servant74

To 1sarge: yes, they can and do cut gun stocks. Usually done on a rotary axis (like a lathe), but 3D cutting (one all sides) can also be done without the rotary axis, but a jig or two may be required. ... The concept is the easy part, but the implementation is where it counts.

To me, CNC is just another tool. For the real DIYer, looking at sites like buildyourCNC.com shows how, ... and yes they sell kits ... but having the CNC is not the end all, it, like all other tools, requires an artisan or artist to make it work well. For most garage wood working, we don't need the $100K tools that are easily available, we don't 'NEED' a Lie-Nielsen plane or Festool gadget either. But they are great tools for what they are. ... Personally I have lusted over ShopBot for years, have printed the plans to build a MechMate.com, have read and re-read the BuildYourCNC.com web site, but still don't have a CNC of my own running.

Most of us have no NEED to do wood working. Ikea makes cheap disposable furniture we could 'get by with'. Wood working for us is a WANT. We get quality, pride, results that can last a long time, and personal pride of producing.

The same with CNC. Most in this community have no NEED for CNC. No one will shame you into using them, and you can make great furniture and cabinets without using many of the 'modern tools'. ... But if you do want to do CNC, go for it! Learn, Enjoy. If you don't, then Don't, but don't look down on other because they use yet another or different shop tool.

Many of today's garage shops are so well equipped as to be alien to the masters from our great grand parents days. As will our great grand kids shops compared to what we have today.

Many of the CNC that have come in the last few years targeted at the 'home shop', like Cutright, have not proven themselves to be sturdy enough for the 'real world' shop environments. Several of the smaller CNC (price and size) seem to be good for signs, and carvings, but can't handle cutting 4x8 sheets. The ones that can go up in price quite rapidly.

ShopBot has nice machines, but the pricing seems to stay just outside my grasp. One of their strong points is a great set of forums and 'support group' in their forums. They also hold 'jamborees' that adds to the camaraderie. Not that it will help make better furniture or parts, but it does help in the 'hobby experience'. Their support (phone and online) are reported to be very good. I would recommend looking at them if you are considering a large formate CNC (pricing is currently in the $10K up range for large format, but check their web site and pricing ... www.shopbottools.com ) -- If you want to roll your own, I suggest looking into MechMate.com - free plans and a good support team .. should cost $5K or so to build a 4x8' model, plus a couple hundred hours of effort.

For me RA is a keeper, but this is turning into a religious war. If you are in a shop, you are automatically accepting some level of 'danger' in your life. But then again, going to the bath room puts us all in the most dangerous room in the house on a regular basis.

It looks to me like the 'new tool' that is going to come into the RA slot in several shops. It is the Torque Workcenter.

Basically think a cross between a RA and a gantry mounted router. It is from Australia, but seems to be gathering quite a foot hold.

Like new RAs, it is not cheap, but it has a replaceable power tool, so you can use it with a circular saw, chain saw, router, and I am sure other tools. It is manually operated, so it is NOT computerized, and no CNC.

There are distributors in the USA. I would like to see FW do a review of this tool, and compare it to competition. Fact to fact (and take some of the religon out like we see in the comments of this discussion).

http://www.torqueworkcentre.com/ - and no, I have no stake in this tool or company, I just would like to use one for a while to see if it is worth it to me.

I do remember seeing plans for making a 'swing saw' on an old Mechanics Illustrated back when. It was basically a cross cut saw with all the dangers of a radial arm saw and more and much less flexibility to do what it does. When I saw that, I just thought how much safer a RA is than that beast.

... Jack

My issue is with MythBusters process. They do not use a scientific method. They minimally need a control group and a test group for each different test they are doing. ... If they did it 'right', and boil results down to numbers and graphs, etc, it wouldn't be as glitzy and in your face as their program is.

I consider whatever results I get from them as additional anecdotal evidence, not a real study.

Their program is entertainment first, information obtained from them is just what you see. And it is not rigorous in considering real world, long term use, covering all options availabe, or a hardcore scientific study.

Enjoy their program, but just consider it entertainment, not more, not less. And yes, I enjoy seeing their stuff too, just like I enjoy the Dirty Jobs show.