My machine is up against a wall with 3 sides open. So I can get everywhere on the machine unhindered. If I need access to the back, I can pull it away from the wall.
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Ah, I misunderstood what you meant by “almost no area around it”. My earlier comment about marking off a maintenance zone was in reference to the comment about masking the area of the machine on the floor. My point was that it isn’t just the footprint of the machine that is important, the human travel around it needs to be considered as well. Unless of course you are tall enough to reach the whole area from the front.
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Half of a two car 18’ x 20’ should be fine. I think most of the talk about the space crunch is that you are always adding more tools for woodworking and space becomes a premium.
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I’ve got extra room if I need it. I ordered a 4x4 5 pro today! Very excited to get started.
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I ordered the CNC, the router, Endmill Starter Pack, and hold downs. I have a shop vac and will upgrade that eventually. Anything else I should be looking at besides a table right now?
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That’s a great start. I started with the same stuff. You can do pretty much anything with that setup. One thing to be aware of though is the hold down kit was designed for the earlier models and you will need to make some slight mods (if I remember right the L bracket). But not really that big of a deal. I’ve added some other endmills and v-bits as different projects have come along, but the starter pack is a really great start and has pretty much everything you need. You should also get a decent set of wrenches. A 13mm and 22mm as the ones that come with it work ok, but aren’t up to long term use.
These are the ones I got.
[Park Tool PT-09 Shop Cone Wrench https://a.co/d/0si8dQN](Park Tool PT-09 Shop Cone Wrench https://a.co/d/0si8dQN)
As an automotive enthusiast, I’ve got a pretty stout assortment of hand tools. Mostly Snap-on/Mac. Will these suffice, or do I need a thinner set like the ones you posted?
Those should definitely work. No need to buy another set.
You will probably want some thin wrenches:
Carbide Compact Router/Makita RT0700/0700 shaft and collet/nut wrench sizes:
- 13mm — note that this must be low profile.
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0791ZS89G
- Bicycle cone wrenches work as well such as the 13mm Park Tool PT-09 Shop Cone Wrench
- Asahi low profile 11/13mm wrench
- McMaster-Carr Tight-Clearance Open-End Wrench with Black Finish, 13 mm Size, 4" Overall Length (sourced from Martin as of mid-2020)
- 22mm — a stubby wrench is well-suited for this, and handier due to the low torque requirements
Or, if you got a VFD: ER-11 spindle collet shaft and collet/nut wrench sizes:
- 12mm (note that some machines may accepted 13 mm (see above) or 1/2"), possibly needs to be low profile.
- 17mm open-end wrench — specialty ER-11 collet wrenches such as: ER11 Collet Wrench for ER11 Collet Nuts MariTool are available.
Further details are available at appropriate places in this and also see: Machine operating checklist and be sure to read Introduction - Shapeoko CNC A to Z and Getting Started with CNC [Book]
- eye and hearing protection: https://docs.carbide3d.com/shapeoko-faq/safety-gear-and-necessary-precautions-when-using-the-machine/
- Additional assembly tools: Flush cut pliers (or scissors — fingernail clippers can also be used to cut a short zip tie with a nicely rounded edge), Needle nose pliers, Tape measure or ruler, Level, Pencil; possibly also Easy-peel masking tape, such as blue painter’s tape (nothing that leaves a residue behind), Adjustable wrench, Flashlight
- a trim router (you can order with a machine, but Carbide 3D only has our Carbide Compact Router and the ER-11 version, but if you prefer you could get a Makita RT0701/0700, or if getting a machine w/ a 69mm spindle mount a DeWalt DWP611/D26200)
- better quality wrenches for tool changes, see tools - shapeoko
- Carbide Compact Router
- some endmills (one is included with the machine, but they’re consumables: Shapeoko Endmill Starter Pack - Carbide 3D ) If one is starting with just a 1/4" collet:
- three 2-flute 1/4" straight endmills (such as the #201 endmills from Carbide 3D — one will be included with the machine, a pack of two will fill one out with: 1 for initial experimentation/roughing, 1 for finishing passes, and 1 spare — if cutting wood or plywood a downcut endmill such as the #251 is recommended.
- two 2-flute 1/4" ball end endmills (such as the #202 endmills from Carbide 3D) — if one wishes to do 3D modeling or cut parts which have rounded profiles along the bottom (often a good idea in woodworking for increased strength)
- two 90 degree V-bits such as the #301 from Carbide 3D — if one wishes to do V-carving or cut joints which use this angle
- If you wish to do small-scale or precision work you may want a 1/8" precision collet (one is included with the Carbide Compact Router (also works for the Makita): Precision Collets for Carbide Compact Router - Carbide 3D and as noted, is now bundled with units sold directly from Carbide 3D and the Shapeoko ER-11 units include both a 1/8" and 1/4" ER-11 collet):
- five 2-flute 1/8" straight endmills (such as the #102 endmills from Carbide 3D
- two 2-flute 1/8" ball end endmills (such as the #101 .125" Ball Cutters from Carbide 3D)
- two smaller straight endmills (say 2 mm or so) (such as the #112 0.0625" endmills from Carbide 3D)
- Additions:
- V-carving bits (say 30 and 60 degrees) — these are excellent if doing text
- you should already have a place to set the machine up (the Shapeoko is more suited for use in a shop environment) — note that you’ll want to have access to the front and back of the machine so that you can feed material in from end and out the other if working with oversized material (you can process an entire 4x8 sheet by cutting it into thirds and feeding it incrementally into an XL or XXL — an SO3 would require 1/6ths, while a 2x2 SO5 Pro would could do half, and of course the 4x2 and 4x4 will take entire sheets). See: Torsion Box for Shapeoko XXL and Instructions
- dust collection suited to the material which you are cutting (at least a shop vacuum — many of our customers rig up dust shoes and formal dust collection) — you’ll want to tie into existing dust collection if you have it — Carbide 3D includes https://shop.carbide3d.com/products/sweepy-dustboot which will fit many smaller shop vac / dust extractor hoses
- workholding (some way to hold the material in place — this is now included on most machines (Hybrid T-track, Essentials clamps) — for older units see below
- calipers
- pendant option of some sort
- a game controller can be used: Using a Game Controller with CM513 and later
- the standard keyboard shortcuts allow a numeric keypad to be used as a pendant
- by remapping one can use a gamepad: A different sort of pendant
- good quality square for assembly or positioning parts
- tools to break stock down — just a handsaw will allow one to purchase long boards, break them down in the lumber yard parking lot, and carry them home even in a small car
- tools to post-process stock (files, deburring tools, &c.)
