The bench isn’t quite finished yet. Some holes to poke into that beautiful surface.
It was waaay more work than I thought it would be. Partly because I built it at my friend’s farm so there was no way to putter on it in the evenings. Partly because it’s like taking a tree, cutting it into pieces, then gluing it back together.
We’re guessing it’s close to 400lbs.
Yeah, I spent some time perusing that docs site. It’s a good layout as far as organization. I thought a WIKI would work well, since I know Ryan and Jeff have got to be super busy… if they’re like most people, they probably have “real jobs” too! A living doc repository contributed by the community could help alleviate their time (albeit not in the beginning while setting it up!)
Like me, others that were searching for this CNC, probably happened upon the Teaching Tech videos. Well… those were great but now a little outdated. My initial purchases were based off what I learned and gathered there. It would have been nice to get directed to a Lowrider2 WIKI, where I knew I would have the latest and greatest (and recommended) build info. I mean, I think I did find my way to the DOCS section and did a LOT of DD beforehand… I’m not blaming anyone and I learned a ton… and maybe wouldn’t have learned it if I hadn’t got some things wrong… so… no harm no foul.
But now we’ve hijacked “A Tale of Two Tables” thread!!! Sorry, Darwin!!! Keep up the good work!
In the automotive world they’re usually referred to as toothed wheels or toothed pulleys.
I’m old school automotive: V-Belts! 
Although, I’m taking on a LS project in a 1967 AMC Rebel this spring… so I’m moving on up! 
1 Like
The ones one the leadscrew are couplers, for sure. The ones connecting the motor to the belts are what I call pulleys. I may be wrong.
Oooh… Ok that clarifies it… uh, yes I would call those pulleys!
I was thinking couplers, because that where my grubs stopped biting… grubs with teeth… yeah.
This is a picture of a bunch of grubs on someone’s hand:
Yuck, grub screws
1 Like
Why did I click that?
I was digging to plant some bulbs by hand…found one, freaked out like kid.
4 Likes
There’s no Unlike or Unsee buttons I can click!
I am not offended by it. But I thought maybe some others wouldn’t want to see it. It is really hard not to click to see though.
We watch antscanada on youtube every saturday. It is a channel about antkeeping/ant farms. It is very interesting. Maybe I am desensitized to bugs because of it.
3 Likes
Wow them some dinner size grubs 
My son is a big fan of antscanada.
He’s the one finding all the cool insects when we are camping. I try to keep them out of the tent.
Dude, your mallets look awesome. I have a few questions as now I HAVE to have one or five, hopefully you don’t mind the inquisition.
-Is the ash inner and handle all one piece? Or did you set the handle into the ash separately? (another way of asking, is this a composite of 3 pieces or 4 pieces of wood plus dowels?)
-Did you pocket out the walnut at all to make more space for the bearings?
-About how much weight of bearings did you put in there?
Your first projects were definitely cooler than mine lol You have a cool shop, thanks for posting.
2 Likes
My kids used to be freaked out by them when working in the yard… until I tossed one to the chickens and they went crazy trying to eat it.
Now the kids are actively looking for them while we’re working in the yard so they can feed them to the chickens
2 Likes
Thanks for the compliments! There are some really stunning first projects in this forum. Says a lot about the machines we’re using 
They’re 3 piece mallets. So yes, the ash handle and inner is a single piece. I figured I might as well take advantage of the CNC in the overall design as well as using it for engraving.
I didn’t pocket the walnut. And that might tie in to your last question. I filled the hole with bearings with a small bit of room to allow the bearings to absorb the recoil. I didn’t do a lot of research so a) I don’t know how much weight I put in and b) I don’t know if it was the “proper” amount. The hole was 2.5" x 1.5". If you needed more weight pocketing the walnut would make sense. I’m not sure it would be worth it though.
Cool deal, thanks for the answers. Think I’ll make one this weekend out of plywood and then go find some good stuff
Happy making!
1 Like