I have posted a set of three tutorial videos on YouTube that cover using Carbide Create to make wooden boxes. These are designed to get a novice user up to speed on creating things on the Shapeoko using the included Carbide Create and Carbide Motion software.
The first part covers basic box making from choosing wood, to setting up the files and carving. https://youtu.be/LQIW0Ue9LnM
The second covers finding design files and how to get designs consistently centered on top of the box using the rapid position feature of Carbide Motion. https://youtu.be/sOqT5AVoezU
The last part covers making a more complex dice/jewelry box. It covers pocketed designs, using the node editor, magnetic catches for the box and fixing those weird pink lines SVG imports. https://youtu.be/BFEB-jex7KM
I just watched all 3 videos and found them great.I’ll definitely be trying these out as I am keen on box making on my lathe and want to try the CNC option.
Excellent videos, John! Even though I don’t use Carbide Create currently, it was very helpful to see your process. I just got my laser engraver attachment set up yesterday, and now I’m eager to build a box like yours and laser engrave the top. Thanks for putting these together.
Thanks so much. I am glad it was helpful. Please post your results with the laser engraver. I would love to see how it looks. Did you get the J Tech Photonics?
As soon as I get something built and engraved other than test pieces I’ll post to the gallery. I bought the 10W laser from Endurance Lasers. George, the owner of that company, has been very helpful in getting it set up. Right now it’s just zip tied to my router, but I’ve ordered an upgraded linear Z axis from MrBeaver and will be building a laser mounting bracket for it once it arrives.
John I am trying to run this project I tried a box in a piece of scrap MDF and it worked great. However I then tried to cut boxes in Curly Maple and the project started cutting off center of the stock so that the wall on one side of the box was super thin. Today I created a brand new file and leaving 1/4 inch of material on either side of the outside box walls and on the bottom lip tool path it began cutting on the edge of the stock. IN my design the boxes are perfectly aligned to the stock. I have attached a photo of my first cut, and the G code as well as the design file. I would appreciate any help! Thank you all in advance!
I don’t see anything wrong with the design at first glance. I would say that you don’t have a lot of wiggle room on your stock. Two things I would check:
When you first align your tool on the workpiece are you aligning the center of the bit with the corner, or the edges (see attached). You want to align the center.
Make sure that the stock is positioned straight along the x-axis by placing the bit against the bottom edge of the stock and jogging it down the length of the stock.
Those are the two things I can think of off the top of my head. I only have a standard Shapeoko 3 so I cannot run the gCode.
Hope this helps and if I think of anything else I will pass it along.
Thanks John, I appreciate the tips, I think I am using the center of the bit but I will pay more attention to that this evening when I try this again. I had been using a straight edge butted up against the front rail of the shapeoko to align the stock but I am really still in a pretty steep learning curve. By the way I am also a woodturner!
Thanks again, I will post if I get better results.
John: I ran across your video a number of days ago and was moved to attempt your project. The one part I was unclear of has to do with the upper and lower lips. One is an inside cut of .17 and the other an outside cut of .17. I was wondering if with those same measurements the fit would be so tight that it would be difficult to put the lid on and off? Consequently, I was wondering if one of those cuts should be slightly larger or smaller (.17/.19) than the other and if so by how much?
It depends on what you are going for. I like to start with the lid tight and use a shoulder plane (or a sanding block) to fit it just right. I can get pretty close to a suction fit this way. If you are going for something looser, one or two hundredths of an inch difference is typically all you need. The key thing is the corners; if you don’t round them in the design, the outer cut has square (sharp) corners and the inner cut has a rounded corner which is the radius of the bit. They won’t fit together.
John: I just finished my first box. Used some very old scrap wood, a 2x6. I did not make any allowance for clearance on the lip and the box came out just fine and fit together with no problem.
In the future I think I would do one thing different. Rather than making the lip .17 inches think I think I would make it a little thinker, maybe .20 or .25. The reason I say this is because as I handled the box the lip broke because it was so thin. Easy enough to glue back, but I wouldn’t want to have to do that regularly.
I do appreciate the way you got the rounded inside corners. I did mine a bit different and I offer this alternate method for consideration. After making the outside box with rounded corners I created a second box, with rounded corners (probably could have done a copy and resize), but I made its width and length smaller (by .17 inches for the lip) and centered it inside the first box.
I am so glad you found the videos helpful. I do find that I tend to make the walls of my boxes thicker these days. One thing to note; If you are making your second box .17 inches shorter (height and width) and centering it in the previous box, you only end up with a wall that is half that thick (.085) If you want the box to have a wall .17 thick you need to subtract twice that amount or .34 from the length and width of the inner box.
I cannot tell you how many times I did this before I realized what was wrong.
I just want to say thank you for making these videos. I am a CNC beginner, had an upgraded SainSmart 4030 but I decided to get a new Shapeoko 4 XL. I have to wait another 3 weeks to get it delivered to the Netherlands and I can’t wait to get started and learn. I know it will be a lot of trial and error but videos like these help me a lot to learn about the software and the templates etc.
I noticed that you made a real nice box with a feather design. I looked for that same design and could not find it. I am wondering if you would be willing to share you feather.svg file with me so that I could attempt a similar project. If you are willing you could reply and attach it or if you’d rather have my personal e-mail address I would be more than happy to share that with you and you could send it direct as an e-mail attachment. Thanks
Let me know how it goes.
