Cabinet making advice

Is there a good generator for making a finger joint file for multicam from an STL? I’d like to make some glass front shaker cabinets in nonstandard size and maybe some geometrical polygon tables.

I’m also aiming to make a bookcase with giant frame front. Is there a certain wood I’d use or will mdf do it since it’s to be painted anyway? I remember something about testing 3d carving files on a forgiving (ahem cheap) material during prototype

If you have the STL file you can use the Vectric software to create your patterns.

Tutorial? I didn’t see anything

in terms of wood, if it’s purely aesthetic to the piece, then MDF should be fine; but if it structural to the piece, then i would recommend plywood or pine. In my experience, MDF has a tendency to wear out at the joints over the years, and it will occasionally buckle if you put too much weight on it

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Define “finger joint”, because that means something really specific:

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These days finger joints are done using a special router bit on a standard router table like our Incra (which will do this just fine, but you’ll need to purchase the bit (I might have seen an old one in the cabinet the other day, but maybe not), sized correctly for your build,

Comb joints are usually done using various dovetail techniques. They have square alternating tabs that lock together:

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Variations of these joints can be done on the CNC Router, but require practice and a trail of cast off’s, because your first few tries will disappoint you. All about managing those inside corners, You can use either Fusion 360 or vCarve Pro to do it. Both will import STL files, subject to various conditions.

I would not build furniture with MDC. It’s really pretty weak material, and will buckle easily if you use it for load bearing or vertical surfaces. It can also be a pain to paint.

You can make some exceedingly fine stuff with el-cheapo home depot dimensioned lumber. Paint it with milk paint, and it’ll last longer than I will. Added benefit, dirt cheap.

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If you’re just looking for decorative joints to use look here… http://flexiblestream.org/project/50-digital-wood-joints

This was posted about a year or so ago, but I enjoy coming up with projects to put some of these to use. Really will open your eyes to potential wood joints: http://mkmra2.blogspot.com/2014/08/cnc-cut-wood-joinery.html

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The issue with the Multicam is that it doesn’t always give you a true 90 cut (depends on orientation). There are some deceit Google article on Digital joinery and/or CNC joinery. I am still in the learning curve, but for the finger joint you shown, there is a jig under the Delta which is designed for 1/2" box joints. You can create a jib for the smaller finger joints as well. The ‘nice’ jigs are adjustable…

If you would like to play with the job, I would be happy to show you how to set it up.

There are also options on the router table, but we’ll save those for a different day…

If you are not getting true 90° you might want to check that you are using the correct post processor and/or your travel speed. You sacrifice precision for speed.

It’s not an issue that the Multicam isn’t making a 90 degree turn- it’s that the shape of the bit will have a radius, so when you look at the ‘inside’ of these cuts, they will have a fillet or a ‘rounded’ corner. This is not an issue on ‘outside’ cuts, but where router but can not make two passes from each side, you will have the radius issues. In short, your two edges will be 90 degrees but the corner will not be square.

Look at the following link and you will see how people smarter than I are using CNC routers to create joinery.

The reality is that some joinery is easier traditionally versus on the Multicam, as we don’t always have the option to rotate our material the way we might it we where using something like a dovetail jig…

If you want to get really fancy you can do sculpted finger joints, with tenons that have filleted surfaces to mate to pockets with bit diameter inner fillets.

when you get right down to it, in order to make flat dovetail joints on a CNC that have the strength the joint was designed to have you are going to need a special purpose dovetail bit with a rounded shoulder.

I’ve been creating with a CNC router for sometime now and I’ve found that the best way to make Dovetails is with a Dovetail jig and a handheld router…

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