I know what you are thinking, why do I need a CNC for a simple box? Take look inside.
Dados on the inside to make it easy to position the port and the internal bracing. The Rabbets on the outside edges make the box easier to assemble and give me more glue area for stronger joints. All precision cut to fit 23/32" plywood.
Next step is to figure out a way to do a cool logo, Engraving it was easy, the epoxy pour was a fail. No problem, I will just try again.
Just out of curiosity, what was the failure with the epoxy?
Epoxy needs to be slightly overfilled. The reason is most epoxy shrinks during drying and you can have a low spot on an epoxy fill. Luckily I have Jet 16" Drum Sander that I use to remove my over fill. I usually put some blue painters tape around the perimeter of my carving to keep the epoxy contained. I remove the tape before running it through the drum sander. I have tried a planner but that is way too violent for epoxy and have pulled out parts on an inlay. Just a random orbit sander with 60 grit can remove the over fill but just be careful you dont over do the sanding with 60 grit. When you just have a film left go up to higher less agressive grits to keep from over sanding and removing the veneer on your plywood.
Making your dados on the CNC is a good idea. However I have a full woodworking shop and some things are just faster to do with traditional tools. If you count the design and setup a dado blade can be faster. Most of my CNC work are for hybrid projects that combine traditional work with the CNC. Some people get a CNC and try to do everything with the CNC. It works but some things are just faster and easier with more traditional methods.
Those are some big boxes. What are their purpose? are they for cars/trucks or for home use? Are these a production that you sell?
I rushed it. I should have sealed the design with clear and let it sit for a day. The colors bled into the wood. I also overfilled it (not just slight, way to much).
This is just a 10" I build them just to post videos on YouTube.
Were you using a dye color for the epoxy? I have been using powder pigments, and have found they don’t seem to bleed.
Some blue liquid that I had on hand, I bought it years ago to dye some fiberglass subwoofer enclosures. I used far to much and it came out way to dark. My first time trying anything with epoxy. I need to order some of the powder. I am sure it will work a lot better.
I have been using powders (and epoxy) from Magic Resin - available in both USA and Canada.
I started with the multi-pack. It doesn’t look like much, but these pigments are intense, a little goes a long way. The choice of colors let me experiment.
Just ordered some mica powder, looking forward to trying this again!
