We held our First camp Shopbot on the Virginia “mainland” Sat. Sept. 8th, 2007. (The first Camp Shopbot of any kind was held on the “Eastern Shore” in Willis Wharf, VA at Bill Young’s shop).
Ed Lang was our host for this event, and he put together a good one ! Ed is a man of multiple talents, so we got a chance to see not only the work he’s been doing with his Shopbot, but also how he’s been incorporating it with his Universal 50 watt laser, and then there is also his big, beautiful One Way wood lathe……( And to go with that lathe his shop is literally surrounded by HUGE sections of beautiful trees all waiting to be turned in bowls, platters, etc.).
There were a couple of different topics covered in the sessions; The folks from Centurion Tools came by and explained how they are working with a couple of Shopbotters to try and create router bits that will work best for our purposes. There was some good give and take here as the Campers explained the kinds of bits which they use the most, and the reps from Centurion sought feedback regarding the feed rates, and machine speeds most people are using in their work.
Keith Outten gave a great session on how he uses Corian for multiple purposes in creating signage, etc. He also taught us the “how to’s” if we want to start up our own “die sublimation”process. Then he went on to explain some of the nuances of creating ADA signage, which can be a profitable business for anyone enterprising enough to give it a try. His samples were exceptional, and you can see some of them on the Camp Shopbot Blog page ; ( campshopbot.blogspot.com)
Doug and John Roughton, from Kitty Hawk, NC brought in some signs they had created as well, and John explained the pro’s and cons of using the Luminore metal finishing products. One of their samples had an exceptional “patina”effect, and there is also a picture of that sign on the blog page.
As a group we went over some of the basic principles of vacuum systems, and Ed gave some demos of vacuum jigs he has made for a variety of jobs over the last year. Since there were a large proportion of “first timers” there Ed also went through all of the steps necessary to take a file from a thought to the actual planning of the job all the way through to the zeroing of the spindle, and planning the next sheet.
His Cousin Jay, (also a Shopbot owner) cooked up some great Bar B Que for the lunch session, and we spent a good portion of the afternoon answering a variety of questions that ranged from machine assembly, to the difference between control boards, geared motors, etc.
Martha Barbour, Bill Young, and Dave Minella from Shopbot all came to the Camp as well, and they also made an announcement about the upcoming ( October)19-21) Austin, TX Shopbot User group/ Maker Faire weekend.
As the Camp was winding down we did a quick “survey”and more than a few of the Virginia Campers plan to head down to Kitty Hawk, NC for the Nov. 3rd Camp held by Doug, and John Roughton, at their shop !
It was a great start to the “Fall Camp season”.
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