CNC Machinery

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weegee3

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am looking for suggestions on where to look or what to buy for a CNC unit. Tha Alignrite is too big for my shop and while they talk about a table top unit, they have yet to produce one. The Cue Monster does not impress me nor does Brianna's unit. I need it to cut points, shafts ,inlays and get some tech help if I need it.
Any thoughts?
 
weegee3 said:
I am looking for suggestions on where to look or what to buy for a CNC unit. Tha Alignrite is too big for my shop and while they talk about a table top unit, they have yet to produce one. The Cue Monster does not impress me nor does Brianna's unit. I need it to cut points, shafts ,inlays and get some tech help if I need it.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Well just to let you know the Cue Monster and the Storm will do all that and then some. Now depending on your budget you can also look into Techno Isle as well..
 
cnc

weegee3 said:
I am looking for suggestions on where to look or what to buy for a CNC unit. Tha Alignrite is too big for my shop and while they talk about a table top unit, they have yet to produce one. The Cue Monster does not impress me nor does Brianna's unit. I need it to cut points, shafts ,inlays and get some tech help if I need it.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I would ask MC2 a user on this site. Jim Babcock is the builder and expert on cnc equipment and he's great to work with. Backs up his sales with support too.
JerseyBill
 
Hi,

If I were you, I would buy a Cue Monster, Bobcad 23 software and Mach Mill software.

If you buy a Cue Monster make sure you get the quiet spindle, it is much better than a router and much quieter.

We own this set up and could not be happier with the final inlay and pockets that this machine produces.

If you don't know anything about running CNC don't think you are going to buy one and are going to be inlaying cues right out of the box. You have to do a lot of studying and practicing before you get a flair and feel for the equipment and software details. It requires a lot of time and help.

You should take the Bobcad class when they are in your area, it is worth it. Also they have training videos and a thick manual you can buy. You should. Bobcad stuff is not that expensive and you can negotiate all the prices down with their sales people if you drive a hard bargain. They always cave in for cheap.

Good Luck

Rick G
 
Last edited:
weegee3 said:
I am looking for suggestions on where to look or what to buy for a CNC unit. Tha Alignrite is too big for my shop and while they talk about a table top unit, they have yet to produce one. The Cue Monster does not impress me nor does Brianna's unit. I need it to cut points, shafts ,inlays and get some tech help if I need it.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Can you tell us what it is about the Cue Monster and the Brianna units that you do not like? Both will preform all operations that you have stated. The Cue Monster is about as small a unit that you can get and the storm is very universal. There are not many others specific to cue making out there in their price range unless you have something custom built.

Jim.
 
scdiveteam said:
Hi,

If I were you, I would buy a Cue Monster, Bobcad 23 software and Mach Mill software.

If you buy a Cue Monster make sure you get the quiet spindle, it is much better than a router and much quieter.

We own this set up and could not be happier with the final inlay and pockets that this machine produces.

If you don't know anything about running CNC don't think you are going to buy one and are going to be inlaying cues right out of the box. You have to do a lot of studying and practicing before you get a flair and feel for the equipment and software details. It requires a lot of time and help.

You should take the Bobcad class when they are in your area, it is worth it. Also they have training videos and a thick manual you can buy. You should. Bobcad stuff is not that expensive and you can negotiate all the prices down with their sales people if you drive a hard bargain. They always cave in for cheap.

Good Luck

Rick G
Click to expand...

Rick I agree with you 100% about inlaying cues out of the box! first someone should build plain cues for some time before tackling inlays and cnc work. Some what of a solid foundation under there belt before moving on to cnc
 
WOW! You guys provide great feedback. Thanks.
As background I have ben making cues for about three years now and am happy with my progress making basic level one cues. Now it's time to fancy them up ergo my desire for a CNC. At the risk of giving Unique and Brianna a bad rap, my first impressions were that the Cue Monster seemed a little flimsy and the Brianna device was not even working whem I viewed it at Valley Forge in 2009. Perhaps my conclusions were in error. I shall take a harder look at both of them. Went on the Unique site and saw the Rage machine. Any feedback on this would be welcome.
As with basic cue building, there is a learning curve and I expect I will screw up a lot of wood before I get the hang of it but I am, if nothing else, stubborn enough to stay with it 'till I get it right. Having a forum like this will give me the confidence that I won't spend ten grand and get something that doesn't perform.
Again, I welcome your comments and appreciate them.

