Iām a decent woodworker and Iām building a house this year. One of my ideas to add sweat equity into the build was to custom build all the cabinets (bathrooms and kitchen area). Iām thinking of using this as an opportunity to purchase the Longmill2.5 and design and build cabinets and effectively add art to cabinet doors with cncād designs to add a huge touch of art and personalization. I havenāt done cnc work before but Iām pretty quick with a computer and familiar with and love using CAD programs like sketchup.
I figured Iād start small and make some garage cabinets first, then move onto the kids bathroom cabinets and eventually work my way up to what will become my magus opus - the kitchen. I could build all these without a cnc machine (minus the customization features), but I kind of want the excuse to buy and immediately put to use a machine like this for such a practical application. Someday I might turn this into a side hustle, but mostly I want to do this for myself and take the time to learn and enjoy it. I guess my question overall is, is this a good idea or is it kinda silly to build cabinets with a hobby cnc? Is the longmill2.5 something that could be used to achieve something like this? I kind of imagine I could create cutout plans and feed them through the cnc machine by ātilingā (is that the correct term?). Then eventually, once Iāve got my doors ready, I could add some kind of amazing custom design that could create a theme or tie a kitchen decor together.
Itās a huge project but if time is not an issue and you have patience and perseverance then that is a workable plan IMHO. If you find that the garage cabinets (or the kids bathroom) are too much, you can always decide that commercial cabinets will be a better choice (and you have a fine toy for later).
The time issue is probably the biggest thing. If you can stand living in a half finished house for a couple of years, you will probably be ok. If the rest of the family isnāt on board with that then commercial cabinets is the way to go. Maybe do a combination - commercial kitchen cabinets to make the house livable and your own cabinets for the garage as time and inclination permits.
The kids bathroom cabinets would probably be my first crack at things because itās a small project that can be done while you learn. You will likely use inexpensive materials for when you screw up (when, not if).
Good luck!
Yes it is a good idea. It is a good idea because you have a plan. You have a cause, you have skills and even a backup plan.
But most of all, you look forward to get it done, with this machine, eventhough you can do without.
Youāll make it work, one way or the other, having fun doing it, challenging yourself -even now-
Thereās only one risk. After you did these newest cabinets, and you look back to those older cabinets and the new ones are so much more refined because learningcurve..
What I try to say. This machine isnāt a straigt forward tool, itās a canvas. Working this machine does not make you a wood worker, it makes you an artist.
You will make verry personal things with this machine that will mean a lot to your loved ones.
While you might only see your -stupid- foulups sticking out like sour thumbs, and maybe even hate it.
The most difficult thing an artist has to master, is to make peace with earlier work.
If you manage to let it be (Beatles), please report back and tell us how!
Thanks for the insight and yes, time is a bit on my side here. We just bought property and have to clear it (working through the permit process right now), but ideally weāll be in our new house in maybe 15 months. In the meantime I have a spacious 3 car garage that Iāve kicked the vehicles out of before to do big projects including cabinets. I figure I can start the learning process of cnc cabinets, then put them in storage or in the new builds garage.
@Mohjo I guess that I will be the nay sayer here. I have the 30 x 30 long mill. Before buying it, I had a pretty complete basement wood shop. I would not consider building cabinets with the Long Mill. Itās a great hobby machine. However, it is a very inefficient tool for building cabinets. I worked in a cabinet-making shop using a Biesse 4 x 8 commercial CNC router. It was an addition to the shop that had a professional slider on which we cut cabinet boxes. The Biesse made short work of them. We could cut a 4 x 8 sheet of melamine MDF into cabinet boxes in under 5 minutes. All perfectly square and labelled. That made perfect economic sense.
To cut the boxes on a Long Mill will take considerably longer than it would take to cut them on a table saw. You donāt say what style your doors and drawers will be. If they are shaker-style door, with rails, styles and panels, cutting them would be much much faster on a table saw.
You mention adding art and personalization. Those would be a good candidate for the Long Mill - after the doors are cut.
All this said, I wish you luck with whatever you decide. I just believe that you will have enough to do with building your new home without adding inefficient processes to the mix.
This is the perfect post and exactly what I needed to hear, I cannot express how truly this hits the nail on the head of the question Iām really asking here. I could do this the easy way, but I am an artist first and foremost and I entirely relate every bit to the idea of making peace with earlier work. Iāve been blessed with a small amount of talent and this feels like a really interesting investment in skill work that scratches the itch on my technical abilities. The pictures I attached is an example of what I was able to do on my first table I made when starting woodworking, but doing things by hand with a router plunger has itās limitations. I think a nice hobby level cnc could really open up the door on projects and ideas around the house when it comes to furniture and art and Iām really looking forward to it.
I appreciate the nay sayers very much Iāll have you know. Yeah I kinda figured itād be less efficient. I have a decent table saw that I built into my worktable that Iāve done good work on and what I think I really need next is a solid track saw and guides, but Iāve also been thinking about just making everything first, then running doors through the cnc to give it that extra touch. I guess I could try out both methods just to see what I like. Oh, and yes, I was thinking shaker doors originally, but with a cnc, Iām thinking of making doors out of 1 piece and shaping it however I want.
@Mohjo I was about to delete my post as it comes across as being very negative. That was not my intention. If you have the time, space and money, you may want to consider the AltMill over the Long Mill.
