silver spaceship

[R. W. Alexander]

I cut out my plywood frame and walls today. I wanted to get as much frame work out of a single piece of 3/4" ply as possible, so it was necessary to make the frame parts in sections. I also cut out the parts for the rear hatch and front awning, so there was not much waste on this sheet of plywood.



I then cut out the 1/8" plywood walls.



I did a dry fit of the parts and everything looks ok.



Here is a close up of the door frame.


I will start to gluing up the frame with epoxy next, and vacuum press the walls, frame and insulation together. [/img]

[parnold]

so there was not much waste on this sheet of plywood

Understatement!

You couldn't use the scrap as kindling.

Very good!

[chorizon]

From the kerf-width I'd say CNC-router. Nice!

Did you do your own CAD work? What did you use?

[R. W. Alexander]

From the kerf-width I'd say CNC-router. Nice!

Did you do your own CAD work? What did you use?

Yes I did my own CAD design. I use a product called Auto sketch. It is a simple 2-D CAD program that is a lot cheaper ($89.00) than its big brother Auto CAD. And for 2-D work it is more than adequate for CNC routers.

[aggie79]

From the kerf-width I'd say CNC-router. Nice!

Did you do your own CAD work? What did you use?

Yes I did my own CAD design. I use a product called Auto sketch. It is a simple 2-D CAD program that is a lot cheaper ($89.00) than its big brother Auto CAD. And for 2-D work it is more than adequate for CNC routers.

Very nice design and nice work.

Do you mind a few more questions about CNC? (Please excuse my ignorance on this. I'm just learning about CNC.) What size plywood did you start with? How did you get the CNC work done - at a sign company perhaps? Did you supply them with just the CAD file and they converted it into G-code or whatever the CNC machine needs?

Please don't let this derail your build thread.

Thanks, Tom

[grizz]

That is seriously neat.

When I look at my blundering build, and at these sort of builds, I do get a bit embarrased and wish I had the skills and shops some have.

Dry fit looks excellent.

[R. W. Alexander]

Do you mind a few more questions about CNC? (Please excuse my ignorance on this. I'm just learning about CNC.) What size plywood did you start with? How did you get the CNC work done - at a sign company perhaps? Did you supply them with just the CAD file and they converted it into G-code or whatever the CNC machine needs?

Please don't let this derail your build thread.

Thanks, Tom

For the plywood I used 1/8" x4' x9' birch( I added a 12" splice piece for the 1/8") for the walls and 3/4" x 4' x8' ply for the frame members.

As for the CNC I bought a 4' x 10' Camaster CNC last year after getting laid off at place of employment.( I knew some years before that that I would lose my job), so I put part of my money away each week so I could get a CNC.I love doing CNC work I have done it for the past 17 years. So you could say I am a little spoiled with the shop toys.

As for supplying CAD files I did all my own drawings, and used a program called Aspire to create the g-code for the CNC.
This Tear that I am building is helping me to learn how to program my CNC. Operating a CNC is easy, but programing the parts is the hard part

[R. W. Alexander]

That is seriously neat.

When I look at my blundering build, and at these sort of builds, I do get a bit embarrased and wish I had the skills and shops some have.

Dry fit looks excellent.

Thanks, but some the quality work being done by others at this forum with nothing but a small jig saw and other hand tools is amazing!

[jackdaw]

OMG I wouldn't know where to start .



I bet that takes some serious working out

I'm looking forward to this one

Dave

[R. W. Alexander]

I cut out the insulation today, and did a dry fit. But I made a small mistake, but nothing I can't fix.



I also did some more weight reduction at the bottom of the frame, then added some blue board so the plywood that will be added later will lay flat, and not curl inward into the holes. [/img]

[aggie79]

R.W,

Thank you for the answers to my CNC questions. I'm sure the rest of your build will be just as fascinating as the beginning.

Tom

[GuyllFyre]

That is most awesome!
Reminds me of the balsa wood model planes I always used to start and never finish.
Small mistake? Your door doesn't open?

[R. W. Alexander]

That is most awesome!
Reminds me of the balsa wood model planes I always used to start and never finish.
Small mistake? Your door doesn't open?

The mistake is the placement of the square block of plywood below the window opening. It needed to be on the other side of the door. I will put in another piece of plywood on the other side. As for the door opening. After laminating the wall sections together I will cut out the door opening on the CNC with a 3/8" wide router bit.

[Miriam C.]

What waste? That is awesome! I hope you saved the program in triplicate. I can see that being a money maker, or at least very convenient.

[fromeo]

Now that is just too cool. Love the dovetail joints!

- Frank