Should I build a big CNC router?

I know I would like to build a Computer Numeric Control  (CNC) router big enough to drop a sheet of ply in, but is it a good idea? It will take up a lot of my workshop space, and chew up a lot of time and money. It’ll allow me to makes some awesome large objects. Anyone want a kayak? It would be big enough to make small boat ribs etc. Storage boxes, and display panels, doll houses and 1/2 of the things in ikea. All doable. But am I going to do them? A lot of the CNC routers on the internet seem to get used to make more CNC routers. Thats fine by me, although a boat sounds more fun.

I’ve read about people who have purchased shopbot routers with the belief that they’ll form some kind of business around them, and some have successfully done so. It seems a bold choice to me, but as James Graham said.

He either fears his fate too much,
Or his deserts are small,
That dares not put it to the touch
To gain or lose it all.

Maybe now is the time to build a big CNC router.

PS. I’ve found a few places around that I can get stuff cut at. I’m going to test the waters out by doing a few projects on someone else’s CNC router first.

Caking with terror




coming off the toffee, which was now black.





Camping roas lamb


  • 1 leg of lamb that will fit in your camp oven
  • 2 cans of crushed tomatoes
  • 1 can of water
  • 1/2 bag red lentils
  • 4 large onions
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • one tub of vegetable stock
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • camp oven or large cast iron pot


  1. peel the onions and cut in half sideways (so the onion rings are visible) and line the bottom of the camp oven with them. They should pretty much cover the bottom.
  2. place the red lentils on the onions.
  3. place the garlic on the lentils.
  4. place the lamb on the lentils and garlic.
  5. give the lamb a dash of olive oil and rub it in. season with salt and pepper.
  6. pour the tomatoes either side of the lamb
  7. mix the stock into the water and pour half either side of the lamb

Cooking (in the kitchen)

  1. pre heat an oven to full whack (as Jamie says)
  2. stick the pot in with the lid on
  3. after about 15 min turn the oven down to 180 (160 fan forced) and cook for 1.5 hours
  4. take the lid off and inspect, I left the lid off to brown the top of the lamb at this point. Just keep an eye on the tomato to make sure it’s not burning.

if you would like to do this as a slow roast, just leave the lid on and increase the cooking time to about 3.5 hours.

Cooking (in the fire)

Place the camp oven in a bed of hot coals and scoop a shovel full of coals onto the top of the oven. Check it every half hour to hour to make sure its cooking ok.
We left it to cook for 3.5 hours. Instead of carving the roast, we just pulled it apart with forks.

iPhone controlled paper planes!





The Mini Mill is live




Northern Makers meet up

Northern makers had a meet up in Westgarth on Saturday night. It was a bit late notice, but we still had five people there. There was a Mendel Max being assembled, some arduino controlled led strips, analogue synth boards being soldered, and I was trying to work the kinks out of my mini CNC mill.

They are a nice bunch of people, and it was very good to see what other people where working on. They’re proposing to book it in as a regular thing, one Saturday a month. I suspect it’ll be a regular outing for me.