CNC Ply Bookcase Project

boombang

Hi, not a poster or lurker in this part of boards, but I wanted to document a small woodwork project I undertook recently.

I had a slot together bookcase cut for me out of 18mm birch ply according to a design of my own devising. I live in a flat and don't have the shed and tools I'd like to. That's why aspects of this had to be outsourced. So I hope all you real woodworkers will excuse me.

I drew the plan in a vector graphics programme, giving careful consideration as to how it would slot together and stay rigid (sorry, the rendition of the file below is very crude, but you get the idea). Once the design was finalised Shadow Creations in Rathcoole cut it for me on their CNC router [Mods, if you don't like the mention of specific firms please let me know and I'll edit]. They supplied the ply. They were very helpful and I would recommend anybody considering any thing similar.

Everything slotted together very nicely. In part because the quality of the cut was very accurate. I sanded everything down and three coats of varnish later I was pleased with the results.

I don't usually get to do projects like this, but this was an easy starter project and the CNC services worked well.

bonzodog2

Nice design and result!

jack of all

Looks fantastic, thanks for sharing!

recipio

Very nice, thanks for posting. Its the future, instead of a B+D workmate we will be buying CNC machines ?
Incidentally that Herbert Terry anglepoise is worth a few bob.

sarkozy

Thanks for posting, OP. Very nice.

I've been trying to get my head around getting some wood work jobs done this way. I have a lot of small jobs about our house to plan out and, not having the tools either, and wanting to do some things a bit more 'designy', I've been wondering about CNC routing.

This company looks great. Can I ask you how much yours cost in the end (materials and machine time), how you practically went about designing the thing, etc. There are also some open-source plans I'm looking to have cut for our house.

boombang

Hi Nicolas,

I drew the design in Inkscape. This works well, but took some time to get used to. I sometimes create vector graphics diagrams in work using MS Visio, which I find easier to use and set dimensions in, but I think there was a file format issue (I used the .svg format) that meant Inskape was better in the end. The easiest thing was to set the dimensions of the document to equal the real scale of the design I was making (1:1 scaling) as this can be imported straight away by the cutters.

Let me know if you'd like to see the .svg file, I can post a link.

I did also make a 3D model in Sketchup. That was good to work out the scale and proportions of the item and to check whether it would fit together. This was a lot of work though. Even so, when I completed the physical finished project I think I would have preferred different proportions. I'm still happy with the result.

The bookshelf has "designy" qualities to it I feel, despite being slot-together. I'm pleased that the slot together aspect worked well without the need for glue or screws. It's very stable and doesn't bow. Ply was 18mm.

I went for good quality ply and I think that was appropriate. I used a whole 1220 x 2440 sheet for the design. The firm supplied the ply and cut the design for €240 plus VAT, so this was not a cheap project. For those with their own tools I know that might sound expensive, but I was pleased as I got very exactly machined materials with absolutely zero hassle. Eric is the name of the fellow I dealt with at Shadow Creations. He was very helpful and commented on the original draft design to get it work right. I imagine there may be cheaper solutions out there and I'm interested to hear peoples' suggestions.

If you had a link to the open source plans you're thinking of cutting I'd love to see a link.


I'd like to do something like this:


@recipio
The CNC rig did indeed leave the trusty B&D workmate in the shade.

gutteruu

You could be a very rich fella if THIS CHANCER is anything to go by. Just spotted it after reading this.

recipio

gutteruu wrote: »

You could be a very rich fella if THIS CHANCER is anything to go by. Just spotted it after reading this.

He is trying - but forgot along the way that furniture should be beautiful and not just functional. ?

boombang

This site maybe of interest to anybody interested in CNC ply furniture:

http://atfab.co