I finally pulled the trigger and ordered the 750x1000 ox with all the trimmings.

General CNC CNC Routers
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I finally pulled the trigger and ordered the 750x1000 ox with all the trimmings. Does anyone have suggestions on starter projects to get my feet wet?

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Hi, great. Check http://inventables.com or http://openbuild.com , they have multiple project to start.
Like the DIY clamp Set.
http://openbuild.com

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Cut a square and circle… Make sure that they are the size you specified.

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Once assembled, test it by doing :

  1. do some “air” cutting, just to check everything is moving in the proper direction, speed and distance (roughly). Do short moves, shortest possible first, caution is best at this stage

  2. straight lines in each of X and Y access, the longer the better
    a) in air at first
    b) with a pen when you feel more confident
    c) then cut in some soft material, accounting for tool size

  3. check Z by doing straight cuts of varying depth which you can easely verify (the OX can have some flexing on Z, so this could be trickest to get right especially if you are aiming for high precision, might have to slow feed and do shallow cuts for better precision)

  4. cut squares checking they are square, the larger the better, don’t forget a few diagonals just for fun. Go for a star if you want …

  5. do circles checking they are round, again, the larger the better

  6. give some lettering a shot at this stage

Now you should prepare your spoil/waste board :

  1. surface it to be parallel with your OX’s working end

  2. check traming (head perpendicular to work surface). Google for some YouTube on how to do it on the cheap. This is making sure router/spindle is nice and square with work surface. If it isn’t you’ll notice some visible lines in your work which you can’t feel to touch

  3. engrave a grid of lines on that board for reference

  4. nice to have some dog holes to attach jigs and such. Probably every 6" with every other row/column shifted 3" should be good.

NOW you can tackle a few projects. Some of my first were … jigs.

  1. a straight edge to help line work pieces along one axis (X or Y)

  2. A 90d which fits at least 2 dog holes on both X and Y. It helps to align work pieces.

  3. a few “clamps” which fit in the holes (I still need to make myself some)

…

NOW you can really get started with signs, cutouts, 3D engraving, …

Have fun.

Of course, during all this process you need to watch out for feeds and speeds. Use “safe” values considering your end mill, material, etc. The OX can push things around nicely, but it does have a bit of flexing in Z (depth) Slower, shallower cuts with ramps is best - don’t rush it.

Don’t forget to check things from time to time. I missed that step and I’m now paying the price. I need to do some relatively major work. ;( Belts probably need to be changed on mine, at least tightened ! My Z became quite sloppy as well …

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@Serge_Ecoiffier awesome, thank you.

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@Nick_Portelli perfect.

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@Mike_Gallo thanks i will check them out

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Great community, solid advice!

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Since this was posted a week ago I’m sure you have already begun. When I first started I did my initial cuts in foam. And as I was using a new controller, Chilipeppr had their logo on their site which automatically came up and was a great way to see if & how everything worked.