I have never ran anything on CNC before. My Dad and my Grandfather have a small flintlock business. Currently they make everything but the stock, and they are kind of tasking me with figuring out how to produce quality stocks for a kit they are coming out with. I was looking at the laguna swift series, but I can get more extras for the money with the avid 4x4.
I’m wondering if anyone has had experience with using the avid to carve something as intricate as a flintlock stock, that has hex barrel channel, inlets all over the stock for breach plug, trigger, and the lock that need to be very accurate. Is the avid rigid enough for tight tolerances?
I’m also curious about software. I am a software engineer for my day job, so I am confident I can figure it out. But the price tags on these are high enough that I don’t want to have to learn things twice. Fusion 360 seems like it’s better but I hate subscription software. So I have been looking at Vectric Aspire. Thoughts on either of those? Thank you in advance!
yeah I hear you on this, however for 4th axis work at the complexity level you need it’s an absolute bargain. Vectric can do 4th axis, but it’s really 3 axis that’s “wrapped”. It’s great for easy things that are decorative, but if you want the control you’re going to need for indexing and precise toolpath control your best option is Fusion.
I’ll let others weigh in on the actual gunstock stuff, there are some folks here that are using our machines for this.
Might look at doing a multi-sided carve. If two sides are not enough you can go to four without a lot of trouble. Anyway you do it there will probably be some hand work required to clean it up.
The AVID is more than capable of machining gun stocks. A lot of people just machine them 4 sided in Vectric Vcarve or Aspire. You just use the 4th axis as an indexer for each side. It probalby depends on how many different models you are going to do, but most gunstocks wouldn’t need true 4 axis machining.
You need to create the model in something (I don’t know how good Aspire would be for creating that kind of model, I suspect F360 or something else would be better), and then you can import it into Vcarve or Aspire and just make 4 toolpaths. They would be easy to combine as well with an index turn in between.
Thanks for the comments everyone! I talked with a sales person yesterday, and he also mentioned just doing 4 sided, or using the rotary with indexing. He also said that f360 would be better. I am curious if anyone on here has video of using “fixtures” to do repeatable multiside cutting as I can’t really picture in my head how that works.
Are fixtures just custom made ways to hold pieces so they can be cut the same way every time?
I’m much more of a visual learner so sorry if these questions seem dumb. Just trying to get my mind started on working on solutions.
Yes, a fixture is just a customized holder or positioner to give you a repeatable way to hold your workpeice.
For a gunstock, you would likely be starting with a rectangular shaped blank. So you could cut two fixuture pieces (one for each end of the workpiece) that the blank can be clamped in where it can lay flat, or on edge in the fixture. This will give you a repeatable position for the blank for both sides and both edges. You would make tabs on each end of the stock to retain the end part of the blank (so it can be repositioned each time), and then cut them off when all done. I would draw a picture of one possibility, but I have to run right now. If you would like a picture of one option let me know and I will draw something up later.
Yes I would love a picture. I understand the flat sides, that part makes sense. But I’m just trying to picture how the top and bottom parts(top has barrel, bottom has trigger) would work as far as being held with something.
Ok, here is a basic conceptual picture. Say your stock blank is a 2x6 of some length (wood colored part). You would add an extra few inches in length at each end (the white ends) that remain attached until you are done machining all four sides, then when you are all done you cut those off. The CAD program lets you create tabs that go between the sacrificial ends and the actual workpiece and won’t cutt them out. Then you can rotate the workpiece in your fixture (the blue part that is clamped down to your CNC table top).
This particular one I drew would be for when you are machining from the surface of the blank because it will keep the surface of all 4 sides at the same exact Z height as you rotate it.
You could also change it up a little so that it keeps the center axis of the workpiece at the same Z height (like a rotary units used as an indexer would do). In that case, your modeling is referencing the center axis instead of the surface.
Ah ok. I think I was imagining the piece as making contact with the spoil board, which wouldn’t work. I see what you mean now, this is awesome ty. I’m am also looking into the rotary tool, but I may not need it if this works.
