Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamJoshua
I don't care if was the machine or not, you are insanely talented my friend. Now I just have to think of a project for you, something like a Monte sign that's 8' by 12' and has 8 evenly spaced cribbage boards built into it.  ONE DOWAH!!!
Seriously gorgeous. |
Thanks, Adam!!!
To add more to what I said, the cnc machine can only do so much. Not that I'm trying to grab all the glory, it's just a fact.
It's all the hours of hand work that make stuff really nice. It doesn't just squirt out a sign and send it down the road, not remotely.
First I have to create the design. Then I have to create the toolpaths, or the language that tells the cnc machine what I want it to do. That's gobs of math, and my math weasel isn't all that swift, as we've discussed.
If that all works out, then it's sanding. And more sanding. And more sanding. Then chiseling and planing and more sanding. Then days of painting.
I could streamline the process by using foam (dibond) and one-shot with spray guns for painting. That'd cough up a sh1tty plastic commercial piece that I have no interest in making. Heck is, to make signs and stuff like that would cost nearly as much as the way I do things now, but very little human craftsmanship is in the finished product.
I got the cnc machine so I can hit a middle road. I can make a $2000 sign like this and sell it for around $1200. A commercial sign shop would sell a plastic counterpart for more than what I can.
My reasoning is to take enough work out of hand-made to make things affordable for guys like you and me, yet still turn out an heirloom piece that I can be proud of and you can be proud to own.
That goes for all the stuff I make. Eventually I want to crank out incredibly ornate humidors that can't even be had. Sort of like the super expensive commemorative editions that Habanos cranks out, but in my style. And I should be able to make them at a price that's within some sort of reason. I think that'd be super cool.
In the end, I more or less consider all the stuff handmade. The cnc is just a better tool for making things that used to be really, really hard and take forever. I can cut a piece to perfectly fit an area in less than half the time I used to, but I still have to use the tool. It's kind of like a way better hammer, ya know?
I should probably say that I've been working on this sign since January.
That's how long it takes to make enough time and patience to get one of these done. That's crazy.