Weegee
 
weegee3 said:
WOW! You guys provide great feedback. Thanks.
As background I have ben making cues for about three years now and am happy with my progress making basic level one cues. Now it's time to fancy them up ergo my desire for a CNC. At the risk of giving Unique and Brianna a bad rap, my first impressions were that the Cue Monster seemed a little flimsy and the Brianna device was not even working whem I viewed it at Valley Forge in 2009. Perhaps my conclusions were in error. I shall take a harder look at both of them. Went on the Unique site and saw the Rage machine. Any feedback on this would be welcome.
As with basic cue building, there is a learning curve and I expect I will screw up a lot of wood before I get the hang of it but I am, if nothing else, stubborn enough to stay with it 'till I get it right. Having a forum like this will give me the confidence that I won't spend ten grand and get something that doesn't perform.
Again, I welcome your comments and appreciate them.

Weegee
Click to expand...

Weegee, I think you would be a good candidate for a cnc machine. Do some homework first befor you decide on what you want. Let me point you in the correct direction. Both Unique and Brianna machines will run with Mach3. This is software that controles the cnc machine with your PC. There is a great amount of information on their web site and the software can be downloaded and installed. This ver. of software will run up to 200 or so lines of g-code without purchasing it. There are also a few videos on their web site that I would watch to get a feel for the software. Now you can run this software without a machine to get the basics.
http://www.machsupport.com

Also Bobcad is the most common cad cam software for us cue builders to use as it will preform most functions needed for inlays at a decent price. Now this software is used to draw your inlays and to generate the G-code that Mach3 uses to run your mache. I currently use ver. 23 and can be purchased for around $500 with training cd videos. If you are interested in this software you can download a trial ver. for free from their web site but be warned. If you give them correct contact information, they will call you very soon. Their sales guys are agressive. To avoid this, just go to this link: www.bobcad.com/updates and download. If you decide you want to purchase let us know and we can tell you best way to get a good deal.

Jim.
 
Mc2 said:
Weegee, I think you would be a good candidate for a cnc machine. Do some homework first befor you decide on what you want. Let me point you in the correct direction. Both Unique and Brianna machines will run with Mach3. This is software that controles the cnc machine with your PC. There is a great amount of information on their web site and the software can be downloaded and installed. This ver. of software will run up to 200 or so lines of g-code without purchasing it. There are also a few videos on their web site that I would watch to get a feel for the software. Now you can run this software without a machine to get the basics.
http://www.machsupport.com

Also Bobcad is the most common cad cam software for us cue builders to use as it will preform most functions needed for inlays at a decent price. Now this software is used to draw your inlays and to generate the G-code that Mach3 uses to run your mache. I currently use ver. 23 and can be purchased for around $500 with training cd videos. If you are interested in this software you can download a trial ver. for free from their web site but be warned. If you give them correct contact information, they will call you very soon. Their sales guys are agressive. To avoid this, just go to this link: www.bobcad.com/updates and download. If you decide you want to purchase let us know and we can tell you best way to get a good deal.

Jim.
Click to expand...

Jim
Your feedback has been exrremely helpful
I will pusue your advice. I need to ask you some questions, if I may and if I'm off base, please excuse me. I heard someplace that you worked ( or work)with Brianna and that you actuallly build his machine. I was impressed with the physical look of the Brianna Storn unit but as I previously stated, They could not even turn the unit on at the '09 VF show. Am I wrong about this? Again, if I am asking something that is none of my business, I apologize.
Thanks again for your assistance
Weegee
 
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