1. Document Setting

I want to make a Les Paul guitar but there is no corresponding design presented on thenounproject.com, so I create the file by myself on Carbide Create.

before I started, I measured the size of our wood pieces that is 5.5” * 3.5” * 0.575”. I used three different depth, with the inner contour 0.1”, the dots(tuners) and the pocket(pickguard) 0.03” and other parts 0.05”. I set the outer contour cut to the bottom at the very end so that there is less deviation of other cut.

2.CNC Cut

Presetting the machine is not very complex. It is important to fix the wood piece tightly on the base so that there will not be offset to my document. Then I need to set the starting point at the corner of the wood. Don’t forget to turn on the power next to the computer. During the cutting process, I need to listen to the sound to ensure the cutting is successful.

I under estimated the kerf of the drill in the first version of my document , so some parts of the pockets were connected to each other which is not the way I want. Then, I changed the offset direction to inside or no offset to fit the kerf.

The second piece also had some accident because the machine didn’t finish all the cut before my booking was ended, so the outer contour was not fully cut. Hence, I booked the machine on the next day and cut my two guitar.

3.Postprocessing

First I sanded my guitar by 400 grit sand paper to polish my wood. Then I pour some protective oil to change the
gloss. To make a gradient change of color, I spent 2 hours paint the guitar. After the paint dried, I used 2000 grit sand paper to make the paint look smoother.

Workspace:

COST ESTIMATION:

Material:
on Amazon:
4 Wood pieces: $14
sandpaper: $10/12 *2 = $1.67
paint: $8
protective oil: $10 * 0.01 = $0.1

Machine:
$100/h * 1h = $100(https://www.sigmatechnik.com/cnc-factory/the-hidden-costs-of-renting-a-cnc-machine-how-much-does-it-really-cost?)

Labor:
Houston Average wage $30/h * 4h = $120

Total:$243.77