Hello y’all!
Patrick here from Northern Kentucky, just picked up a lightly used Shapeoko Pro XXL. I work in IT, dabbled in 3d printing a bit, and woodworking as a hobby.
Hopefully soon, I will be able to expand the offerings of our Family “custom sign/banner/apparel” shop into the world of CNC making. For now, I’m just learning the ropes, and jumping in getting some carving done to understand the process!
I just went through this myself a month and a half ago with the exact same set up and almost all the same questions except the vacuum. Just using my Rigid 6hp but will be purchasing the Dewalt Stealthsonic in a couple days. I agree with the cyclone setup for it (just haven’t spent the time to set it up yet. I got a less expensive one at Harbor Freight. Having too much fun using the CNC!)
A lot of good comments here discussing the table space:
Table space around CNC
I ended up with a table on rollers. I did a torsion box. GREAT for stability! With little space around it so I have easy access to the CNC from all sides. I still have a long ways to go including drawers, trim, and the back support. Thinking of having my vacuum in one of the sections.
My current set up taking up about 1/6 of my 24x24 shop. I can roll the CNC out of the way as needed to do other things if wanted. I REALLY like having it up against my work bench/ countertop area. The U is a nice setup for me.
Another useful thing I’ve found is a game controller for moving along the X,Y,Z axis. Great discussion here:
Game controller for carbide motion?
Ended up with the Rii Bluetooth Controller. Works great. I will make an arcade button jog controller some day!!
The Crush-lt Essential Clamp Set is great!
I kind of wish I purchased the Shapeoko Endmill Starter Pack bit set, but ended up needing some other specific bits for what I’m doing, so have picked and chosen some cheaper ones on Amazon until I know exactly what I need. THEN I’ll go with the better quality/more expensive ones (the less expensive have held up pretty well so far, BUT I’m using HDU mostly).
And welcome to the community! This is such a great place and a primary reason I feel like I’ve become successful with CNC work!
Please wear hearing protection anyway — hearing damage is cumulative and irreversible.
Thanks pal! I know this for sure!! It’s a dream I have though.
Good Afternoon,
I am Anthony, simple dude with a family of 6. Of course my Wife’s love for wood decor has driven me to get into more woodworking for furniture building and little trinkets that can be given to family/friends. Just got a Shapeoko 4XL and I am looking forward to learn the CAD ins and outs as well as make some stuff and push the machine to see what it is really capable of and push my creativity to new levels. Currently Active Duty Navy coming up on 17 years of service and hopefully can get a side hustle going to relax after retirement or alongside another government job.
What size Dewalt stealthsonic are you using? I’d like to try and get away with the 4.5 hp for its compact size. Thoughts?
I bought too early to take advantage of the DeWalt — was cheaping out and using the cheapest shop vac I could find w/ a home-made cyclone, which worked fine for a while, then I finally had occasion for a project which involved a long, essentially all-day cut…
At the end of the day, in a noise-induced, migraine-fueled rage I bought a Festool CT Midi and an Oneida Ultimate Dust Deputy:
Since then I’ve bought some straight/rotating connectors and have been working on dust collection for my Mafell FM 1000 WS:
Here is a link to a discussion on the Stealtsonic.
Note that the smaller stealthsonics come with a smaller diameter hose/inlet. Factor that into your decision. I opted for the larger one.
I got the 6 gal version, because the 9 gal would not fit on shelf under the table.
I use the Mullet cyclone. 4" hose.
Here is my wheel and leveler setup.
Lucky!! I’m jealous!
So going from the smaller port on the Dewalt (4.5hp I think) to the larger 4" pipe and reducing back down to the sweepy port you have enough suction?
Actually it’s strong enough to pop the hose off if you don’t have enough slack.
I use the deep sweepy because the noise using the regular sweepy is very annoying.
Deep sweepy? Hmmm. I’ll have to look into that! I am unaware!
Agreed. The sharp angle on the regular sweepy creates a lot of noise.
Hi all, my name is Michael, and I run a small shop called Bonakdar Design Labs out on Long Island, NY. I’ve got a S05 4x4 with a big noise enclosure, a 60W CO₂ laser, and a mix of resin/FDM printers, and I spend most of my time making architectural models, signage, and custom one-off parts for small businesses.
I come from an architecture background but really just enjoy fabricating. Always learning new tricks and trying to dial in the machines for better results. Looking forward to sharing projects and picking up tips from the community.
What are some of the things you need to do for your modeling?
Hi Mark — for me it’s mostly architectural modeling, so I use a mix of CNC for larger panels/bases, laser cutting for finer details, and resin 3D printing for small parts ie trees, benchs, etc. Sometimes I’ll even fdm print a whole building at scale and assemble it like a kit. A lot of it comes down to getting clean, consistent parts in wood or plastic, and then finishing everything so it looks professional enough for my own or client presentation.
On the front end I spend a lot of time in CAD/Rhino — breaking down drawings into cut files, scaling details, and simplifying things so they’re actually manufacturable. It’s always a balance between accuracy, durability, and deciding how much detail is worth chasing at scale.
Makes sense. That’s what I had in my head but I wasn’t sure I wasn’t imagining things.
Hi, my name is John. I have been a hobbyist woodworker for about 50 years. I retired about a year and a half ago from the insurance industry. I have ordered the 4x2 5pro with the 80 mm spindle, which should arrive in a couple of days.This is my first foray into the CNC world. I have done a lot of research, watched a lot of videos and played around in Carbide Create over the last couple of months. Looking forward to the learning curve and making some sawdust (firewood?). 
