Woodshops

From makernexuswiki
This page is about general woodworking tools and tips. For the woodshop at the Maker Nexus makerspace in Sunnyvale, CA, see MN Woodshop.

What is a woodshop?

A woodshop is a space for tools to process wood and soft materials. People bring in materials like plywood, solid lumber, plastics, and foam, and then they use hand and power tools to cut, assemble, and shape the tools.

Products you can make are anything from turned pens or small coasters, to boxes, to furniture and architecture:

  • Blades are used to chip away at materials to cut them apart. Common tools that have blades: saws, coarse files, planers, drills, CNC routers.
  • Abrasives are used to grind materials until they are smooth. Common tools that have abrasives: sandpaper, smooth files, rough paper.
  • Fasteners are used to hold materials together. Permanent fasteners will deform or hook into materials. Temporary fasteners can be loosened for removal. Common fasteners: nails, screws, hooks, clamps, locks, pin nails, staples.
  • Aligners are parts that keep the position of two pieces of material. Common aligners: dowels, tenons, screws, posts, biscuits, dominoes.
  • Adhesives are used to bond materials together. Common adhesives: wood glue, cyanoacrylate (aka CA glue, super glue), tape.
  • Finishes protect the surface and change the appearance for design or durability purposes. Common finishes: stains, paint, urethanes, hard waxes.

But what about lasers? See: Laser Cutters, MN Laser Cutters

Safety considerations

There are more safety considerations than what's listed here. But these are some things we have learned:

In general

  • Safety should be the most important priority. You cannot rush safety; woodworking just takes time. Always look at the machines and the work area. Don't distract people when they are actively cutting. Don't run or walk fast through the shop. Watch your back when turning around while holding materials. If something doesn't feel right, stop. If you need help, ask someone or a staff member.
  • Do not walk away from an active cut. If a machine is running, stay with it. If you are done, turn it off, wait for it to stop moving, and then you can look away or walk away. If you need to adjust something while the machine is running, consider turning it off. Also, do not distract someone from an active cut unless you absolutely need to grab their attention.
  • Move slowly and purposefully. The floor can be slippery with dust, people may not see/hear you if you walk behind them, and if you are carrying long items you could turn around and hit someone. You may not see someone coming through a door or around a blind corner.
  • Work within your strength capability. Wood materials, composites, and even the tools can very heavy. You can strain or injure yourself by hauling, lifting, or turning things outside of your strength range. Use carts to move heavy things. Use stands to support wobbly ends. Clamps are your friends. Ask for help if you need to, or find another safe way of accomplishing the task.
  • Don't rush or work when tired. You may miss safety checks. Accidents happen when you try to do "just one more cut"—come back tomorrow refreshed.
    • Stay hydrated
    • Stay focused
    • Plan your restroom breaks

Hazards from cutting

Moving blades and rotating bits are connected to very powerful machinery, and almost all of these machines do not have a way to detect that something has gone wrong and shut themselves off. (The one exception is the SawStop.) So as an operator you must be very careful:

  • No loose clothing near the blade/bit. No gloves! Most of us wear short sleeve shirts and no jewelry from the elbows down. If a loose thread or a corner of your clothing gets caught then you may be pulled into the machine. Nobody likes splinters or sharp wood edges, but being mindful of rough edges reduces the chance of being poked or cut.
    • You can use gloves to move materials and tools, just take them off before turning on a machine. (If a machine grabs a bit of a glove, it will rip it off your hand.)
      • This is what emergency departments call a "de-gloving event." It is horrible, so do not wear gloves when using a machine.
      • This is also why you shouldn't wear rings or jewelry, even from around a chain on your neck. (Put them back on after you are done working.)
    • The SawStop does have a brake that will drop the table saw blade if your skin makes contact with the blade. This has saved countless people from deep cuts or worse. However, do not rely on the brake. Even if the blade drops, you will still likely get a cut or materials can get snagged and still harm you.
  • Keep long hair tied back. Anything longer than shoulder length can be problematic. It's the same problem of clothes being caught in a machine. Don't turn around too fast near an active machine. Many of us use larger dust masks which help keep long hair in place.
  • No necklaces. Even when tucked into you shirt.
  • Always wear eye protection. The blades and bits throw chips faster than you can react, and they are small and sharp. Choose glasses that wrap around the side of your eyes. Many of us have oversized ones that fit over reading glasses.
  • Only one person on a machine. One person is usually better than two. Woodworking involves subtle movements to move materials around and machines are very loud.
  • Avoid wearing rings or bracelets. If you injure your fingers or hand, swelling may occur, making it impossible to remove the ring—which can lead to more swelling.

