Popular Post Ken Lotts Posted February 7, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted February 7, 2021 I designed these very basic alignment blocks in Fusion 360 and printed them on my Prusa 3D printer. The scroll blade fits into the slot snuggly making it a quick affair to set up a repeatable angle of 0, 2.0 , 2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 degrees left tilt. They took about an hour each to print and cost about 50 cents in plastic (each). I will no doubt print more angles as the need arises but this is what I got so far. I enclosed the STL files if you wanted to print these yourself. 3.0L-2021.stl 3.5L-2021.stl 2.5L-2021.stl 2.0L-2021.stl 0-2021.stl Dan, TexasDIY, John B and 7 others 6 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trackman Posted February 7, 2021 Report Share Posted February 7, 2021 Great idea! Now I can tell the wife I really NEED a 3D printer lol meflick, Ken Lotts, OCtoolguy and 1 other 1 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappile Posted February 7, 2021 Report Share Posted February 7, 2021 Pretty cool. I also find the 3D printers fascinating. Ken Lotts and OCtoolguy 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Moreton Posted February 7, 2021 Report Share Posted February 7, 2021 OOOOooo! I have a friend with a printer! Ken Lotts and OCtoolguy 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneMahler Posted February 7, 2021 Report Share Posted February 7, 2021 nice idea and they look great. The one in the very back, by the blade. Is that a 90 to get you back after changing that blade angle? I do like this. OCtoolguy and Ken Lotts 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lotts Posted February 7, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2021 2 hours ago, WayneMahler said: nice idea and they look great. The one in the very back, by the blade. Is that a 90 to get you back after changing that blade angle? I do like this. Yes, that one is labeled "0" but it is a 90 degree. That one gets a lot of use as you can imagine. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lotts Posted February 8, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2021 10 hours ago, trackman said: Great idea! Now I can tell the wife I really NEED a 3D printer lol I got mine a year and a half ago. It has earned its keep many times over. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodmaster1 Posted February 8, 2021 Report Share Posted February 8, 2021 Great idea! I will have to have the teacher that replaced me print some out on the 3D printer I talk the superintendent into buying me. He made the mistake of telling me to get the one I wanted cost $34000 for everything. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 Ok, I want a 3D printer. Now the question, which one is the best bang for the buck. I don't have much open space. Actually none at all but I would love to have one and I guess it can sit in my office and stay very clean. Who has some suggestions? I WANT ONE! WAAAAAAAH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lotts Posted February 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 3 minutes ago, octoolguy said: Ok, I want a 3D printer. Now the question, which one is the best bang for the buck. I don't have much open space. Actually none at all but I would love to have one and I guess it can sit in my office and stay very clean. Who has some suggestions? I WANT ONE! WAAAAAAAH! If you want a dependable printer you cant go wrong with the Prusa mark 3.. This is the Youtube video I watched that convinced me that Prusa was the way to go.. BTW, the guy who did that video isn't even talking about printers, he is telling a story about how amazed he was with how useful a 3d printer was. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 32 minutes ago, Ken Lotts said: If you want a dependable printer you cant go wrong with the Prusa mark 3.. This is the Youtube video I watched that convinced me that Prusa was the way to go.. BTW, the guy who did that video isn't even talking about printers, he is telling a story about how amazed he was with how useful a 3d printer was. How do you go about creating the programs for the printer? I'm not a coder and would be at the mercy of trying to find the instructions or to find someone who could write the files. I have seen the Fusion 360 program but it would be a bit over my head I'm afraid. So how do YOU do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lotts Posted February 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 1 minute ago, octoolguy said: How do you go about creating the programs for the printer? I'm not a coder and would be at the mercy of trying to find the instructions or to find someone who could write the files. I have seen the Fusion 360 program but it would be a bit over my head I'm afraid. So how do YOU do it? I learned what little I know with the help of courses available on Udemy.com. Udemy courses are usually on sale for less than $20. Here is the course that I took that got me started.. The printer has software as well. The printer's software converts the CAD file into a file that the printer understands (which is Gcode). All printers use Gcode but since all printers have different dimensions and travel lengths etc, most printers have their own program to spit out already printer specific Gcode to make things easier. That program usually comes with the printer and is called a "slicer". Basically if you had a printer and a slicer, you could run my STL files through the slicer and generate Gcode specific for your printer. OCtoolguy and teachnlearn 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted February 10, 2021 Report Share Posted February 10, 2021 (edited) Nice idea.. My daughters boyfriend has a 3D printer.. very small desktop thing.. don't know what brand or anything about it but we talk a lot about files and design work as that is what he is in college for. Those Gcode files etc is the same thing my CNC and laser run off of.. There are many free designs on a site called " thingaverse " or something like that.. I'll go look it up.. There are designs on there that'd work for scroll sawing too.. Anyway, I wonder if I would keep these longer than the wood ones I made a couple years back.. I did different angles just by taking 2.5" blocks and getting the saw at the angle I needed and cut into the block. I then wrote with my wood burner pen the angle etc on it.. However I did some practice ones too so to get the angle 100% correct.. anyway forgot about then and thought I had put them in my tool drawer.. turns out I didn't and when cleaning the shop I tossed them into my campfire with other scraps.. BUT, needless to say I rarely ever angle my saw so it was never a big deal anyway.. I did these about 3 years ago because I was experimenting with inlay work and thought they'd be handy but never did any inlay since.. Edit: Here is the site I was talking about. https://www.thingiverse.com/ Edited February 10, 2021 by kmmcrafts OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted February 11, 2021 Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 (edited) @ken lotts, I think the thing that puzzles me is, if I can't design something but I know in my mind what I want and have seen it, how do I get that mental picture into a code that the printer will understand. Something