I started advertising my services in Facebook recently, and someone asked if I could do a crib board. Being a sucker for punishment, of course I said yes. Never done one before, but how hard can it be, right?
So aside from making absolutely no money off the project, and spending far too much time on it, and having to switch from a Burly to Primo build mid-project, it was a blast! Happy with the end result, got it to the customer at the very last minute (I wrapped it up at 3am the day I needed to send it out), but hey, I can now say that I did a crib board!
And just FYI, if it was up to me, I would have inlaid the maple, but the customer wanted it as an applique. And they’re always right, right?
I did a trial crib board in pine. Realized that I was drilling 367 holes with an endmill, which was (IMO) kind of dumb. I then added 1mm “dimples” to the engraving bit code, then drilled the holes with a 1/8" high speed drill bit, with the router speed dialled down to it’s lowest possible speed. The router basically then goes barely slow enough for the high speed drill bit to manage, and I have Estlcam configured with a tool that has a super low cut speed, but a reasonable plunge and rapid move speed. It took hours off of the machining time. (Okay… Maybe an hour.)
I use a spindle in my setup, and of course, I was drilling holes on the hottest day so far this year. So I ended up doing batches of 10 rows at a time, with a chance for the spindle to cool off in between. The bit itself got hotter than I’d like as well, but by the end of that portion of the project, my spindle mount had cracks in it. So I ended up finishing a design I started months ago and never implemented that uses the aluminum spindle holder that came with it. It acts as a much better heat sink, I think. And if it overheats, it’s not going to get soft, like the PLA can.
And mine was for 4 players, so 480+ holes… Should have bought a 1/8" PCB drill bit, I think. Anyway, it worked, so that’s what counts, right?
@vicious1 - yeah, that was my thinking. I’m trying to get a business going, so having a happy customer is more important than making a few bucks, and it IS a nice looking piece! Of course, walnut does that all by itself, but still…
@WizardOfAus - do you use Fusion 360? I’m happy to share either the CAD file, or just the STL. Your choice. I guess I should put it up on Thingiverse or something. Let me know, anyway.
Let me know if it’s not, and I’ll just e-mail it to you. This setup also works with my 5W diode laser mount, which allows quick attachment and removal of the laser.
Should have bought a 1/8" PCB drill bit, I think. Anyway, it worked, so that’s what counts, right?