I have some sort of illness that causes a desire to try to build machines that can make cool things, including other machines, while looking cool at the same time. This has led to the completion of some pretty good projects, but also to a lot of frustration with the limits of my knowledge and skills. The Lowrider is the most recent manifestation of the illness.
Mine is now finished, about 96% functional, and has already produced two cool things. So, I want to take this moment to thank all of you. I’ve built 3D printers, a Captain Kirk chair, a 6 DOF motion simulator, a Volkswagen engine, and an 11’ dining room table with lumber I milled myself. Each project has involved some form of online community, and I have to say, few if any have matched the openness, friendliness, responsiveness and supportiveness of this one. Thank you to @vicious1 for making it possible for those of us who will never own a Tormach to experiment with this technology. And thank you to @jeffeb3, @barry99705, and everyone else (apparently, you can only mention three other users in a post) who has patiently responded to my naive and ignorant questions.
As soon as I finished assembling my Lowrider, my middle son, who is off to college this week to pursue his PhD in history, asked if I could make flat pack furniture with it. I, of course, said, “Sure!” Then I ran into some trouble with one of the Z motors missing steps. @jeffeb3 went above and beyond to help, but I couldn’t get the firmware he provided to work. So I figured I’d just try with what I have. The Lowrider ran for a total of 12 hours this weekend, turning out a bed that my son had found online. It worked like a champ until the very last cut, when it started missing steps, and I blame that on the eBay endmill.
I couldn’t be happier with the Lowrider, and I’m sure it and I will get better with experience. So, for those of you struggling with a build, hang in there. For those trying to decide about pulling the trigger, do it. To everyone else here, thank you.
