Replies

1. 
   rob_ss | Jan 17, 2021 02:50am | #1

   I have not purchased one. Certainly it would not last long in a dusty environment. These are finicky machines at the best of times and need to be used in the right setting. DO NOT put it in your woodshop.
   I mostly make furniture, boxes and woodturnings so would find little use for one - the strength of what could be achieved is not really sufficient for furniture and it is hard to see an advantage in boxes or turnings, the latter being specifically a reductive rather than an additive process.

   Fusion 360 seems to be the software of choice - my son in law uses that for his, but he is an engineer and makes a lot of robots.
   The best value brand seems to change every few months as new innovations are added.

   Bottom line though, as with any tool purchase:

   1. What do I want to achieve?
   2. Is the tool I am considering purchasing the best for that specific job?
   3. If not, does it have other advantages (cost, flexibility)
   4. Where am I going to put it?
   5. What else would I do with the money?

   This last is particularly relevant and is seldom considered in any tool purchase - economists call it 'opportunity cost'. For instance, I would love a Domino and could afford one, but right now I would be better spending the money on a thickness sander. I would use the Domino way more often, it would save a lot of time and would really enjoy it, but I can do what the Domino does with a router or traditional joinery, which I also like doing. The thickness sander however is not easily replicable without hand tools that cost nearly as much as the sander or a massive planer that would require a mortgage to purchase, and a new shop in which to put it.

   I have at times been very good at persuading myself that a new tool is essential, but have come down to the position of purchasing only what I need for the next job. If I don't know when I'm going to use it, I try really hard to say no. This is particularly relevant for tech items like CNC and 3D printers, the price of which has plummeted over time.

1. 
   freddy228 | Jan 17, 2021 04:14am | #2

   Thank you for your reply. Yes, I would definitely not use it in the workshop, but keep it in my office. I have read about making jigs and templates for projects in, corner templates, making things for storage like router bit holders, corner squares, maybe routing templates etc.

2. 
   lat_axe | Jan 17, 2021 05:15am | #4

   Rob,

   To go off down your tangent ..... :-)

   Tool buying in our modern age, especially by hobbyists, is often more like toy-buying than the pressing need to acquire a necessary aid to making something intended for a hard & fast purpose. Like children, we learn through play rather than by being confined within an apprenticeship with sometimes ossified methods, aimed at economic "efficiency".

   If hobbyist play is a legitimate and defensible motive (and I'd argue that it is) for tool-buying then the method for deciding what to buy becomes different from that of a professional cabinet-maker making purely economic decisions. I'm sure I can't be the only hobbyist woodworker who has bought a tool to play with, played with it, then gradually become adept at producing fine articles that the tool enables or encourages.

   That's not to say that tools should be bought on a whim, like a small boy gazing through the toy shop window at Christmas and lusting after the shiny object merely because it's shiny or the kid next door has one. There should still be an underlying intent, however much buried under the desire to "have fun", that's to do with making a fine and useful thing .... eventually.

   But it has to be admitted that most of us can probably grok the fellow with a new hand plane or mortise machine who grinningly tells us, in enthusiastic tones, that "I could spend all day just making beautiful gossamer shavings / perfect square holes".

   But most of us do go on to make some fine furniture, having learnt how to do so through the pleasure of play rather than as an often bored apprentice in a commercial workshop hamster wheel. We just have to avoid the modern spoilt-kid syndrome in which a new toy is consumed every day before being cast aside in favour of the next toy, until the landfill is full.

   Lataxe, a big kid.

1. 
   weymouth2 | Jan 17, 2021 06:47am | #5

   This is dead on :)
   My current case in point personally is a Lie Nielsen No. 102. By any “rational” reasoning, I don’t need it. I have a 60 1/2 (which I love!) and I don’t believe the 102 would achieve anything the 60 1/2 couldn’t do.
   But if I do eventually get it, I am absolutely certain that I will learn something from it, and/or it will make playtime more enjoyable. And that’s mostly what it’s all about for me.
   -Neal (hobbyist)
   p.s. it helps that buying it would support a local (to me) business.

1. 
   freddy228 | Jan 17, 2021 07:21am | #6

   I research everything that I buy and often talk myself out of buying said tool. I am a hobbyist woodworker and consider myself an amateur who is learning rather quickly. The reason I am looking into the 3D printer is not just for woodworking, but I also am building a 1/43rd diorama of a Le Mans paddock and trust me when I say that this hobby isn't too far behind woodworking when you pull out your wallet.
   But I have Dr Googled 3D printing for woodworking and the jigs and workshop accessories are attractive options when some things are expensive as. But I am after the best entry level 3D printer that can be used for creating jigs etc.

1. 
   largeb | Jan 20, 2021 06:25am | #11

   I built a 3D printer from a kit about 8 years ago. I learned a lot building, tuning, and enhancing it. I also had to learn 3D modeling in order to get my own ideas printed. It was all well worth the money, even if I don’t use it all that often anymore.

   My printer is a MakerFarm, if I remember correctly. It was an easy kit to assemble, and had good support. I mostly use various open source apps to slice and control the printer. Most of my designs are in sketchup or Open SCAD.

