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Which Cnc do you? Which one would you recommend and why?

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Do tell!

I've built guitars for 30 years, but I am just getting started with using a CNC for some things. I lucked into buying a used Avid Benchtop Pro 2436. It's pretty much an ideal size for building guitar parts. Avid recently revamped their control system. I bought the upgrade, and it is really great. Again, I'm just getting going. I learned the basics on a Stepcraft CNC, but then found the Avid by chance for a deal I couldn't pass up. I can highly recommend Avid.

Axiom is another brand that I have seen guitar builders use. And ShopBot.

I personally don't think the huge machines (i.e., full sheet of plywood) are ideal for what guitar builders need. On the other end of the spectrum, the very small import machines will probably only be good for inlays, bridges, headplates, etc.

The unicorn in this endeavor is a machine that is small enough to not take over your shop, but is stout enough and has enough Z travel to be not useless for cutting necks. That's a tough balance to hit.

I’ve got an AVID 4848-PRO. I wanted the largest format machine I could afford in that I wanted to be able put a full sheets of 3/4 ply on the deck to cut parts for tools, some of which you have seen. I also wanted to cut 1” MDF, for my other passion, loudspeaker building. As Don said, the AVID 2436 Desktop is kinda the perfect size for looferin.

Off to Germany in the morning! Tschüß!

I have a Next Wave Piranha XL, with a 12"x30" table. Long enough to do fretboards, and I've done telecaster-style solid bodies on it by offsetting the work. Inlay works great.

I've also been a manufacturing engineer working with CNCs my entire 30+ year career so the learning curve hasn't been an issue for me.

I bought an X-Carve a few years back and I like it. There are certainly downsides and limitations to the system, but once you understand them, you can work around them. It made it's way onto my radar because of the price point.

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-Marcus
http://www.bailieguitars.com
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I've got a Laguna IQ 2x4 I bought used for $3500. It's a good machine, and I think they were like $9000 new in 2021. Laguna doesn't sell this model anymore, but it's actually made by https://www.quick-cnc.com/ and still available from them (model 6090). 240 volt, 3 HP, water-cooled, takes 1/2" bits. The RichAuto A11 controller isn't great, but it gets the job done. I have to set the spindle RPM manually (controller ignores the G-code command for that).

It's very rigid. Grab the spindle and try to move it in every direction. Some of them you can get to move several mm. The Laguna IQ doesn't move at all. Laguna says max feed rate is 200 ipm, but other owners say 125 is the practical limit on dense woods. That's OK with me, I'm not running a production shop. Just a hobby.

If I was going to buy a new one, I'd look at the Altmill. Here's a review comparing the Altmill and Shapeoko. https://youtu.be/ehymoBltThI?si=GfGQHEmxZMORW5sH

Here's the same guy on the Altmill vs. the Onefinity. https://youtu.be/oCzSvRSOZ98?si=i-JrfOZGZ8qE8NC_

Greg

I have limited room so I bought PROVerXL 4030 V2 Desktop CNC Router. I have really liked it and have used it a lot for bridges cutting rosette channels, head stock veneers and lots of templates and jig parts. I have only used this one so I can not really make recommendations but I have loved this one.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

I have a Genmitsu 3020 V2 from Sainsmart and a Shapeoko 5 pro. The Genmitsu was purchased to get my feet wet for Cnc. The Shapeoko was purchased as a step up machine while I get more proficient at everything except carving a neck. I ended up with the 2'x4' machine. It's a decent unit with a great ecosystem and customer support. The Genmitsu leaves something to be desired but is still a nice entry level machine but is very limited due to its x-y size. 11"x 13" . I keep looking at Avid 4x4 and or a Shop Sabre Pro 404 which would be my dream machine and maybe a PWNCnc 4x4 which looks pretty sweet.

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You can often be surprised by what folks want to unload on Facebook Marketplace. That's how I got my Avid Benchtop Pro 2436. I paid about 1/3 what a new one would cost, because the sellers had gotten pretty desperate. There was some rehab to do (they were aluminum cutters, and used the T track deck as a spoilboard), and I bought the control system upgrade, so the machine wound up costing me about half of what a new one would cost. But that's still way better than buying new.

I built my own, and wouldn't have it any other way. Cheaper, more fun, and you know every detail of the machine so you can easily repair and modify it in the future.

If all you're cutting is wood, this guy shows how to make a brilliantly simple one for a few hundred bucks

But if you want to cut metal too, stick with linear rails and ballscrews. Although leadscrews are ok for Z since you have natural anti-backlash from gravity, and standard end mills pull downward too.

Tony34306 on ebay has good NEMA23 steppers for $12 each https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEMA-23-Stepper-Motor-CNC-Mill-Robot-Lathe-RepRap-Makerbot-3D-Printer-P13V/121146152794

A $25 GRBL board will work fine for most machines. I've been running those NEMA23's for years with heatsinks on the stepper drivers and a fan blowing on it.

I highly recommend including hand cranks with dials, and switches to disable the steppers individually. It's really nice being able to do simple tasks in manual mode. I almost always use manual Z for drilling so I can feel the pressure and stop for chip jams. Nothing worse than a broken carbide drill stuck in a hole.

Speaking of which, another feature that's been surprisingly useful is that I used a belt on Z to drive two leadscrews, and gripping the belt by hand allows moving at high speed, while gripping the pulleys gives slower and tighter control. I'd hate to be stuck with just one or the other.

Dennis that is pretty sweet. I have no desire to build my own cnc unless it has paint by numbers instructions and is an all inclusive kit.

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That's pretty much how Avid rolls. The good is that, like Dennis, you get to see how it all goes together in case you need to take it apart to solve a problem later. Also, it shows up in lots of smaller, manageable boxes instead of a packing crate with a behemoth inside. The bad is that you do need to spend some time learning how it all goes together. But they make that pretty easy for you. Great instructions, usually.

The Avids are different. they aren't gather your own parts and figure it out. It appears the Avid's are paint by numbers. If the drive system wasn't rack and pinion on the 4'x4' it would be at the top of the list. Im getting either the 2'x4' or the 4'x4' with the 12" gantry and 12" z travel if I do go the Avid route

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Sorry if I was unclear. What I meant was that Avid is like what you prefer: Everything comes in boxes, paint by numbers instructions. You don't have to source anything yourself.

PROVerXL 6050 here. I now spend all my free time doing everything but building guitars

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

I built my own because I enjoyed the technical challenge. But truth be told, I spent as much time learning the machine and chasing gremlins as I did making things with it.

Even today, now that I have moved into an apartment and am no longer making anything, I think about my next fantasy guitar build almost as much as how I would improve my CNC design. I’ll probably never do either, but who knows?

For those interested in my 20 years of small shop CNC and lutherie: in an ideal world I would make two machines. One small but super rigid one for aluminum and brass, possibly with a rotary fixture; and one large enough for necks, body molds, and larger wood or sheet goods projects. Hard to have one machine that fills both roles well.


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