put them in.. I just skip the outsourced piece to put in and carve it in with my CNC.. I'm getting busy enough that it's either this or hire a helper.. I don't want to get into the hiring business and the headaches that come with it.. I'd rather automate some of my process's to cut time down while still doing hand crafted.. The word Hand crafted can be defined in so many ways.. I mean in my mind.. hand crafted is just that.. doing everything by hand.. no power tools involved.. and last I knew a scroll saw is a power tool.. I bet the guy with a coping saw doing the same patterns we do with scroll saws had the same thoughts many others do about CNC stuff..

Drying time will vary considerably depending upon your humidity and temps.. Coming from someone who has worked with automotive finishing for several years.. Higher humidity can nearly double the full cure times..and in some cases.. triple the times.. JFYI

I've been real busy making clocks and something that I hate doing is the base.. typically for the car clocks the base is 11 x 2" with rounded corners.. Over the years I've tried many ways of trying to make them in a productive way.. I used to just scroll saw them out.. but doing those long straight 11" length of cuts and then the rounded corners takes a lot of patients and time.. Then I started just cutting 2" strips on the table or band saw.. But then the challenge was getting the rounded corners.. either scrolling the ends still or hand shaping them on the belt / disc sander.. this requires a lot of sanding and shaping.. and a challenge to get all rounded corners symmetrical.. I've been wanting to do this for a long time now but never got around to getting a spoil board set up on my CNC so I don't cut into the CNC bed.. Well a few weeks back I had a custom request to engrave a message on the clock base.. so I set up the machine to engrave the base and then cut the outline ( profile ) so it left 1/8" left to cut on my scroll saw.. still leaves me a bit of cutting sanding and minor shaping but a lot faster than scrolling the whole 3/4" thick stock.. Even with a spoil board I'd have to leave tabs ( bridges ) to hold the piece from flying off the machine so there is still going to always be a but of sawing / sanding / shaping.. This makes things so much easier for me as the CNC can be cutting bases while I scroll the clocks.. etc.. Plus.. I'm able to engrave my website on the bottom.. I haven't cut these out just yet and sanded shaped etc.. but the custom one I did a few weeks back was very quick and easy to cut and shape.. as the CNC does the majority of the work.. Here is a short video of the machine working for me and then a photo at the end of the bottom of the bases after I painted the text.. Some will probably disagree with using the CNC to help out. I understand that.. you have to understand this is a hobby / living for me.. and making 4-5 hundred bases a year is not a fun process for me.. Love scrolling the clock itself.. but not so much doing long straight cuts for the base's. etc.. Having the machine make these allows me now time to make the stuff I enjoy making..

I would say that is probably the best thing to do.. They are really well made.. I doubt you'll ever need another replacement other than set screws and thumb screws.. Your saw will wear out before you damage the chucks..

Yeah that's the truth for sure.. I can't remember when I ordered blades.. I ordered I believe 2 gross from Denny and 3 gross from DnD.. I want to say it was around March.. I have 1.5 gross left.. I've gotta get a order in soon or I'll run out again.. I've been trying to build up my inventory and should have around 550 - 600 items to offer soon..

They've been having some issues like this for the last couple years.. and this time of year they are harvesting ( farmers also ) so it might be really tough to get through to them.. as far as I know they are in business still.. Odd though someone posted just a few weeks ago that they had called and left a message and they got a call back in just a few hours.. They have always been slow or completely ignored the email system so that is certainly probably a waist of time trying that way.. Sure be nice if they'd hire some customer service help.. they sure lack on that side of the business, LOL Keep trying is all I can say.. OH, it's been said they are best to catch first thing in the morning too I believe.. Good luck.. They are awesome saws... until parts or service are needed..

I'd be interested in hearing a review of this once you put some hours on it.. I need a new blade and always bought the TmberWolf blades.. I've heard a lot about the carbide and other blades but the prices was nearly double what I pay for the ones I use.. Have been thinking about trying what was called the woodslicer?