Thread: 3D Router Carver

Do you mean the Triton Rotary Tool Kit? Or the Spin Saw?

She means the 3D router carver templates available from places like Carbitool.
They can be used with any hand held router (1/2 inch I think).

We have them at the Triton Club for members to borrow. There's a few different styles available but I wouldn't buy a set just for my own use. Unless you are going to use them for some mass production run, they really are limited in their use. For something like the Club though, they are fine - we can all have a go at them.

What are you thinking of doing with them ?

I thought they might look nice as carvings on a bedhead or door panel.

That would be good but as I said, pretty expensive if you have to buy a set just for one job.

The templates can be very specific, for example an eagle, tiger or similar.

There are also geometric shaped templates that can be used in various combinations to get some pretty stunning results.

You would need to be really be very keen on the designs if you only wanted to do a few. As Gumby said, they are not cheap.

If however you were renovating your house and wanted to detail all the doors, mantle pieces, window frames, chook shed, you would get your money's worth.

Otherwise, I imagine that the biggest users of this system would be people who are manufacturing things that want to differentiate their product.

Bosch make an electric scraper that you can get chissel bits for. I use this in woodwork classes for women in Japan. It is very easy to use and gives some great results. Better still, you are not limited to templates. My seven year old daughter love using it.

If you look at one of these, make sure you get a catalogue of the chissel bits available. Basically they come in flat, gouging and v groove bits, in different sizes.

Steve

Thanks Steve. All information is helpful and appreciated. I thought it might have been fun to make your own templates. Melissa

Carb-I-Tool make a router carver, with quite a range of templates and accessories.

Could any of these be used for electric guitar bodies?
I want to do something unique for the guitar I'm designing.
HB

The Carb-I-Tool templates that I have seen would all be a tad big for a guitar as they are designed for doors etc.

My impression of electric guitar bodies is that each tries to be individual so as to visually enhance the image of the performance. For this, I again would look at the Bosch scraper, or equivalent, as you will have much more freedom in your design.

As for designing your own templates for the 3D carver, not saying it couldn't be done, would say that it would be a very big project. The existing templates are made using specific software and CMC machinery.

If you remember the plastic stencils that came in cereal boxes, you would trace one half, flip it over, trace the other half and combined you would end up with a picture of Sam Toocan or similar.

With the 3D carver templates, they require a fairly large amount of clearance around eached carved line and so you need a few templates for each pattern.

Great for production runs. Not for one off pieces.

FWIW

Steve

Originally Posted by TritonJapan

As for designing your own templates for the 3D carver, not saying it couldn't be done, would say that it would be a very big project. The existing templates are made using specific software and CMC machinery.

Funnily enough, a few months ago I was doing just that - designing templates for letters - thought it'd be fun to come up with an interesting font set.

Got quite a way into the project, but then life caught up so have postponed until the xmas break. I had gotten quite a way into the design phase, so can say that it is quite conceivable.

Hmm - perhaps I could sell my templates once I've finished designing them......

Ha - just thought - perfect justification to buy the new Triton Jigsaw Now all I need is a spindle sander..........

Originally Posted by stuart_lees

Funnily enough, a few months ago I was doing just that - designing templates for letters - thought it'd be fun to come up with an interesting font set.

Got quite a way into the project, but then life caught up so have postponed until the xmas break. I had gotten quite a way into the design phase, so can say that it is quite conceivable.

Hmm - perhaps I could sell my templates once I've finished designing them......

Stuart,

I would be very interested in the results you get with the letter templates. Think Carb-I Tool would be too if they are good.

One of the problems they had with templates for letters was the number of templates required to do the whole alphabet.

You could make template templates. Even downloadable PDFs that could be stuck to MDF and attacked with a Jigsaw and spindle sander or rotary tool would get some projects started.

A community database of free template design downloads would make the 3D carver much more appealing. At the moment, it's uselfulness is limited by the templates. Bit like tattoos, off the shelf is not always the best, unless the shelf is very very big.

Next step would be some shareware software that could generated the templates easily, based on a scanned image.

Steve

Originally Posted by TritonJapan

My impression of electric guitar bodies is that each tries to be individual so as to visually enhance the image of the performance. For this, I again would look at the Bosch scraper, or equivalent, as you will have much more freedom in your design.

Thanks steve,
I'll have to try and get my hands on a Bosch scraper. Can these be painted orange:confused:
HB

Originally Posted by TritonJapan

Stuart,

I would be very interested in the results you get with the letter templates. Think Carb-I Tool would be too if they are good.

One of the problems they had with templates for letters was the number of templates required to do the whole alphabet.

You could make template templates. Even downloadable PDFs that could be stuck to MDF and attacked with a Jigsaw and spindle sander or rotary tool would get some projects started.

A community database of free template design downloads would make the 3D carver much more appealing. At the moment, it's uselfulness is limited by the templates. Bit like tattoos, off the shelf is not always the best, unless the shelf is very very big.

Next step would be some shareware software that could generated the templates easily, based on a scanned image.

Steve

Good points. Not sure how many templates it will result in, but it is a few.

A library of templates- interesting concept. Anyone else ever tried designing their own?