and of course, material and designs to cut. It is recommended that folks start by drawing up a design (follow along in one of our tutorials: Your First Five CNC Projects and watch our videos: Getting Started with Carbide Create and read through: http://docs.carbide3d.com/assembly/carbidecreate/userguide/ ) and working up toolpaths all the way through 3D simulation — if that effort seems workable to you, you should be in a good place to get a machine.
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Extremely informative, thanks Will. I will get working on what I haven’t done today which is ordering some wrenches and making my first project in create.
I will note that I ultimately bought a complete set of the Asahi thin wrenches (and counting shipping, it wasn’t that much more expensive than a single wrench) — very convenient to keep in my bag of frequently used tools.
Messing around with tutorials while I wait for my machine. So far so good, the first five cnc projects video is awesome and a great introduction to design and toolpaths. Lots to learn but glad to be making use of my time while I wait for my machine, although it will only be 3 days until it gets here!
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My router bracket was funky - called support and had them video in. The screws were bottoming out and not letting me go any tighter. I watched the assembly video and it didn’t seem like he was struggling that much tightening them so I called in to see if it was normal - it was not.
Support said that was the first time he has seen that on this machine but will send me a replacement asap. Easy process! Can’t wait to get started, but I’ve been working in a hot garage all day so maybe the delay is a blessing in disguise 
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There are a couple of things that make life easier on these Projects you will be working on also.
Fusion 360 MAY still have a Student-type version. You would have to check it out. But, it cannot be used for commercial projects.
IF your system is in an out-building you can use your computer in your house and just use a Thumb drive to carry your files to your CNC system. I find this practical for many reasons - close to coffee pot and bathroom plus you can have other things going, like laundry, and take an occasional break from designing to change that over to a dryer. And if that out-building isn’t heated up enough you can place items in a back room of the house to cure. I do have a ceramic heater that goes all winter but it only keeps my shop at 45-50 degrees.
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Thank you! I signed up with my student email address and it confirmed me for a 1 year educational subscription. My building is in my garage - it’s well insulated but very hot in the summer. I will absolutely use a thumb drive to avoid designing out there!
So… how serious is the mistakes are on us coverage? 
Let’s start with the positive. Im up and running! I’ve already cut some really awesome stuff and im thrilled. It took me about an hour to figure out zeroing and positioning of my workpiece but once I had that settled I was moving along nicely!
The bad: one of the pieces I was cutting wasn’t properly held down by where I placed the tabs. It moved, caught the end mill between the piece and the wood and bent the bit. Next thing I know it’s eating into the rails and binding up. Whoops!!!
But let’s focus on the positive! Building a pikler triangle for my kids and did a very rough cut Zelda design in plywood as my first test cut. I uploaded a picture, had create trace it and boom! I was cutting. So cool!!
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Hopefully you learned an important lesson. That lesson is your work must stay put. When your piece got moved and caught by the bit it likely lost steps. When the machine loses steps all bets are off. Plus if you are not attending to the machine if the work gets wedged the bit can start a fire due to the high rpm and friction.
If you have not used a long L bracket I suggest you make one and mount it on your machine. Here is a c2d file to make one. My machine has 2" tee nut spacing so you can modify it for the spacing on your machine. The advantage of a long L bracket is you can square it and lock it down giving you a square reference to the router. The other thing is you have a solid stop to hold your work on two sides. Because I have an SO3 with a threaded spoilboard and 1/4-20 tee nuts at 2" spacing I use cam clamps. With the L bracket you can use the C3D tiger and gator clamps to push up against the side opposite of the L bracket.
long_L_bracket.c2d (296 KB)
Another good option used in conjunction with the L bracket is painters tape and super glue. You put painters tape on the back of the material and matching painters tape on the spoilboard. Then you put super glue, I use Titebond Medium CA, and press the two pieces together using the L bracket as a reference. You can leave the L bracket in place if not cutting along the edges or after the glue sets remove the L bracket. If you remove the L bracket replace it and use the router bit and jog to lightly tighten the L bracket and jog back and forth to get the bracket square to the router movement and tighten it back down fully.
Here is a top view of using the L bracket and painters tape to hold material.
Here is an example of holding an odd shaped piece. The bottom had a square bottom I put against the fence and carved a clock face. I used 2" wide regular 3m painters tape. There are a bunch of exotic painters tape but I think the regular painters tape work best.
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I should clarify, the actual wood piece did not move. It was one of the pieces I was cutting out that got loose. The tabs I made in carbide create were not sufficient to hold the piece in place. I bought the work holding so I do have an L bracket in the corner. Good advice!m
For the small piece that jumped today, painters tape and glue definitely would have prevented that. I will use that for anything less than 5”x5” from now on instead of relying on tabs.
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