We just had our kitchen done and the doors are one-piece modified shaker style. The cabinet maker is my best friend. He now has the doors made by a factory in Quebec. Over time, he has found the that quality is better than he can achieve and they are much more cost effective.
Please post your āprojectsā as you go.
I too plan on using my Altmill to make my kitchen cabinets. I agree that cutting panels on a table saw would be more efficient. While I have a table saw, it is not big and cutting a 4x8 sheet of plywood, even if cut down to manageable pieces, is not easy. And the final result is not always square. Plus the older I get, the more I hate using the table saw for sheet goods.
The advantage of using your CNC is that you should get perfectly square and identical pieces. Plus you can carve out any rabbets, holes for shelf pins, holes for Blum hinges, etc. all in one step. So while not as efficient as the table saw for cutting the panel, itās probably more efficient and accurate for everything else.
@Chucky_ott Tks. I left it, as he had replied before I could delete it. I believe what I said. I could have been a bit more diplomatic, though. (Some would say that itās a Canadian thing. )
So I just rewatched the Altmill vs Longmill by Sienci Labs video on youtube so I have some basic ideas on the differences, mainly it seems like production speed and maybe a little less maintenance over time. Honestly, I could afford either one. I think the main downside to the Altmill right now might be waiting time to get it shipped to my house. Curious as to hear your thoughts.
I canāt answer your question but I also initially considered the Longmill but eventually decided to go with the Altmill. There were various reasons for doing so (size, closed loop steppers, spindle, table, etc) but my final decision was based on a rudimentary cost analysis. By the time you factor in everything you will need for either system (end mills, software, dust collection) and the add-ons you might need for the Longmill (table, spindle over router) the price difference was not as significant. If youāre on a budget, the Longmill might be a better choice.
A lot of people who have the Longmill have it because the Altmill was not available at that time. Some have since upgraded and can probably give you their opinion. Those who havenāt upgraded are likely very happy with the Longmill.
That sounds like good advice. I suppose even if the Altmill takes a while to ship, I could familiarize myself with and design things with the software in the meantime while I wait so I can hit the ground running once it does show up.
All quacks aside. I have not seen the Altmill do anything I canāt do with my longmill besides the altmill being way quicker and more spaceious, having a spindle that does not need being started by hand and that kind of >< BIT BREAKING >< trivia.
The wait for an Altmill is a thing though. What was it, order now recieve late autumn 2025 {/pinkyswear}?
Would I like an Altmill? Would I have gone with the Altmill if it was available when I was still that young God I was all those 3 years ago when I got my mill? Yeah.
Would I still have if the wait was like 6 months and there was an alternative available? Prolly not.
Would I upgrade now to an Altmill if I had the money to spare, selling out my friendmill when the Grizley arrives?
Well, in my 3 years longmilling, I found that doing mostly arty stuff, time/speed isnāt the aim of my game. I donāt see a need for a spindle to have more milling power. I donāt make many large parts or signs that take a lot of time. I am conservative in my feeds and speeds. I donāt do inside toolpath toolchanges and donāt see a need for combining toolpaths.
I do not produce standardized stuff. Itās prety much all highly personalized one off projects that feel like proto work all the time. You donāt need speed in prototyping.
So, that leaves the more spaceious working area of the Altmill, but if someone wants a big bleep sign, Iāll end up tiling that one either way.
So no, even if I had the money for it, I would not upgrade untill I feel my longmill is beginning to smoke a bit more than can be considered only an unhealthy habbit.
Thatās what I did. I familiarised myself with the trial version of Vectric vCarve Pro and Fusion 360 Personal Edition. I tried others that were free (Plasticity, Blender) as well. My preference is to do all my 2D designs with a proper drafting application. I use qCad, which is a port of the free Libre CAD and import the DXF in vCarve or Fusion. VCarve is great for most things but I think qCad is way more intuitive for basic drawings. I owned qCad already so it wasnāt really an extra expense.
@Mohjo I would not have bought the AltMill if it had been available when I bought the Long Mill. The simple reason is that I do not have the space. I didnāt/donāt have money either.
However, if I were in your situation, I would go for the AltMill over the Long Mill. It gives you the size that you will likely need for your cabinets and it is much more robust.
I will address one point that you made though and that concerns maintence. Donāt go into this believing that the Long Mill requires more maintenance than the AltMill. IMHO that is not the case at all. The ball screws and linear bearing on the AltMill require regular cleaning and lubrication. Larger commercial machines sometimes have auto oilers to accomplish that. The Biesse did. The failure was always due to forgetting to top up the reservoir. Yes, the LM needs wheel and antibacklash nuts adjustments from time to time. However, the consequences of not doing that often enough is not near as serious as the consequences of not lubricating the moving parts of the AltMill.
Wow! I really like that table. I can do inlays pretty well on my mill by Iād be lost without it.
I was not a woodworker when I bought my LongMill 30x30, before the 48x30 or AltMill came out. I did have some basic carpentry, design, and computer skills and those skills will transfer even if you end up using a different program for the CNC.
Not sure if youāve used Blender before but as @Chucky_ott mentioned it Iāll add that I found I couple of free addons that look promising for CNC work BlenderCam and CAD Sketcher. I havenāt taken the time to learn them yet, still using my outdated VCarve that I donāt want to pay for again, but itās on my todo list.
Other than that all I can say is my LongMill has been great so far and it sounds like you have a good skill set for learning and operating one.
If you get one and make stuff, we love to see pictures, learn from, and help others here!
(Some would say that itās a Canadian thing.