Hazards from saw blades

Most of the advice here boils down to:

  • Don't touch the blade
  • Avoid kickback

Always keep hands and clothing at least 6" from the blade. Table saws and miter saws have colored areas to remind you where you should not put your hands, but it is still up to you to be vigilant.

Avoid touching the blade

  • Use a push shoe: You hold these to control your work through the blade and keep your hands at a distance. There are thin devices around the shop with a handle, a flat bottom, and a small "heel" to help catch your work. Place on top of the work to apply pressure down and towards the fence.
    • People generally do not recommend "chicken foot" push sticks. See next section.
  • Use a push stick: For band saws only, if you need to push a thin piece through the blade, use a small stick. Be aware the stick can catch on the moving blade.
  • Don't reach across a blade: Use the push shoe or a MicroJig. Even if you think you have control, a little kickback or wobble on the work can make you topple into the blade. Even if the SawStop brake engages, your work can still be thrown around.
  • Use a MicroJig: These pushblocks have standoffs to keep them above the blade and a gripping edge on the bottom. They let you hold thin pieces of wood down as you control it over the blade, which keeping your hands inches away. Use the stabilizing foot on the free side of the jig to keep the jig parallel to the table.

Avoid kickback

We like this video to explain how kickback occurs.

  • Do not use a chicken foot push stick: The hazard of kickback occurs because the far side of the work gets picked up by the rapidly spinning blade and thrown up at you. A chicken foot only applies control to the front edge which can let the back edge pivot upwards. Consider using the push shoe instead.
  • Use a feather board: Place the featherboard with the fingers pointing away from you to allow 1-way movement of the wood through the blade. Place before and after the blade if you like to keep the work parallel to the rip fence.
  • Use a high fence: If cutting something tall (such as a rabbets or laps), use a high fence to stabilize the work. That way the bottom edge won't tip at an angle to the blade. For making tenon long sides, this is what you do. Be careful to control the work so it doesn't rock forward/backward through the blade.
  • Use a crosscut sled: If cutting something wider than it is long, the crosscut sled will ensure the work passes perpendicular to the blade without twisting.
    • Clamp tall pieces to the sled: For making tenon short sides, this is what you do.
  • Keep the table surface free of dust and debris: With the table saw or band saw stopped, brush/vacuum away large debris. This keeps your surface level and prevents your work catching on a big chunk, which could then tip the work into the blade unexpectedly.

Other things

  • Don't leave a blade on the table saw table. It'll scratch it and/or damage the blade. The teeth on a saw blade are often 3D so they stick out and are also sharp, so putting the blade down on the table saw can leave small marks. If you're changing a table saw blade, put it in the drawer with the other blades or find a piece of wood to let it rest.

Hazards from dust

Even when you are not actively working, there is almost always a lot of dust floating in the air in the woodshop.

  • Consider wearing a mask or respirator. Sawdust stays airborne for a long time and it is an irritant. Prolonged exposure to sawdust can create serious health concerns. An N95 or N100 mask is great to keep the particles out. Many of us use masks with replaceable filters because they are more comfortable to wear and have a better seal.
  • Use dust collection. Whenever possible, use the dust collectors attached to the machines or a ShopVac. A downdraft table also helps to capture particles. After you are done with a machine or sanding on a table, use broom to push dust into pans and place in garbage cans.
  • Clean around the machines. Dust is also slippery. The floors should be relatively dust-free to prevent slipping when walking or turning.

Hazards from sanding belts and wheels

The belts and wheels move past a fixed metal platform that supports the work.