   I would definitely recommend you consider a kit vs a built unit if you are keeping the cost down. You will get a better machine, and more importantly you will know all parts and how to fix and tune it when it invariably will. Before you start shopping you need to know how big you wish to print. For me the small 8x8 inch area has proven limiting at times.

   Larry

2. 
   freddy228 | Jan 17, 2021 04:16am | #3

   Thank you for your reply. Yes, I would definitely not use it in the workshop, but keep it in my office. I have read about making jigs and templates for projects in, corner templates, making things for storage like router bit holders, corner squares, maybe routing templates etc.
   I definitely will not get a cnc machine LOL

1. 
   spog_uk | Jan 18, 2021 03:30am | #7

   I'm a bit curious: why are you set against a CNC?

   Personally I see it as a much better fit for a wood workshop than a 3D printer. I have a "half size" CNC (4' x 4' bed) which I use specifically for the kinds of things you describe, ie jigs, templates, and so on. It's an easy way to transfer that "just right" curve template from a computer file into the physical world precisely and with minimal fuss, but doing so onto MDF, ply etc using a router (albeit a bot-controlled one) means using tools and materials which -- to my mind -- are a better complement for the rest of what goes on. For jigs, it's a quick way to achieve a high level of precision; but you can still glue and screw them as well. Can even do (light, non-ferrous) metal machining for tool hacks/repairs and suchlike. In all, while a luxury I could do without, it's a great "apprentice".

   Not saying your choice is a bad one, just wondering what reasons underlie it -- can often learn from others, and why they make the decisions they do.

1. 
   freddy228 | Jan 18, 2021 04:41pm | #8

   It would be very hard to justify a CNC to the wife seeing that I have spent sooooo much money on hand tools and I am in the process of mastering those skills and am enjoying it. My time is precious when I do finally get in the shed and making jigs and templates take me away from the things I need to do. Plus CNC machines are not cheap down here in Australia. Unfortunately, we do not have something down here like Craig's List where I can pick up a cheap 2nd hand one. I have just about talked myself out of a 3D Printer as they do take up a lot of room from what I have discovered on YouTube and I may have found someone who will do the printing for me.

1. 
   elmaduro | Jan 18, 2021 04:55pm | #9

   Freddi, by chance were you at a BadAxe seminar in LaCrosse, WI a few years ago?

3. 
   northwoodsman | Jan 18, 2021 10:18pm | #10

   I have a Creality Ender 3 v2. It's in a corner of my shop with an enclosure. Where at CNC router takes away, a 3D printer builds from nothing. No matter what you print it's a long, slow process. There are hundreds of settings involved and they are very finicky. I make tool holders, feet, adapters, cord holders, and all sorts of little parts for things. I print a lot of parts for my laser engraver, my systainers, and my Festool MFT.You can get this printer for around $225. They sell the previous model of the same printer for around $150; as you can see they are much cheaper than a CNC. A spool of filament lasts a long time and runs under $20. I use PLA+ in various colors. The printer works best in a warm environment with absolutely no drafts. I'm not kidding, if you are looking closely at what you are printing even your breath when you exhale effects it as will walking by it often, or an HVAC within 15 feet. You need design software and slicing software. I often use a free program for design called TinkerCAD, and the most popular slicing software is free (Cura or Prusa). You can also export .stl files from SketchUp or similar programs. You could possibly pay off this 3D printer pretty quickly if you had the desire, patience, and time.

4. 
   Offside | Feb 06, 2021 01:52pm | #12

   I got a Prusa i3 Mk2s second hand [in good condition] a couple years ago.

   Spent a few days trying to calibrate it, couldn't get the filament to stick to the print bed and ended up ramming the nozzle into the print bed and snapping one of the braces.

   I finally decided to try to get it working a couple weeks ago. Bought a new print bed [$100]. Managed, over the course of another 2-3 days, to get it printing consistently.

   After about 4 successful prints it started messing up mid-print. At the suggestion of a friend, I found that the problem was most likely moisture in the filament.

   I switched out the filament but that didn't solve it. Ended up disassembling the nozzle assembly to try to clean it. Snapped an important wire and now spending another $80.

   Problems I've encountered

   1) !!!!!Bed adhesion!!!!
   2) Nozzle clogging
   3) Hard to dissassemble/maintain
   4) Belt tensioning
   5) Air currents [possible]
   6) Moisture

   Recently picked up an X-carve [also second hand]. After taking some time to read the manual/understand its operations, it took me maybe half a day [of concentrated effort] to calibrate. It works wonderfully although I would recommend a Shapeko, I just went with X-carve cause it was on Craigslist cheap.

   I have not yet given up on my printer; I'm going to give it one more concentrated burst of effort once of the replacement part arrives. If that fails I will write it off as a sunk cost.

   My experience is that the learning curve is super steep but I'm hoping there's light on the other end of the tunnel.

   I use sketchup to make the models [people say that it's bad at making printable models but I haven't had problems] and then import them into PrusaSlicer which is a great program.