Need Advice

[Braden]

I am totally new here and to the cnc world so please excuse any dumb questions I may ask!

I have a laser engraving and sandblasting business right now, and I am considering adding a second laser or going the route of a cnc and woodworking equipment to produce my own blanks in house(currently outsource 25-30k/yr).

I was wondering if anyone here has both machines and how well they compliment eachother, and if I could get some help in understanding which machine would be best for me. Also, at my shop I only have single phase power (could get a converter I learned), and I am trying to stay under 15k and from my research I would also like to be able to use Aspire with the machine. I am also not opposed to buying a used machine, but my only concern is the age and software working properly and not buying a lemon with no warranty.

In the end I will want to be able to mass produce wooden award blanks, plaques, etc to be lasered and if there are enough, sold to other laser owners.

In addition to the cnc I was also looking at a dual drum sander (JET model 22-44 PRO-3), rather large band saw(grizzly g0566b), table saw, to be assesed dust collection unit/units, and setting up a functional spray booth. If I have missed any other must haves please fill me in so I can add it to my list.

Any help or advice would be greatly apprecited!

Thank you

[steve_g]

General thoughts...

Welcome!
Out sourcing 25-30K/yr wow... you'll pay for a nice bot in no time!
I have a bot, a friend has the laser... we are still investigating the joint project options.
Used machines... no lemon bots, some lemon operators! The forum and ShopBot Tech support would welcome you...
future purchase of a table saw... Get a SawStop. I and several other forum members wish we had...

Steve

[michael_schwartz]

I have the grizzly 14" extreme series bandsaw with riser block and its a lot of saw for the money but if I could do it over I would have bought a higher quality saw. They are a good value if you use them occasionally, but I am not too impressed with it. Grizzly does have very good customer service, and they made it easy to return another machine I had bought from them recently that had numerous problems.

If you go with a drum sander buy used. I sold my 26" wood master for $500.00, and they seem to go for about $350-600 on my local craigslist. They are kind of like radial arm saws in that they are not very popular anymore so there are a lot out there on the market.

You may also be able to find a good deal on a wide belt sander, if you have 3 phase. They have been selling for as low as 3 grand lately with all the larger shops going under. Used commercial equipment is always cheap because people don't have 3 phase in their home shops.

Also I wouldn't rule out getting a couple of shapers if you want to run any edge profiles on your plaques. Its hard to beat the cut quality, and speed. At the very least plan on building a really solid router table. This can be done on the Bot, but it is often faster, and simpler just to run edge profiles with a handheld router, shaper, or router table.

[sneakers]

I have both a laser and a shopbot and yes they compliment each other very well. If the only thing you want to do with the bot is make blanks for lasering save your money. You cannot compete in that area. You cannot buy the material for what you are paying for the blanks. If you are looking for the ride of your life then by all means buy a shopbot. You are only limited by your imagination as to what you can make but if this a business you have to realize that it is not economically feasible to make everything. Somethings are better to buy than to make.

Good luck
Gary

[blackhawk]

I agree with Gary on the plaque blanks. You would have to setup a large scale, high volume production area to compete with their prices. When I make plaques myself, I have to buy the wood, plane it, match up the grain, rip it, run in the jointer, glue it, clamp it, sand it, and then finish it. My time isn't worth it versus buying. My only exception is large uncommon blanks like an 24 x 24. These I will do myself.

My bandsaw gets turned on about 5 times a year since I bought my Shopbot. I think the last time that I used it was to sharpen some tomato stakes.

[michael_schwartz]

At the prices I have seen I wouldn't have any problem making them just to have control over the quality. You get what you pay for.

I agree that more complicated items such as boxes cost too much to make, and those can usually be bought for less.

[Braden]

Thank you for the replies! Now I have even more questions.

What band saw would be a good one>? I was also looking into the Jet models as well, one being the 18qt-3.

As for the drum sander purchase, are the wide belt sanders better for the sanding and getting to a ready to be finished surface? Here is a link to what I am currently looking at http://www.southern-tool.com/store/p...php#aWMH982201

Last one for now, since I have only single phase power for now, what bot would be good for producing the wooden blanks for laser engraving? Looking to use it to cut out the blanks and I am not really sure how the router/spindle hp affects the amount/type of work that can be done. Also, how thick of wood can they cut through while being efficient on time use?

Thanks again for all the help!

[gc3]

you should visit some shops in your area to see what traditional machinery they are using and how it works for them

[chiloquinruss]

I built one of the 30 inch StockRoom Supply sanders. I bought the kit, when I got the kit it has the drawings for building the box, I input those into Aspire and cut the box. It works really good. Russ

http://www.stockroomsupply.ca/shop/d...ae0a8cc&cat=40

[danhamm]

Braden, got my first laser in 1998 and then my first shopbot in 1999
and they go hand in glove, made jewelry boxes and recipe boxes and a million other kinds of boxes. plaques for 3 levels of Gov. and name tags
for same.
Cut the plaque blanks with the cnc but do the edgea on a table router its faster than setting up the cnc..

we dont have a website anymore as facebook is easier and does all that a website does.. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Burni...07304665958314