  • Hold onto your work: Always maintain control of the work near the moving sander, otherwise it can be trapped or thrown.
  • Watch out for loose clothing, hair, or aprons: They can get caught between the moving sander and the platform, or get pulled into the wheels. Consider removing anything dangling, secure your hair. Do not turn around quickly.
  • Don't let your hands get pinched: always keep your hands away from the moving sander. If you have a thin piece of work, hold the work with one hand and use a push stick to apply light pressure to the other side of the work that's close to the sander.

Hazards from fumes

  • Do not cut materials that could give off fumes. When in doubt, ask a staff member and try to ventilate the shop. Some materials with paints or plastics can heat up and release hazardous gasses, so be mindful of what you cut. That said, everything gives off some amount of fumes such as cutting MDF, using glue, or applying finishes.

Hazards from nails and screws

  • Do not leave sharp fasteners on the floor or tables. It's easy to step on or grab a nail or end of a wood screw. Put the fasteners back in their bins or bags, or sweep them into garbage cans.

Hazards from falling materials

  • Use support arms or support stands. You only have two hands and when you cut materials the two halves often pivot away in opposite directions. In the case of a miter saw this means the cut ends of the materials can fall away and pinch the blade: this will throw the wood back at you. Extend support arms or use a stand.

Hazards from kickback

  • Wood pinching on a spinning blade can throw wood back at you or someone else. It happens faster than you can react. Always keep pressure and control on your material and watch for any opportunity to have the wood pinch the blade or turn oddly into the blade. Even if you push wood through the table saw cleanly, the wood may relax beyond the blade and curve inward. Always know how to stop the machine or keep control of the material.
  • Use the Riving Knife. This is a key safety device to avoid kickback. You should never use the table saw without the riving knife in place.
  • Don't stand in the path of small thin material. When cutting on the table saw you may be ripping a small strip off one side. Stay to the left of the saw blade and allow a small gap so that if kickback happens then the small piece will shoot past your hip.
  • Use a miter gauge or crosscut sled for material that is wider than it is long. A miter gauge or sled rides in a track that prevents the material from turning left/right. Holding your material to the miter gauge or sled lets you safely push it through a table saw blade.
  • Clamp non-square material. Anything at an angle should be clamped to a sled or a miter gauge. This goes for round poles. And this is for the table saw, miter saw, and band saw. The blade will grab a round side and spin it harder than you can hold onto it.
  • See also: Table saw accidents

Hazards from clogged or insufficient dust collection

Always use the dust collector or ShopVac to suck dust from the work surface and the machine. Dust can clog up the machine leading to damage. Always check that it feels like air is being sucked away, and replace bags if not.

  • Sawdust on the floors can make them slippery
  • Too much dust below the bandsaws can create a fire hazard and/or throw dust back up into the air
  • Overfilled dust collection bags won't vacuum
  • Overfilled dust collection bags can break
  • If a ShopVac feels heavy, it's probably full
  • If a ShopVac doesn't suck, then the bag might be full, the filter might be clogged, or the bag could be broken
  • There are dust catch trays below the downdraft table
  • Too much dust in the table saw can jam the elevation mechanism and lead to stripped gears
  • Not vacuuming the thickness planer can result in uneven cuts
  • Not turning on the jointer dust collector can result in damage to the machine
  • Not using the dust shoe or a ShopVac on the CNC router can create a fire when drilling holes or small pockets
  • Overfilled hand sander bags can lead to sawdust spilling back onto your work or sanded particles thrown back into the air

Hazards from wet wood

In general, wet wood is hard to work with and it can cause problems on the machines. Wood from a lumber yard may be kiln-dried, which helps. But letting wood rest in your shop for a while helps to let it acclimate to your local humidity.

  • Wet wood can warp. All wood has moisture and as you cut it a bend may form. Let it dry out before planing or cutting on the table saw.
  • Wet wood can trigger the SawStop. And SawStop cartridges are about $100/each right now. Wet wood is electrically conductive, and if you hold the wood then you may trigger the brake.

Hazards from wood irritants

Wood dust in general is problematic and you can become sensitized to it, leading to rashes or breathing difficulties. Some woods can be more irritating; the Wood Allergies and Toxicity database is a good resource. (Wood that has been finished is generally non-irritating since it's sealed.)

  • Always test unknown woods and ask for advice on #woodshop Slack.
  • Use dust collection and/or ShopVac your work area often.
  • Wear a mask or respirator when in the woodshop.
  • If the wood smells bad when you're sanding or milling it, stop.

