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webmost

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You'll note, Keith, how Maks cuts his slots with the grain of the wood, rather than across it. As an old wood butcher myself, that's how I'd do it. Easier to cut smooth, and would hold up better.

I dunno what wood he uses. It might be poplar, if that grows in Slovenia. For aught I know, it might be something grows on his farm.

I salted away a box of 25 Churchills made with his mold this last March. That's what got me to thinking about his project versus yours. That stash of Uppowoc Maks will be coming ripe in two weeks. Can't wait to dip into them. Dom seco, viso, & olor, with a CT habano binder and mata fina wrapper. That two-slot approach was snap handy last Winter when I had very little time to spare. Could knock out two in an evening and still tackle the paying work I had to do. You two need to talk. His work is so careful that when you screw down those toggles tight they settle in right dead athwart the hawse. That's attention to detail.
 
keithjjones

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webmost said:
You'll note, Keith, how Maks cuts his slots with the grain of the wood, rather than across it. As an old wood butcher myself, that's how I'd do it. Easier to cut smooth, and would hold up better.

I dunno what wood he uses. It might be poplar, if that grows in Slovenia. For aught I know, it might be something grows on his farm.

I salted away a box of 25 Churchills made with his mold this last March. That's what got me to thinking about his project versus yours. That stash of Uppowoc Maks will be coming ripe in two weeks. Can't wait to dip into them. Dom seco, viso, & olor, with a CT habano binder and mata fina wrapper. That two-slot approach was snap handy last Winter when I had very little time to spare. Could knock out two in an evening and still tackle the paying work I had to do. You two need to talk. His work is so careful that when you screw down those toggles tight they settle in right dead athwart the hawse. That's attention to detail.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I can't cut with the grain unless I make a 2 slot, which I can do, but I can also print a two slot much faster. I might be able to do a 4 slot with wider wood. I can experiment after I see a completed mold come out.

Even against the grain the cuts are super sharp and the walls are very sturdy. Much more than I expected.

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Dominican56

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Could you draw up a two slot in such a way that your molds are scalable? Perhaps some kind of dovetail joint similar to how some manufacturers do on terminal-block connectors that attach to one another.
That could work for the base but he lid would take some experimentation to get it just right.
 
keithjjones

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And like that, the electronics go wonky and ruin the stock. Back to the drawing board.

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keithjjones

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Dominican56 said:
Oh man. What went bad? I'm guessing a stepper driver or your spindle driver.
What do you need?
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My fan fell off. The stepper drivers shutdown if they overheat, so they aren't damaged, but then the motors don't move and the coordinates get all crazy after that. Just the stock is messed up. The drivers are open current so they generate heat with 24v like no one's business. Other than that the mold was fantastic. Couldn't be happier. I'm going to pick up a few more slabs of poplar this weekend so I can continue carving without having to go out so much, because grad school starts for me again on Monday.

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I took and cleaned off my Maks mold with saddle soap, so's I could coat it with a beeswax / mineral oil combo, cause I never took the time to treat it right before I first used it. Looking carefully at the wood. The grain has birds' eyes and feathers like birch; but it doesn't have that birch color. Could be some sort of maple, but doesn't have that weight. You never know. Maple or birch in Slovenia could be another color altogether. Been trying to remind myself to ask him. I'll do it now.
 
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keithjjones said:
Unfortunately I can't cut with the grain unless I make a 2 slot, which I can do, but I can also print a two slot much faster. I might be able to do a 4 slot with wider wood. I can experiment after I see a completed mold come out.
Click to expand...
Lookee this old Durex mold:


Grooves going the length of the gar, separated by kerfs to allow some motion, laminated to planks going the length of the mold which stabilize the whole business. Your gar slots wind up with the grain while your clamping goes the other way. Whole effect strong like plywood. Someone put a lotta expertise and experience into this. I could see a row of modular single units mounted crossways on a pair of planks. Screw up one, you replace just the one module. Food for thought.
 
keithjjones

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webmost said:
Lookee this old Durex mold:


Grooves going the length of the gar, separated by kerfs to allow some motion, laminated to planks going the length of the mold which stabilize the whole business. Your gar slots wind up with the grain while your clamping goes the other way. Whole effect strong like plywood. Someone put a lotta expertise and experience into this. I could see a row of modular single units mounted crossways on a pair of planks. Screw up one, you replace just the one module. Food for thought.
Click to expand...
Modular (and with the grain) is a whole beast I don't know if I'm ready to tackle. As it is, I have to invest a lot of time into just getting the non modular version to cut. It would be a big chunk of time to cut and set up each modular piece in the CNC. The time for all that is not negligible.
 
keithjjones

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I've spent the last day or so really learning cam. I also scaled down my molds because I rarely roll more than 4 at a time. That allowed me to reorient the grain as well. I just cut this top with the grain. There was zero sanding or post processing in this picture. The CNC was that smooth. After some gentle hand sanding it will be even better. I've got the speed dialed in where I started this at lunch and it just finished by dinner. That is on par with printing.

With or against the grain, the tips of the fins on the mold will naturally sliver to a width that will support it. That's the reason we have lines on our bunches in molds.
 
derektherockstar

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keithjjones said:
I've spent the last day or so really learning cam. I also scaled down my molds because I rarely roll more than 4 at a time. That allowed me to reorient the grain as well. I just cut this top with the grain. There was zero sanding or post processing in this picture. The CNC was that smooth. After some gentle hand sanding it will be even better. I've got the speed dialed in where I started this at lunch and it just finished by dinner. That is on par with printing.

With or against the grain, the tips of the fins on the mold will naturally sliver to a width that will support it. That's the reason we have lines on our bunches in molds.
Click to expand...
Wow that's so cool. I have been looking forward to an update and this lived up to it! Rock and roll man.
 
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