Old Operator New Owner

[Iron Forest]

Hi All,
I've been running CNC machines since 2005. A waterjet with plasma, just plasma, plasma with oxy acetylene, turret punch, router, and laser. Last year my wife got a good bonus and financed a plasma table for me, gotta love having a sugar mama. I do mostly decorative signs but have made a couple sissy bars and a ladder rack, anything to pay the bills. Inflation is making it tough to stay in business, so this is just a part time side job for now. I have quite a bit of drawings I have created over the years that were only cut once, willing to share. I also have V-Carve and am getting pretty good at creating new drawings, a lot easier than when I copied a picture in AutoCAD and spent hours tracing them with lines and arcs. I look forward to learning and sharing the little bit of wisdom I have learned the past 17 years.
Myke

[plasmanewbie]

Hey Myke, welcome to the site! Sounds like you have plenty of experience, it's exciting to have your own plasma table at home. Looking forward to seeing some of what you do. Have fun!

[Iron Forest]

Here's a piece I just finished for a customer in Arkansas.

[plasmanewbie]

Very nice

[adbuch]

Hi All,
I've been running CNC machines since 2005. A waterjet with plasma, just plasma, plasma with oxy acetylene, turret punch, router, and laser. Last year my wife got a good bonus and financed a plasma table for me, gotta love having a sugar mama. I do mostly decorative signs but have made a couple sissy bars and a ladder rack, anything to pay the bills. Inflation is making it tough to stay in business, so this is just a part time side job for now. I have quite a bit of drawings I have created over the years that were only cut once, willing to share. I also have V-Carve and am getting pretty good at creating new drawings, a lot easier than when I copied a picture in AutoCAD and spent hours tracing them with lines and arcs. I look forward to learning and sharing the little bit of wisdom I have learned the past 17 years.
Myke

Myke - welcome aboard! Sounds like you are having lots of fun. VCarve Pro, although primarily intended for cnc wood routing, can also be very handy for creating and editing drawings. You might also consider taking a look at Inkscape - which I personally think is a bit easier to use and more robust for artistic designs and editing- or LightBurn (free 30 day trial and about $60 for a perpetual license). Many times one of more of these programs are used in combination to achieve great results. All 3 - VC Pro, Inkscape, and LightBurn - will import/export both dxf and svg vector files, so it is pretty easy to jump back and forth between programs and the needs arise.

What kind of table and cutter did you get for your new "hobby"? Pictures please.

Thanks,
David

[adbuch]

Here's a piece I just finished for a customer in Arkansas.Finished Piece.jpg

Myke - that is a very nice looking piece! What kind of paint did you use for the finish?
Thanks,
David

[Iron Forest]

Dave,
Thanks for the replies. I used Krylon Fusion Metallic Black Stainless for the dream catcher. Then painted the wolf with Rust-Oleum Smoke Gray gloss, then held the can back and misted the wolf with Rust-Oleum Hammered black.
I have a ARC1CNC with a 5x10 cutting table and Hypertherm PowerMax 45 XP torch setup.
I downloaded InkScape, it looks like I will have to go through the tutorials. I will look at LightBurn when I get back home. I have a 110-mile round trip to get more sheet steel.

[acourtjester]

Interesting effect of the wolf painting, simple things make your work a step above, thanks for the tip. One thing with VC is the 3-D project display, may help a customer get a better visualization of an item. I don't have VC (to cheap) but I'm sure it is handy to have.

[Iron Forest]

Thanks acourtjester,
I did the 3-D display one time, now I can't remember how I did it. I live on the eastern plains of Colorado, funds are limited out here. I hope to get to some shows in Aspen, Breckinridge, and Telluride next year. More money up that way.

[adbuch]

Myke - thanks for the information on the paint. Nice looking parts! VCarve Pro and Aspire will both show previews in 3D view (VCarve Pro after creating tool paths, and Aspire will also allow import of solid models to display as 3D).
Here is a recent thread with some discussion about using VCarve Pro for showing 3D view.

https://www.plasmaspider.com/viewtopic. ... 3D#p217539

Actually Fusion 360 may be a better choice.

David