Some woods to be mindful of:

  • Cocobolo: Deep contrasting grain and tight knots.
  • Lacewood: This is name for a number of species that have the same beautiful wave-like grain.
  • Purpleheart: A unique rich purple/eggplant color.
  • Redwood: Some redwood may cause breathing issues.
  • Walnut: That deep reddish brown grain, but for people with nut allergies you may be sensitive to this.
  • Wenge: Dark with circular striping, and may cause abdominal cramps and central nervous system effects
  • Zebrawood: High contrast undulating stripes, but also an irritant which can include stomach upset

Hazards from miter gauges and sleds

  • Double check the metal bits won't cross the path of a blade! If the blade touches a metal bit it could chip the blade and start the machine wobbling or throw the sharp metal somewhere bad. On the SawStop, this can trigger the blade brake!
    • Without your wood on the miter gauge/sled, see if it'll clear the blades
    • Check sleds for metal bits protruding into the path of a blade
    • Make sure the gauge/sled's movable bits are tightened before pushing them near the blade
  • Double check the height of the MicroJig. The Microjig should be on top of the wood as a push block and the table saw blade should pass right through the jig opening with enough clearance that it would get caught in the blade. Spend time to adjust the position of the feet so they'll grip your wood before and after the cut and also clear the blade. Use the support foot.
  • Clamps should also be checked. It's common to use clamps to hold work to a sled or to hold a stop block. An unsecured metal clamp can fall into the path of a blade or can be pushed into it. With the machine off, do a test push to make sure your clamps are well out of the cut area.

Related:

  • Watch out for unsecured fingerboards getting pulled into the path of a blade, or getting bumped by a MicroJig into the path of a blade

Hazards from processed work still sitting on/near the cutting surface

After you make the cut, move the processed material to your "done pile". That way you're not trying to make the next cut and having extra materials that could fall back into the path of the blade or sander or other moving machine.

Hazards from rounded wood, round sticks, and dowels

Rounded wood won't sit exactly parallel to the fence. Be very careful when attempting to cut these as they can easily get trapped between the blade and the fence leading to kickback, twisting, or pulling you too close to the blades.

Especially round sticks or dowels should be held in jigs or clamped. A moving blade or sanding surface can spin the material faster than you can hold it. Especially with a table saw: even if you cut a round circle flat, the blade action can turn it into a gear and spin it back at you or pull your hands into the path of the blade!

Even when turning wood on a lathe be sure it is clamped in or secured strong enough that the work piece won't get loose or fly away.

Hazards from reclaimed wood or staples

Reclaimed wood may have nails, screws, or staples still in it. Even lumber from a warehouse store may have stapled tags on the ends. These metal bits can deflect a blade or cause breakage, which can lead to a safety concern.

  • Carefully remove all metal from the wood. Inspect all angles of it, especially the ends or undersides.
  • Be wary of reclaimed lumber. Know where it came from and watch out for bolts.
  • Pallet wood may have nails. Pallets may have extra nails from their quick construction.

Hazards from loud noise

Machines are loud, and wood being cut also tends to be loud. Wearing ear protection is highly recommended to prevent hearing damage. There are several methods people use:

  • Standard foam earplugs. They are cheap and portable. They may become uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time.
  • Tethered soft earplugs. Usually with a cable, these have softer tips and are more comfortable for longer.
  • Noise canceling headphones and earbuds. Many people like to use the noise canceling feature or listen to music. Be sure to keep the music volume low enough that you can hear other people trying to grab your attention or to hear the sound the machine is making.
  • Shop-grade earmuffs. These provide excellent hearing protection and comfortable for long periods of time.

Wearing hearing protection also prevents sawdust from getting lodged in your ears!

Hazards from dried glue

Using glue is absolutely fine, but too much glue can pose problems for the jointer, thickness planer, or your finish. The best strategy is to use only as much glue as you need to coat and stick your pieces together, clamp snuggly to create as much squeeze-out, then use a damp rag to remove excess glue.

