This week, I was able to start my CNC machine project. It’s slow going as I’ve never had to assemble anything this complex and so I’m taking my time. I could have opted for the pre-built version but reading up on the kit a bit more, several users noted that it was good to build it yourself so that if things go wrong in the future, you’ll have an idea of what the problem might be. I’m not sure if that will really work for me but the building process itself is pretty cool.
So here we have all the kit pieces laid out on my new workbench I made a couple of weeks back. The large device at the back of the table is my photo enlarger, which was the real purpose of this room- to build up my darkroom again, but I found that I broke a key piece of the enlarger so I have to source out a replacement. In the meantime, the room will also serve as my pimping workroom, or “The Lab,” as I call it.
The kids were away so I actually moved everything upstairs and worked at the kitchen table, catching up on the latest Walking Dead episodes from the mid-season break. The picture above are “V-wheels” that were a bitch to press together (my thumb is still sore). Eventually, I opted for two sets of pliers to get those bearings in the plastic wheels.
Next I put the V-wheels in the Y-axis plates. These plates will hold the main board “table” of the machine.
And they attach on these rails that connect the front and back of the base of the machine.
The base then attaches to the Y-axis plates and also gain some T-nuts and another guide plate.
And here we are. This is about one-third through the assembly instructions. Next is assembling the X-axis and Z-axis components and putting the motors and belts on. Then finally is the final assembly. After that comes the electronics and setting up the software and everything else.
In gaming news, I stumbled on this interesting little preview:
image from BGG, from the game publisher
This is Gang Rush Breakout from CMON and Ankama. Those of you that have followed me for awhile might notice the game looks similar to a classic game that I’ve been nuts on pimping: Thunder Road. While this game (from the brief publisher descriptions) doesn’t seem like it has a lot in common with Thunder Road mechanically, it does have a pretty cool look to it and I’m looking forward to hearing more about this game.
It is due to release in April, shockingly without a Kickstarter but since Ankama seems to be driving the publishing aspect of the game, maybe that is just the way they do things. Ankama is responsible for Krosmaster Arena, which also avoided using Kickstarter. I’ll likely wait to play this at Gen Con before I really commit to picking it up but I have some high hopes for it.
Speaking of Gen Con, I got the notice that they are opening up the event applications in a few weeks so I better get on this. Last year I missed the early deadline and my events didn’t make it into the general admission until after the main event signup date. I’m going to make sure my events get in on time this year to see if that helps the attendance any.
I’m planning on running my Loopin’ Chewie Tournament again as it was a lot of fun and though there weren’t many in attendance, they all seemed to have a good time. I will likely run one more event as well but I’m not sure which it will be. I could do Thunder Road again or I’ve been thinking about running a PitchCar variant of mine. I’m also stupidly into Mantic’s Walking Dead: All Out War and had a blast running a custom event at CabinCon so might try something like that. Decisions, decisions. Only have a few weeks to figure it out. Maybe I’ll flip a coin.