# Affordable small CNC machine for guitar bodies?



## Floppystrings (Mar 11, 2014)

Is it possible to buy something like this for under $1500?

Something like this maybe:

Buy General 13" x 18" i-Carver CNC Carving Machine Model 40-913 M1 at Woodcraft.com


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## canuck brian (Mar 11, 2014)

Floppystrings said:


> Is it possible to buy something like this for under $1500?
> 
> Something like this maybe:
> 
> Buy General 13" x 18" i-Carver CNC Carving Machine Model 40-913 M1 at Woodcraft.com



the 13 x 18 bed isn't enough for a standard body blank most of the time. You'd need to get something bigger.


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## FIXXXER (Mar 11, 2014)

you can buy fairly cheap and good quality CNC machines in CHINA,
however it's impossible to get it for this price...

man, i have the exact opposite problem, i have the money but i am a total CAd noob, so i would not even be able to operate it -.-


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## Purelojik (Mar 11, 2014)

canuck brian said:


> the 13 x 18 bed isn't enough for a standard body blank most of the time. You'd need to get something bigger.



do CNC machines require a certain amount of clearance on the sides? like lets say if the body was 12.8 in wide , could you still use a machine whos max width is 13 inches? or would you need something like 14+. may be a dumb question


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## xwmucradiox (Mar 11, 2014)

About $10,000 is the starting point for something big enough to work on guitar parts and hold up well for production work.


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## got_tone (Mar 11, 2014)

Affordable CNC = not really going to happen.
A quality bandsaw and router will do better job prob


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## sehnomatic (Mar 11, 2014)

You may want to look into one of those router -CNC kits where it's essentially the XYZ coord portion of the CNC while your router is the cutter and you have to mess with callibration, speed, and bit switching manually. Even these aren't that cheap either.


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## canuck brian (Mar 11, 2014)

xwmucradiox said:


> About $10,000 is the starting point for something big enough to work on guitar parts and hold up well for production work.



Not always - brand new you're definitely looking at the 10k mark after all said and done.

Locally there are a few guys selling similar systems that I use and they're sub 5k right now including a computer and controller.

Ours was under 10k, so it's definitely doable.


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## Reynder (Mar 11, 2014)

CNCzone.com-CNC Machines, Cam/Cad ,Classifieds, Metalworking,Woodworking

Check out their open source DIY plans on the forums. TONS of information, including CAD software.


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## SandyRavage (Mar 11, 2014)

From personal experience don't bother double whatever you plan on spending for maintenance, tooling, software, and dialing the machine in. 

You'll be 10k into something very quickly and unless you plan on doing a large amount of work with it your much better farming out to other companies.


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## canuck brian (Mar 11, 2014)

4 Axis 20 x 24 CNC Router / Milling Machine/ 3D Printer - Turn-K - City of Toronto Buy & Sell Items - Kijiji City of Toronto

Three grand local system that will probably do what you need. There are lots of used ones for sale - the big term you'd probably be looking for is "turnkey" so there is a controller, computer and registered legit software. The one above has the demo version, so the guy who owns it probably transferred his MACH3 license to another machine.

They're out there, you just gotta be patient. Try to find someone locally who knows their stuff on the machines you're going to look at.


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## Jim666 (Mar 12, 2014)

Purelojik said:


> do CNC machines require a certain amount of clearance on the sides? like lets say if the body was 12.8 in wide , could you still use a machine whos max width is 13 inches? or would you need something like 14+. may be a dumb question



In most cases, yes. My CNC has a 30" wide bed, but I can only cut 24". The spindle would hit the upright support before the bit would get to the edge of the bed.


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## Riley (Mar 12, 2014)

These are about as affordable as it comes for decent quality. 
FireBall Comet - CNC Router - FireBall Comet

$1500 is not happening. Even building one yourself for that price would be pretty tough.


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