  • Wipe off excess glue. After you squeeze wood together, use a moistened (not sopping wet) rag to wipe off excess glue. (Wash out dirty rags and pails in the wet room, not the bathroom sink!)
  • Scrape excess dried glue. Use a scraping tool to remove the big blobs
  • Tape the clamps. Glue can get really stuck to the clamps, so add some blue tape to the clamps before the glue-up, especially when making large panels.
  • Hard glue blobs can damage the planer or jointer. Glue is harder than you think, and it can dull the planer jointer's blades. Scrape excess glue before passing it through.
  • Hard glue blobs can deflect the CNC router. Our Shopbot has no feedback mechanism to know that it has wandered off its path. Hard glue blobs work like screws/nails and deflect the path of the router bit.
  • Extra glue can create an uneven surface. And that means your cuts will no longer be straight.
  • Extra glue can block finish from setting in. And that leads to uneven finish.

Hazards from rushing

Woodworking is a slow process because many of the materials are very dense and there are many natural variations. Many of the goals of woodworking are to refine the raw materials into interesting shapes with smooth surfaces or sturdy joints. It just takes time to get a good result. Attempting to speed up the process or not using the best tool for the job risks marring your workpiece, breaking the tool, or injuring you.

  • Give yourself at least 2X the amount of time. Time in the woodshop works differently. You may spend 30 minutes working on some material. But you have to account for the 20 minutes before that to set up your workspace and tools, and the 20 minutes afterwards to clean up.
    • Especially with the CNC router, that thing can take a long time to set your work holddowns and zero the machine! Cleaning up is also longer because you have to sweep a much larger area than most tools.
  • Always make time to clean. Especially in a shared shop like ours, removing dust, debris, and putting the tools back in their places protects everyone else's safety.
  • Always check that safety mechanisms are working. Rushing through the safety checks means you can miss critical things like a wobby fence or an unsecured drill bit. Get into a routine and don't take shortcuts; have the shop checklists handy to confirm you've done all the steps.
  • Make a plan; know what you can do out of order. Because of a limited number of machines in a shared woodshop, you may not be able to be on the machine you need. It's best to group the steps of your project together so that you can do a part of your project out of sequence. For instance, maybe the table saw is going to be busy for an hour or so, so spend time marking your drilling holes and cut lines.
  • Walk in front of people, not behind. Walking in someone's sightline (and doing it slowly) is best since the noise of the shop often means you can't hear each other. Attempting to run around behind someone can surprise people actively cutting or you may come into an area where the other people might need to back up quickly. Also, most of the kickback from tools flies past people; you'd be walking into a kickback zone.
  • Doublecheck your work pieces. How often have you started a cut and realized it's the wrong side or that it wasn't perfectly parallel to a fence? Set up your cut/drill/carve, check that the work is secure and it's on the correct side, and check your tools for damage.
  • Wait until blades stop spinning. A moving blade still has a lot of energy. Grabbing that offcut too early can push it back into the blade or catch your sleeve up in a rotating bit.
    • Especially with the SawStop: the brake mechanism is still sensing contact for a second after the blade has stopped. Either wait an extra second, or look down at the SawStop switch panel to make sure the safety lights have stopped blinking. (Brakes are expensive and replacing can take a couple hours!)

Materials

Wood

Of course, wood! Check out the Wood Database for tons of information about different woods. Identification, strength, finishes, etc.

Solid wood

These are going to be your general lumber. Basically a tree that's cut into boards that you can reduce to the sizes you need.

Lumber yards are your best bet for quality and selection, but a local hardware store will stock some things you can use.

People love the feel of "real wood" and it has advantages like being shaped and sanded. You can think of it as a solid material---it's really more like a bundle of straws stuck together with natural glues. However, wood will expand sideways because the wood cells are great at holding moisture. (It was a tree, after all.)

Engineered lumber

These are mostly your plywoods and sheet materials. Most are trees that have been peeled into thin layers, then assembled into panels with glue. Plywood usually has grain placed at 90-degree angles on every other layer, which gives it strength and also means it doesn't change shape that much with weather. There are many types of plywood: cheaply-made big layers that have voids ("holes") and knots, better quality that have less voids or that use MDF cores, or higher end which have smooth void-free sheets and clean veneers.

