New Shop for ShopBot Buddy

[Doug Bornyk]

I'm planning on building a small shop; the 1st piece of equipment will be a ShopBot Buddy. What other equipment is a must have for starting off? What can I get by with for starting out this shop? I'll be making, beside smaller items, HDU Foam Signs, Cedar Plank Signs and more, Carved Cabinet Doors, Artistic Designs. A friend of mine said I should have, of course a Dust Collector, a Planer, a Jointer, a Table Saw. I want to start off with a Shopbot because the carving is most important. After that, I want to spent as little as possible then add as I can. Any thoughts, ideas, input or experience?

[bobmoore]

Welcome and good luck Doug. I would recommend outsourcing your other needs until you can afford to buy quality tools. Used is a good way to get quality tools at a reasonable price. Have fun learning the bot. Bob

[scottp55]

Welcome Doug,
+1 on what Bob said about buying quality used tools one at a time, as buying cheap tools will bite you in the A**(usually sooner than later).
I'd probably buy DC first as you'll need it for all your tools.
Tough question....whether I'd rather buy my right arm or my legs first! My wish list is as long as my right arm!
Funny how many tools can go by the wayside with a CNC. May be faster/simpler with a dedicated machine, and you can use other machines while the 'Bot is cutting, BUT so nice to know all your cuts will be EXACT
As you get into it, you'll know soon enough which tool comes next!
scott

[Ger21]

Funny how many tools can go by the wayside with a CNC.

I would argue that there are very few tools that a CNC can replace.
He mentioned a table say, planer, and jointer. All three can do what they do at least 10x-20x faster than doing the same tasks on a CNC.

It really has a lot to do with the type of work you're doing, though.

[scottp55]

I agree Gerry, but Doug said "starting off" and "get by with".
He can order S2S or even fully dimensioned to start with, and if he's just starting...better to have a cushion and spend a little bit more of your time until you know which direction your business goes.
I mean...who the heck ever thought I'd be making BUTTONS
I'd be looking at my shaper/jointer/and saw...and wishing it were groceries or different tools.(like a thickness sander!)
Maybe the sign guys will chime in and say what their most useful tool in the shop is?
Congrats on your Shopbot Doug!
Do you have any CNC experience, or are you a CNC newbie like me?
There's a learning curve, but between Shopbot and Vectric..It's a Heck of a lot easier
Good luck in your new endeavor!
scott

[Ajcoholic]

If you want to process rough lumber into product (such as blanks for your doors & signs), you will most definitely want a decent jointer, planer and saw. Plus some good quality clamps (dont dismiss these, I have several thousands of dollars in clamps alone in my shop).

For jointer and planer, you really should figure what you will be doing and buy the size you will need. But, remember anything industrial will be $$. I have a Buddy, and loaded up with the extras I have, I have spent close to $26K Canadian on my Shopbot (that is with a 48" by 48" cutting area, aluminum table with 10 HP vacuum, 4HP spindle). But I also spent close to $30K (Canadian) on my jointer, planer and 10" saw (a 16" and 20" Cantek J & P, and a 5 HP sawstop industrial cabinet saw). Plus another $15K on my Belfab 7.5 HP dust collector, with the cyclone and bins, and steel & flex piping (with the piping and flex hose for my shop equalling 1/3 the DC costs) Some times it is the incidentals that add up fast. Like tooling, and other stuff for the CNC router. With the traditional shop equipment it tends to be getting things wired in, hooked up to the dust collection, and then tooling/sharpening/more blades etc.

You can buy stuff at places like Busy Bee, etc much cheaper, but you get what you pay for. I'd look into used industrial stuff if you have time and the will to do some fixing/maintenance.

In Canada, I have had VERY good luck dealing with Akhurst machinery. They are based in BC but have offices across Canada. They sell mainly in new but also deal some used stuff - but all geared towards industry.

Of course you can farm out the other woodwork if you have a shop that can mill wood for you.

[Doug Bornyk]

That's all very good advise. I appreciate it. This is a new endeavor for me, woodworking. I haven't actually purchased the Shopbot Buddy yet. I am planning how to start and where to begin. I do think I'll start by buying some blanks and hiring a friend to do others, then add the other equipment as I go. We have Busy Bee in Saskatoon, and I can also travel to Edmonton. Speaking of blanks anyone know where a good place to order them in Canada, I'm in Western Canada.

