I went old school and new school in 2020 (and the beginning of 2021) and built a Lowrider 2 on my old workbench, and then a Roubo style workbench to give me my working space back.
Have been wanting to get a CNC for a couple of years now and it didn’t seem like it was going to happen until I came across the LR plans last year. Thanks Ryan! The Roubo I’ve wanted to do for 15 years so it was good having an excuse to get started.
Thanks to everyone in the forum! It’s funny how many questions I have had have already been asked and answered. A big thanks to @jeffeb3 for being everywhere
Again thanks to Ryan - When I asked a question right after ordering and got a response in a 1/2 hr I realized this was the right route to go. Have made a whole bunch of things (mallets, ornaments, house numbers, Han Solo in carbonite (um…wood)) while learning how to handle the machine.
I think they are really nice looking and I would hate to use one in my shop (of course, that is what it is great at, so I don’t judge). I would really like to have something inspired by a bulky work bench in the house somewhere. Like a dining room table, or a “Buffet” somewhere. I’m not sure anyone else would appreciate it as much though
@Darwin very nice @jeffeb3 has been fantastic. He’s answered my questions and made great comments on my stuff. So I too appreciate all he’s doing. @vicious1 well I think we all appreciate his efforts and if not, then maybe whoever that rare bozo is shouldn’t be here.
@jeffeb3 I agree. I’ve bought about building a nice workbench a few times. But I’m with you 100% the first time I cut into it, scratched it or spilled paint I’d be distraught. Hell, I had getting marks on the MDF top I made and it’s the nicest workbench I’ve ever had. Prior to my current ones, I always had ones made out of old scarp plywood. And sometimes that was even third hand (my dad had a construction company).
@Darwin please start posting some of the stuff you’re making once you get it all sorted out and working right! I can’t wait to see what you make. If it’s 10% as nice as your workbench I expect to see some amazing stuff. And since I doubt you’d produce something that low based on this I expect some really cool stuff!
It looks awesome. And I want to just stare at it. But I do not mind at all that it’s job is to make other things. I hope I wasn’t trying to make it sound like you shouldn’t spill paint on it, or hit it with a hammer. I was just trying to say I think the form is strong enough to fit inside my house.
Thanks all!
Yeah, the workbench. I’m still super cautious about covering it up for painting but the only thing better than the looks is how good it is as a workbench. Every time I use it I ask it where it’s been all my life.
I say this to my Lowrider too so there’s no jealous backstabbing going on when I’m not looking.
My wife wanted a side table for the basement TV room. Little did she know…
Han is the wee carbonaceous bloke on the front. The back panel is M51, the Whirlpool galaxy.
All made out of scrap ply and pine.
This was my first 2.5D carve.
First mallet. It’s a deadblow mallet with a hollow center and ball bearings inside.
This was my first project. First V-carve. Ash inner, walnut outer. My Dad was pretty chuffed with it (he’s Scottish so that means “pleased”).
Things I learned: Grub screws need loctite! - during one of the walnut cuts the bit started veering into the piece. Emergency stop, research on the forum, dissassembly, loctite and reassembly, finish the cut, Epoxy the holes.
Drill holes for dowels are finicky - I still have a problem with this. I end up drilling them to the proper size with my drill. My sizing is good in Inkscape, my saved dxf file and Estlcam but the holes come out fractionally too small to put the dowel in. For the Han Solo table I made slots fractionally larger to make sure the boards fit. Not sure I had to but didn’t want to mess around with it.
Second and third mallets:
One of these was for me, the other for a friend who also made a Roubo table last year. A lot of the wood for my table was from his farm so I felt he deserved a mallet.
Wait! What’s a “grub” screw? I didn’t use loctite anywhere! Oh I just saw you put a link. I’ll check that after I type this up.
Oh - and nice little shop, Darwin. I’ve had a wood shop in my basement for years (over a decade now) and have also long dreamed of having a CNC. But the price was always unobtainium! Enter LR2! wooohooo.
And yeah - would be nice to sort forum sections like that. I actually JUST mentioned in another post that a WIKI would be nice. Then we can all contribute to a living documentation, and keep updated. I’m not beating these guys up though; they’re SUPER busy I’m sure and have done a huge amount of stuff. But there are little enhancements that could be done to the LR2 (I can’t speak for other designs) like the belt tensioning, for example. (that was my first upgrade!) Anyway, maybe someday…
The little Allen screw that holds the pulleys on the motor shaft. I thought the same thing. I’m 44 and this forum is the first place I had ever heard them referred to that way. I always knew them as set screws.
Me too! I did a search a while ago and got: Set Screws are blind (headless) fasteners with an internal hex drive. … Grub Screws are used in a tapped hole and tightened to hold an exterior object in place within or against another object.
Apparently being headless defines a set screw, i.e. all set screws can be called grub screws but not all grub screws can be called set screws. And if they remain tight we don’t need to talk about them.
Hah!
I’ve learned something new today…again.
When I was searching for a solution I looked for things like “slipping axis”.
I couldn’t have told you what a grub or a set screw was before seeing it here.
Close up, they look like grubs. That’s what I thought was the reason.
It also seems weird to call the thing they screw into a “pulley”. So I usually add the words “motor shaft” when I am pointing people at them. Like, “maybe the grub screws are loose and the pulley is shifting on the motor shaft”.
Tables?? Look at that floor!! Concrete! That’s soo cool! My shop floor is 3/4 plywood over 1 inches of really cupped almost 200 year old barn flooring…
I wonder if @jeffeb3 or @vicious1 have a thought on whether it makes sense to do a pooled knowledge base, or if there is a reason not to.
Could we do it without being a burden on Ryan?
If so, what’s the natural space for it?
I’m thinking if it’s Wiki style then it’s community managed but it would be nice if it was integrated into the forum or as a page on https://docs.v1engineering.com/
Anyway…idle thoughts.
Thanks Darwin, You can freely submit to the docs pages, we take a look and then add them or suggest changes. https://docs.v1engineering.com/mkdocs_info/ I think the FAQ page would be the best bet as it is underutilized at the moment.
That link makes it seem a little complicated but really you can just click on the little wrench on any page and it lets you suggest anything from spelling changes to adding all new pages of your own.
A WIKI! Funny you mentioned that, as I’ve recently mentioned that a couple times in other threads! LOL
I could certainly help, and that regard. I’ve built 4 WIKIs over the years.
And about grubs and pulleys… They’re definitely NOT pulleys, right? A pulley is like a belt track sort of thing… The grubs (set screws… ok, I suppose I can handle that one as a cute little name for them, so long as it’s explained! lol) are tightened in COUPLERS, or couplings. Shaft coupler/coupling. On the motor shaft and LEAD SCREW. We’ll have to be cognizant of the foreigners that might need translation. Grubs will certainly look funny in any language!
I do love that work bench, Darwin! A little envy here. I studied a TON of these back in the day. Seemed building one was sort of a right of passage for wood workers. I never did it. And I definitely don’t have room anymore!! Maybe someday
These instructions are a collection of knowledge from the V1 Engineering community. They are designed for collaboration in mind and edits are welcome. Please help us make this documentation better.
Thanks Ryan. I’ll take a look and post something there if it makes sense.
LOL…