There are boards made from long flat wood chips: oriented strand board (OSB). It's like plywood, but more glue and less strong. It's better as siding panels.

And there is medium density fiberboard (MDF). This is basically sawdust with glue. It's perfect for making templates or creating complex shapes. It is very heavy (because it's mostly glue) and weak when bending.

Bamboo panels are a little like MDF: bamboo is oriented with ends out and glue fills the gaps. It is very heavy, easy to shape like MDF, and looks nice on the sides and top.

Green Wood

The wood should be dried. For the lathes it ok if the wood is green but it can’t be sappy or wet. For the bandsaw the wood should be dry as any sap will gum up the blades and if it’s wet it can damage the cast iron.

For cutting logs on the bandsaw they must be dry and you have to use a jig of some sort to keep the log from rotating when you are cutting it. A V-shaped jig would be a good option for this.

Glues

Most popular glues come from processed oil and they form an incredibly strong bond with wood fibers. Here is a good explanation video.

  • Wood glues (e.g. Titebond) have water in them. When you press two pieces of wood together, the glue fills the tiny wood gaps and wraps around fibers. As the water leaves the glue, the glue hardens.
  • Epoxy uses a resin and a hardener. The resin flows around the wood fibers, and the hardener links the resin together as it evaporates. Note that this process can generate a lot of heat and it must be done in a well-ventilated area. (You cannot do this at Maker Nexus.)
  • Cyanoacrylate glue (CA glue, super glue) works by flowing around fibers in the wood. As the glue interacts with ambient moisture, the glue polymerizes forming a hard substance. You have a very short amount of time to let the glue flow on the wood surface and when you press another piece of wood together it hardens and holds the opposite sides together. You can use an accelerator which is basically water in a solvent and it creates a stronger bond: the sprayed accelerator flows into the cracks of the wood and then the CA glue immediately hardens on contact. Baking soda is an accelerator for CA glue.

Gluing endgrain

Remember that solid wood ends are like the edges of a bundle of straws: the surface is actually very uneven and those open ends want to soak up glue (or finish!).

Putting glue on the end grain is said to create a weak joint because the glue doesn't have a lot of sheer strength. But, this video shows how strong the glue itself is: See the short, very interesting test video.

Some local knowledge from our members.

Finishes

  • Odie's Oil
    • Wipe on, dry, wipe off. 2 coats usually good. Generally easy to apply.
    • For larger endgrain slabs, recommendation is to use thin coat and allow 1-2 days per coat to dry completely.
    • Cookie slabs can retain a lot of moisture and that will interfere with the hardening process.
  • Tung oil finishes

Supplies

Also see the general Supply Sources page.

Tools

Bench Vise

Table Saw

Table saws are one of the most useful tools in the woodshop.

  • The table supports your work so you have two hands free to move the materials
  • The rip fence guides your work straight through the blade
  • The circular saw blade creates consistently repeatable cuts
  • The miter slots in the table allow for accessories to glide parallel to the blade such as:
    • Miter gauge: fits in one slot, lets you select an angle. Used for small material.
    • Crosscut sled: usually fits in two slots, allows you to hold pieces that are wider than they are long safely

Many makerspaces use SawStop table saws:

Saw Blades in general

Types of saw blades

  • Ripping blade: Fewer, larger teeth with big gullets to help cut fast along the grain, usually 18T-24T
  • Crosscutting blade: More teeth 40T-60T, up to even 100T
  • Combo blade: Larger gullets than a crosscut blade, alternating top bevel (ATB) tooth geometry

Saw blade care

Sharpening a saw blade

  • Sharping a blade can change its diameter, which may not make it compatible with the SawStop

SawStop compatible saw blades

About buying blades for the SawStop table saw, from the SawStop FAQ:

  • OK: steel or carbide teeth
  • OK: thin kerf, minimum kerf 3/32"
  • OK: 10" saw blade, maximum kerf 3/16"
    • Use a dado stack for cuts wider than 3/16"
  • OK: 8" dado stack, maximum thickness 29/32"
  • No: non-conductive teeth, i.e. diamond blades
  • No: lacquer-coated teeth (graphics or coatings on the blade faces are OK)
  • No: anti-kickback shoulders or anti-depth-limiting
  • No: wobble/dial-a-width dado sets
  • No: solid-plate interior dado chippers
  • No: dado blades with molding heads