[Doug Bornyk]

Hi Scott: To reply to your questions; yes I am new to CNC. I haven't actually purchased a Shopbot yet but that's my plan within a year. I have Inventable's X-Carve and Vectric's V-Carve Pro on order. My IT background and interest in CAD and 3D CAD lead me to CNC's and a desire to start a business doing Signs. I'd like to do HDU Painted Signs and perhaps Cedar. Challenge I'm having here in Saskatoon Canada is finding a HDU Supplier. So, I might have to try the Edmonton, Alberta. Anyways I have my small starter CNC Ordered and I'm building an Enclosure I designed in Autodesk's Fusion 360. Then I'll be learning and planning, and if my plans come together I'll either order a Shopbot Buddy or Desktop next July. If things go really well and some things come together, then sooner. So Buttons? How did that come about? I want to find a good niche to start with on this X-Carve Machine. I know this forum is about Shopbot, and that's why I'm on here. Right now I'm researching and planning for the Shopbot; it's clearly the machine I want. I know of a person here who has been using one for 10 years and I'm going to try to hook up with him. I'm also doing up plans for my Shopbot Shop.

[scottp55]

Doug,
A LOT can change in a year
Good that you're getting VCP8 now. In a year you'll have it down pat, and then when you buy...compare trading in your "comes with machine VCP & PartWorks 3D" price with Shopbot for an Upgrade to Aspire vs a straight upgrade from Vectric.
With signs, I don't think I'd care to get into that with my Desktop. Even though I can index through Y-axis...Why? When sooner rather than later someone will want a 24+" sign. Don't get me wrong..LOVE the Desktop(and bought first one unseen, and second one 4 months later), but SOOOO much easier to do stuff in one whack.
Might keep an eye out for a full size used machine, and see if anything pops up between now and then.
Definitely visit that person you know!!!
Also tell him to register with Shopbot as a Demo site if he's interested, and he'll get a Demo Check from Shopbot IF YOU !!! mention he Demo'd for you and you buy a new machine. I've Demo'd 4 times, and when someone bought the Desktop a few hundred bucks certainly didn't hurt
Planning a new shop from scratch... I'd dither away months and STILL get something wrong!
Buttons?
It was a favor for my Mother that went sideways!
http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/sho...carved+buttons
I think you'll be VERY happy when you get your Shopbot, but at least you won't be jumping in blind with both feet and no computer experience like me.
This way will give you a good idea of what you Love doing, see how people react to your projects so you can refine them, and give you a better feeling overall for what YOU want in a machine.
scott

[David Iannone]

If you want to process rough lumber into product (such as blanks for your doors & signs), you will most definitely want a decent jointer, planer and saw. Plus some good quality clamps (dont dismiss these, I have several thousands of dollars in clamps alone in my shop).

For jointer and planer, you really should figure what you will be doing and buy the size you will need. But, remember anything industrial will be $$. I have a Buddy, and loaded up with the extras I have, I have spent close to $26K Canadian on my Shopbot (that is with a 48" by 48" cutting area, aluminum table with 10 HP vacuum, 4HP spindle). But I also spent close to $30K (Canadian) on my jointer, planer and 10" saw (a 16" and 20" Cantek J & P, and a 5 HP sawstop industrial cabinet saw). Plus another $15K on my Belfab 7.5 HP dust collector, with the cyclone and bins, and steel & flex piping (with the piping and flex hose for my shop equalling 1/3 the DC costs) Some times it is the incidentals that add up fast. Like tooling, and other stuff for the CNC router. With the traditional shop equipment it tends to be getting things wired in, hooked up to the dust collection, and then tooling/sharpening/more blades etc.

You can buy stuff at places like Busy Bee, etc much cheaper, but you get what you pay for. I'd look into used industrial stuff if you have time and the will to do some fixing/maintenance.

In Canada, I have had VERY good luck dealing with Akhurst machinery. They are based in BC but have offices across Canada. They sell mainly in new but also deal some used stuff - but all geared towards industry.

Of course you can farm out the other woodwork if you have a shop that can mill wood for you.

Hey Doug, now you know what you need, the first on the list is a SB Tool.
Welcome to the forum.

Dave