Very Impressed! Those two words sum up my impression of the 2018 Vectric User Group Meeting held in Chicago. It was thoroughly enjoyable to meet the Vectric staff and others with whom I’ve met on the Vectric Forum the past few years. I went more for the “people” aspect than education but both were splendid….
A neighbor asked me to help him make a 24″ diameter clock face like one seen in the movie “Back to the Future”. He has already built a Delorean time machine from a golf cart chassis complete with blinking lights and fold up wing doors. I hope to post photos of the car at the…
I upgraded to Vetric’s Aspire CAD/CAM software because of my interest in 3D CNC carving. This mantle clock was built from free plans provided by Vectric. I have built other items from their monthly plans and have found them to be fun and useful for learning about vector creation, component creation and tool path generation….
Brian Law’s Clock #24 is a wonderfully designed wooden clock with a gravity escapement that is fascinating to watch. This was my most challenging clock to build as of May 2016 because it required metal machining and CNC tool path tiling. Tiling was required because the clock frame was longer than the bed of my…
Since I now own a CNC router, I can easily cut complex parts if I have a DXF or DWG file as a starting point. I am fascinated by wooden clocks, escapements and kinetic sculptures. 2016 marks the year that I decided to delve deeper into how these devices are designed and put together. There…
In an effort to understand kinetic motion drive mechanisms, I purchased a Clayton Boyer plan titled “Zinnia”. Dr. Boyer sells plans in two formats, DXF files for CNC machines or paper plans that can be cut on a scroll saw. I built Clayton’s Number 6 clock a few years ago and it works very well,…
I was fascinated with Michael Tyler’s Paradise Box project on Vectric’s website so I decided to use his design and customize it for my wife Marilyn. Michael’s plans were modified to account for thinner stock and the sides were custom carved and given a gentle arc. Additional V-carving was done on the inside lid to…
Our great nephew Rylind suffered a vicious dog attack recently so he is home recuperating. Like most 5 year olds, he is fascinated with dinosaurs so we wanted to provide something for him to do while recovering. The CNC router came to mind because I know of a website www.makecnc.com that has hundreds, maybe thousands…
A neighbor and active member of Daniel Boone Conservation League commissioned a replacement back for a memorial bench on the club grounds. The original bench back appeared to have been laser engraved but suffered severe weathering to make it unreadable. A V-Carved back was selected for the replacement because even if it becomes weathered, it…
As I gain more experience with the CNC router, I am trying different projects both as a learning tool as well as making interesting items. This blog details some of the steps in the manufacture of a Dutch clock mimicking the style of Tole painting. I downloaded the free project from Vectric’s website and modified…