Wood Lathe

Wood Chisels

  • Sharpening:
    • The grind on DeWalt chisels is very rough out of the box. The edge isn't durable because it is very jagged. To get a good edge on them you need to carefully flatten the surface of the bevel of the chisel with a rough sharpening stone before moving on to finer grits. Sandpaper is not the right tool for the job.
    • Some members like Narex chisels which are similar in price to DeWalt

CNC router

One of the most powerful tools in the shop, the CNC router (like our ShopBot) lets you design very precise carves using software like VCarve and Autodesk Fusion 360, then transform that into cutting instructions that are precise to a fraction of an inch. You can make complex shapes, precise joinery, and etch graphics into materials like wood and plastic. Maker Nexus has a separate CNC plasma cutter for metals.)

The CNC machine

CNC router bits (end mills) are loaded into the ShopBot and then calibrated to the surface height of the bed or the top of your material, i.e. Z-zeroed.

  • Bed: the flat surface that supports all of your material to be cut
  • Work holding: methods of pinning down the material to the bed so it doesn't move. You absolutely cannot hand hold material because the machine is very strong, the router bit is spinning very fast, and the safety stop switch would be far away.

CNC bits / end mills

  • Collet: the clamping receiver that holds the bit. At Maker Nexus we have variious sizes from 1/4" to 1/2"
  • Collet cover nut: holds the collet to the spindle by tightening on the threads. Treat this like a normal router bit: tighten snugly!
    • Check the collet for dust and debris before inserting into the collet cover nut or loading your bit. Brush or bang them out.
    • First hand tighten the collet cover nut to the spindle to make sure you've properly aligned the threads, then wrench them tight
  • Shank: the shaft that the collet clamps onto
  • Flutes: the number of cutting surfaces, usually 2, that is just below the shank
  • Deflection: if you move faster through the material than the flutes can chip out, the router bit may actually bend (and possibly break). This leaves you with uneven cuts or can push your material out of its work holds.

Depending on what you're doing, you can choose from a variety of these cutting heads:

  • Straight bit: the flutes are vertical, good for plowing through material sideways
  • Downcut spiral bit: good for digging through material from the top, leaves quite a bit of tearout near the bottom, can also pack sawdust down in a hole and create smoking
  • Upcut spiral bit: good for carving down to the underside of the material, leaving a more neat surface, but creates tearout on the top surface
    • An undertightened bit can actually come loose because the spirals are pulling the bit away from the spindle! Be sure to tighten well.
  • Compression bit: A little bit of an upcut spiral at the bottom and then a lot of downcut spiral above that. It's meant so you dig down throught the material fully and then move sideways to do a profile cut. The upcut part at the end makes a neat cut on the bottom side, the downcut part above that makes a neat cut on the top side, meaning you can run pretty fast and have both sides of the material with minimal tearout. These bits are expensive but are great with veneered plywood.

It's good to hog out (or rough out) material using a straight/spiral bit first. The following bits are not great for cutting down since they have a smaller cutting surface. Use a downcut spiral first then switch to the ball nose to carve this feature for best results.

  • Ball nose bit: Big radius bit used for creating a smooth slope where the side walls meet a floor.
  • V-carve bit: A pointed bit (usually 45 degrees for bevels and chamfers, 60 degrees for etching signs)

CNC carving

Then you can do all sorts of cuts:

  • Profile cut: Plow all the way through the material to cut it out. You can also cut a slope with the right combination of bits.
  • Pocket cut: Go part way through the material to hollow it out, like making the inside of a bowl.
  • V-carve: Use the v-shaped bits to etch letters and designs into material
  • Moulding: Use a ball nose bit to create smooth roundovers
  • Tabs: leave a little bit of the material uncut (usually with profile cuts) so that it's held in place while the rest of the cuts are being done. Then you can slide the tabs off later manually.
  • Surfacing: Use a large flat-cutting bit to level the surface. This is perfect for spoilboards or leveling the surface of a cutting board or rough material.

Tips

Basic Tips

Wood Inlay

Edge Treatment

Sanding

Table Saw

Router

Drilling

Turning

Misc

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