A friend of mine is a pretty a serious luthier making solid body electric guitars. He’s made some for some pretty serious musicians which is cool. (Tom Petty’s Guitarist..etc)
He has an older commercial machine, a Cam Master Stinger 1. He paid like $5-6k used.
Looks like a beast to me but I have no knowledge of those machines. I guess it is not functional, and was proprietary and they went under. So it’s just sitting there.
He was looking at a Grizzly CNC ($7,000!!) but I told him (politely) to please try a LR4 or I’d give him my Primo and tweak it.
Questions:
I’ve seen some V1 folks that also make guitars. Can they jump in?
I suggested we try my LR4 to cut a body and see if it works. He has the files.
I am not sure, and this is NOT a V1 item but I would think he could retrofit his Stinger with open source control? I think they are NEMA 34 steppers??? Make any sense to try?
He asked about the LR4 or Primo accuracy and I felt since I have done inlays it more than accurate enough??
I just politely questioned the wisdom of spending $7k on a machine and how many guitars have to be sold to even break even.
He got me interested again thinking of maybe picking up a Peavy Strat copy I gave my son and try electric again as he doesn’t use.
I have a nice Yamaha acoustic I like to strum but guitar is the one hobby I love to suck at (and I do). Maybe I can try making an electric. OOOPS another shiny object caught my attention.
Anyway would appreciate some feedback.
I’ve said this before.
I am Chicago base area and ANYONE coming through reach out for a nice dinner and tour. If it’s summer a sail on Lake Michigan. Peaceful and great view of the city.
I feel I can’t pay back knowledge-wise to this group BUT I can be a tour guide!!
Get pictures. I"ll bet something like a Doberman CNC controller and external stepper drivers would run that machine.
Want to blow his mind? Tell him that a competent operator of an LR4 could probably match or exceed anything he’s ever done with the big machine. (Except maybe depth of Z)
What an amazing offer. I used to fly through all the time and visit either Oak brook or across the lake to St Joseph. Love it on the water. Folks, take him up on this offer
Thanks @MakerJim. It told him he would be impressed by the accuracy. He agreed to try doing a cut on my LR4 which is a 2’ x 4’ perfect for his needs. I would love to maybe build an electric but just to many other fun projects get in the way
He feels the rack and pinion is just a little too loose on his Cam Master. But I would think that could be adjusted or even replaced.
I also have my Primo which may be an option for him.
I was going to try a laser conversion for the primo but not sure as I am in a finished side of a basement. I assume I’d need to vent??
BTW saw response Oakbrook right next to Elmhurst and St. Joe a fun place. That is the other distraction,spring is coming and will have to start the prep on the boat.
Man, I really like this forum - seems to filled with genuinely nice people.
I am just finishing my first CNC build of the LR4 “Project Cookie Monster”, and the project came about because of a nephew who is really becoming quite the player. For his Christmas present I gave him an acrylic Telecaster base template, wood, and some luthier tools so he can make his own personalized guitar build. He loves wood shop, so some uncle-nephew bonding is just an added bonus.
As I went down the luthier rabbit hole I happened upon the LowRider platform and figured this would be the perfect tool to not make this a 3-year project by hand.
We are already finalizing our CAD design for the base of his guitar and a musician friend of mine. The LR4 build is nearly complete, need to go through squaring and some test cuts before diving straight in (and wait for this bitter cold to leave Michigan).
Fully intend on making half a dozen full guitars that are on the que with necks, frets, jigs, etc to complete it. Once I have that down I have thoughts of using the CNC to make jigs for an acoustic guitar build, but that is a dream at the moment.
TLDR - Seeing what this can already do I am really happy I picked this machine, and if he already has CAD and toolpaths worked out there should be no problems migrating right over. I also agree with others though, if the current CNC physically is in good shape just put a different head on it. Could probably slap a Masso on there and it would be a killer machine.
Fixing a machine you have is always better than making a new machine.
Except I love the build part But I agree.
My weak point is the electronic controls.
I would love to dive deeper and understand better rather than just following instructions. My last programing was Fortran 4 with seriously paper punch cards!
What is the difference between Masso and Doberman Boards?
Masso control boards you will see on other professional devices. Did a bunch of research and almost pulled the trigger on a Onefinity CNC with a Masso control panel.
Depending on what is actually on his CNC, you would just wire the motors into the controller and then have a touch panel to control everything. Here is a breakdown:
Again massive overkill and more of a joke, but if he was willing to spend $7k or more on a new machine this may be a deal. It does have a lot of features meant for a professional workflow and from what I hear great support.
*Also, this is all armchair knowledge. Have only encountered one in the wild once.
On most of the rack and pinion systems I’ve worked with, the stepper motor/pinion gear are usually on some sort of slotted mount for the stepper motor where you can adjust the slop in the drive by loosening the 4 stepper mount screws and pushing the stepper so the pinion is tight against the rack, then tightening the mounting screws.
Can you get pictures of the stepper/pinion/rack alignment and mounting?
But I agree.