as simple as a plastic paper clip comes to mind. I've got a box full of them. How would I go about making more of them? What's the procedure is what I'm asking. I've never seen or been exposed to 3D printing so it's all a huge mystery to me. One more question, I was looking at all the printers that Prusa offers. I see one that is a kit for $299. What printer did you buy? Is it worth the extra money to buy one already assembled? Edited February 11, 2021 by octoolguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachnlearn Posted February 11, 2021 Report Share Posted February 11, 2021 21 minutes ago, octoolguy said: @ken lots, I think the thing that puzzles me is, if I can't design something but I know in my mind what I want and have seen it, how do I get that mental picture into a code that the printer will understand. Something as simple as a plastic paper clip comes to mind. I've got a box full of them. How would I go about making more of them? What's the procedure is what I'm asking. I've never seen or been exposed to 3D printing so it's all a huge mystery to me. One more question, I was looking at all the printers that Prusa offers. I see one that is a kit for $299. What printer did you buy? Is it worth the extra money to buy one already assembled? Its the world of Computer Aided Design software. There is a whole world of software out there for all types of professions. More specific would be 3D 'CAD' SOFTWARE. Everyone has a opinion on one. One that I tinker with is called 'Sketchup'. It has a free download and hoards of teaching videos. What ever you pick you will want the software to be able to covert to the proper 3D printing file. Its going to be like Inkscape, but you can spin the model around and modify it from all sides. RJF OCtoolguy and Ken Lotts 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lotts Posted February 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 On 2/10/2021 at 5:10 PM, octoolguy said: @ken lotts, I think the thing that puzzles me is, if I can't design something but I know in my mind what I want and have seen it, how do I get that mental picture into a code that the printer will understand. Something as simple as a plastic paper clip comes to mind. I've got a box full of them. How would I go about making more of them? What's the procedure is what I'm asking. I've never seen or been exposed to 3D printing so it's all a huge mystery to me. One more question, I was looking at all the printers that Prusa offers. I see one that is a kit for $299. What printer did you buy? Is it worth the extra money to buy one already assembled? I have the "Original Prusa i3 MK3S". I gave some consideration this way and that about buying the kit and if I remember correctly the preassembled version was back ordered so I bought the kit. Turns out that the kit is what they sell the most of and is very popular. Many say that the kit is better since it teaches you how to repair it. The kit has a lot of parts and requires a clean work area and at least a few days of focused work. The build is generally well documented through an online dynamic build instructions web site where each step has user comments included for you to read and thus get tips and avoid mistakes that others have made. As far as how do you take an idea and get it into a design, well step one is to have a general idea of the shape and works of the end product. After that you would need to learn things about what ever program you elect to use. I got most of my learning via Udemy courses. It was an adventure having an expensive printer that I just built to actually do something but I was highly motivated after all the money and time that I had already put into it. Lol! There are plenty of YouTube channels that feature 3D printing themes.. The two that I like (but rarely watch anymore) are "Maker's Muse" and "3D Printing Nerd". Ken OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lotts Posted February 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 On 2/10/2021 at 5:45 AM, kmmcrafts said: Nice idea.. My daughters boyfriend has a 3D printer.. very small desktop thing.. don't know what brand or anything about it but we talk a lot about files and design work as that is what he is in college for. Those Gcode files etc is the same thing my CNC and laser run off of.. There are many free designs on a site called " thingaverse " or something like that.. I'll go look it up.. There are designs on there that'd work for scroll sawing too.. Anyway, I wonder if I would keep these longer than the wood ones I made a couple years back.. I did different angles just by taking 2.5" blocks and getting the saw at the angle I needed and cut into the block. I then wrote with my wood burner pen the angle etc on it.. However I did some practice ones too so to get the angle 100% correct.. anyway forgot about then and thought I had put them in my tool drawer.. turns out I didn't and when cleaning the shop I tossed them into my campfire with other scraps.. BUT, needless to say I rarely ever angle my saw so it was never a big deal anyway.. I did these about 3 years ago because I was experimenting with inlay work and thought they'd be handy but never did any inlay since.. Edit: Here is the site I was talking about. https://www.thingiverse.com/ Campfire. Oooops Lol! Yeah, what to do with stuff that you rarely use. Me too. I am thinking that I would like to have a go at making inlays etc so I have these blocks but will I be able to find them when I need them? I am sure they will end up in a drawer.. Another thing to keep track of Lol! I have lost my tape measure so many times that I now have a special home for it on a wall clip. Pencils and pens .. always missing. I recall a guy give me advice on how not to lose a pen. He said "Go out and buy a pen that costs $100, I guarantee you wont lose it." Its funny because it is true Lol! kmmcrafts and OCtoolguy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted February 12, 2021 Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 1 hour ago, Ken Lotts said: Campfire. Oooops Lol! Yeah, what to do with stuff that you rarely use. Me too. I am thinking that I would like to have a go at making inlays etc so I have these blocks but will I be able to find them when I need them? I am sure they will end up in a drawer.. Another thing to keep track of Lol! I have lost my tape measure so many times that I now have a special home for it on a wall clip. Pencils and pens .. always missing. I recall a guy give me advice on how not to lose a pen. He said "Go out and buy a pen that costs $100, I guarantee you wont lose it." Its funny because it is true Lol! Maybe you need to design it with a hole and attach them to the saw stand or? close to the saw where the chain is long enough to reach the saw blade without unhooking it.. maybe you won't loose it, LOL.. Me.. I'd still loose it forgetting it was attached to the saw stand, Ken Lotts and OCtoolguy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachnlearn Posted February 12, 2021 Report Share Posted February 12, 2021 Simple hack I found on tape measures. Get some sawtooth picture hangers and nail them to the side of the bench or other areas. Clip the tape measure to the sawtooth. RJF Ken Lotts and OCtoolguy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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