Working with the new Desktop

[GDGeorge]

Well good morning folks! I received my Desktop about ten days ago. I'm not quite ready to write a review yet, but did want to let you know what I've been doing with the thing.

Right now, I've got two or three projects going. The first is the continuing garage-clearance project. Although I cleared a spot for the Shopbot and moved the computer back out there, my lathe and "workbench" remain buried. It get's a little better each day and today is going to involve throwing a lot of stuff away. It's amazing how much junk can build up in a year! Fortunately I can work on that while the 'bot is carving away.

Speaking of which, the second project that I'm working on is a set of military plaques for donation to the local DAV. They are 16" in diameter, each with a service logo carved in the center and then the service name v-carved around the logo. I've cut a couple, to test the machine, play with the software and just to get my feet wet. I will start on the final ones this week (maybe even today).

I had an issue with my dust collector, a small Harbor Freight unit with castors removed and hung on the wall. The foam was getting hung up on the fan screen and plugging the unit up. (This happens with larger pieces of wood when I run the lathe as well). So I made a trip to the not so local Woodcraft store and picked up a lid to add a primary stage to the unit. That and a 30 gallon trash can seem to have resolved the issue.

The only problem that I'm still having with these is the material. I'm using 1" and 1.5" foam from the local big box. It cuts OK but there is going to be some clean up when I go to finish the plaques off. I'd like to find a source for off-cuts of HDU foam.

Speaking of finishing, once I get the plaques cut out, I'm going to sand as necessary, prime, and then paint with a two step latex process that will, hopefully wind up looking bronzish. (That's a new word: bronzish.)

The other thing that I've been playing with is v-carving letters. Getting things sized right is a bit of a challenge. I think I'm going to take some scrap 1x12 and just cut "This is a 90 deg. v-bit at .125" and the like. That will give me an idea of what each bit is capable of.

Cheers,
Jerry George

[chiloquinruss]

Check out Sculpt Nouveau Bronze. Russ

[GDGeorge]

Thanks Russ, I'll give it a look!

[GDGeorge]

Up to this point I've been cutting in el-cheapo Lowes / Home Depot foam. Heaven knows I've built enough scenery out of the stuff over the years, but this is a new application for me. The results are OK. Lots of voids and surface texture to deal with. I've been playing with Gesso to try and fill them in but I'm not thinking that I want to make anything permanent out of it.

Anyway, I broke down Monday and ordered a sheet of HDU from Harbor Sales. I was very impressed with their $3.8? cutting fee for any number of cuts. It was delivered first thing this morning. Tonight I plan to cut the first of the actual plaques for the DAV.

One other thing that I discovered. I need longer bits. When I ordered from Centurion the other week, I bought a mixture of lengths. Everything was fine when I was carving in 1" foam but as soon as I switched to 1 1/2", I discovered that things were a bit short. I'm guessing that I should be using 3" bits at that point?

OK, time to work on the day job. (The one that supports this habit right now.)

Cheers,
Jerry

[steve_g]

Just an observation...

My experience with foams... even sign foams is that I can get fantastic results, especially when coated with Sculpt Nouveau. The execution of the design is crisp and clean, the finish is impossible to tell from weathered cast metals... BUT, the elephant in the room... when people look at them at shows they drop them in disgust, no weight, no perceived value...

Steve

[billp]

Steve,
If that's their ONLY problem, hollow out a cavity in the back of the piece, and fill it with something heavy like plaster, then coat the back with SN as well...

[Towersonline]

Would this work? Cut a piece of Corian and adhere it the the back of the item. Next coat the whole thing with Sculpt Nouveau. I have gotten waste Corian from local fabricators for free.

I'm really liking the new Desktop.

Bill T

[steve_g]

This will be an interesting experiment in human psychology!... (Do I need committee approval before conducting experiments on humans?)

Steve

[chiloquinruss]

Oh come on Steve just what makes you think we are humans! I like the idea of the weighted plug in the back, thanks. Russ