Forging new paths

The fanciest and most complex machine in our shop is a MultiCam CNC router. It is a wonderful machine that allows us to do some pretty cool things. One of it's most complex features is a four axis rotary attachment that turns the work in a precisely controlled fashion while the machine carves and moves back and forth. The difficult part is creating the routing files that run the machine.

Seven years ago when we got our first CNC machine it wasn't long before we caught the attention of both the software and hardware folks with the fancy and unusual projects we have turned out. We were using the machine in ways they never imagined from the very start. Since then we have become good friends and have worked together to expand the capabilities of both hardware and software. The four axis functions are relatively new and still a work in progress.

A few times each year it is my privilege to spend a few days with one of the owners and developers of the EnRoute software company, trying new things and talking about the projects I would like to do in the future. Many of those ideas show up in new versions of the software. Jeff is all ears as we work on the interface ideas, and talk of the wonderful things we want to attempt. The goal is to make everything as simple as possible, within the parameters of the software I already know but with more funtionality and possibilities for the future. Its an enjoyable but challenging time. 

Each day we build files, then have the machine route them to test our ideas. Here's one of the projects. It looks simple but it really is a complex piece which required some serious head scratching. MAchines like to go straight, symetrical, smooth and true while we want things to be exactly the opposite in every way possible.

With every success (and failure) knowlege is accumulated and a new launching point is established. I sure appreciate the rare opportunities that this quality and private time affords! While we call it work the truth is it is a LOT of fun!

-grampa dan

Off kilter

The word out on the street is that I simply do not own or or know how to use a tape measure, level or square. The truth is I have plenty of each. I do know how to use them too. They get used a bunch - where and when necessary. The rest of the time they stay in the tool box. We build to a visual standard and much of what we build simply can't be measured. Most of what we do is built by eye. Our levels, squares and tape measures are primarily used for structural components and foundations. Even there it is often necessary to build off kilter or in a curve - ON PURPOSE. Squares, levels and tape measures are not very useful for those things.

My dad who worked as a carpenter when I was growing up was much fussier about level, square and measured everything twice before cutting. He did his best to train me right too. When I started my own business he often gave me a hand. Each time we started a new project he would give me a shiny new square and often a level too. This went on for many years.

In 2003 when we built our new shop I dug out all of those squares and levels he gave me. Three or four are still used on a regular basis and are stored handy by my tool box. The rest I hung on the wall above. The next time he dropped by he saw all of the levels he had given me and decided I really had enough. He also decided he would never get me to use them more often than we did. I simply didn't do things the way he did.

 The truth is that anybody can use a level, tape measure or square. I would argue that how we do things is a skill aquired over time and finely honed through the years. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)

-grampa dan

Light 'er up!

The shop seemed a little dimmer than usual in the last few weeks. I thought perhaps it was because the sun was shining so bright outside or perhaps it was time for new glasses. But I happened to look up and noticed another light fixture had gone out. That made three of the twelve in the shop were toast. Flourescents also loose a significant portion of their brightness (40 percent or more) as they age and this too was becoming noticeable throughout the shop. The lights were on my list to get looked at and in fact I had spoken to our electrician about reviewing our lighting options only last week. This morning one of the two giant high bay fixtures failed to fire making the shop noticeably dimmer.

It is time for some serious thinking and a big investment as well. The workshop was outfitted with T12 flourescent fixtures when we built it more than a decade ago. Those old fixtures are now obsolete and the bulbs are getting difficult to source. They quit making them well over a year ago. The magnetic ballasts inside the light fixtures are also obsolete and failing one by one. The replacement electronic ballasts don't last nearly as long as the old style. Big changes can't be put off any longer.

We have two choices. The first is to put in replacement T8 flourescent fixtures which are more efficient than the old T12's and are a proven technology. The second option is to go with new LED fixtures, a much more expensive option but one that will pay for itself with the energy savings and longer life in only a few years. Because the labor is the same with either option that portion of the transition is a wash... unless we go with T8 flourescents now to save some money in the short haul and then upgrade them to LED fixtures in a few years as the technology matures and the prices come down. But this would actually mean we pay for the installation and price of fixtures twice. The fact is that T8 flourescents are really just a transitional technology and LED's are the future. 

The question is...  when does the future begin?

-grampa dan