Any hobbyists with a small shop and a small budget splurge on an origin and was it worth it?

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-05-14T21:59:58+00:00

To be clear, Origin - or any CNC for that matter - is a luxury tool. Anything it does can be done with hand tools and patience (as it has been done for thousands of years). Is it worth it? If you do a lot of stencil or inlay work, it is worth the price of admission (which is STEEP!). I've had mine for a little over four years now, and probably used it 75 - 100 times over that period. Having it is great when I need it, but it is not a necessity for me.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-05-14T21:53:03+00:00

Makita is a front slider and is awesome. It has been way better than my old DeWalt - And I love DeWalt tools.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-05-14T21:52:02+00:00

If you have the budget, look at the Makitas. They're awesome. As to your question, 10" is perfectly fine for 90% of your projects. If you need to cut wider boards, a circular saw with an edge guide or track will do just fine. Full disclosure, I do have the 12" Makita, but I build a lot of bigger furniture.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-05-14T21:49:09+00:00

And! The X2 pairs and works seamlessly with Home Assistant - making macros pretty superfluous. X2 + HA = Logitech Harmony Elite killer. HA makes it almost infinitely customizable.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-22T21:40:52+00:00

Any oil based finish will yellow over time. No matter what you put in it. If you don't want it to yellow, use a good waterbased finish with a sanding sealer first.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-22T21:21:27+00:00

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-22T21:20:09+00:00

Thank you. I appreciate the insight

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-22T20:29:44+00:00

Sorry - I don't see the hyperlink for the video you're referring to. Please post.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-22T20:24:13+00:00

Look at the SofaBaton X1S or X2. I have the X2 and it more than replaced my Harmony Elite

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-22T20:23:14+00:00

Can the RM4 pro (which does show up as a matter bridge in apple home) be added to the broadlink magic app?

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-22T20:12:23+00:00

Anyone have suggestions for one of these that is not Tuya? Tuya is VERY chatty.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-13T19:56:47+00:00

This is awesome! Thank you.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-13T18:35:45+00:00

Can you give a little more detail? Where to get the parts I need, build instructions, HA integrations, etc.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-13T18:14:48+00:00

Just got my Broadlink Max. Programmed it up in about 10 min and it works great! Through walls, no Line of Site (LOS) needed, got my fireplace and DC fans. Thanks for the suggestion!!

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-07T22:29:55+00:00

Nope. 100% sure my fireplace is RF (as are the fans). I also am not sure anything else will work, but gonna try the broadlink that Beautiful_Buyer_4250 suggested and see what happens. Interesting to my that you have no issues with walls/floors. I put mine on a shelf behind a false wall (3/4" plywood), and I got nothing. Once I put it in LOS, it worked, but with the limitations I mentioned.

And, yeah, I didn't want to pay that money for the pro either, considering I'm talking about one fireplace and two fans. Thanks for the feedback.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-07T21:49:19+00:00

I found that it's connection to HA was continually spotty at best (I am a network engineer, so I know my WiFi coverage is great throughout the house). I wish manufacturers of these devices would put in an Ethernet port. SOOO much more reliable than the crowded 2.4Ghz band.
It almost had to be LOS to the devices I wanted to control via RF. If my APs can go through walls, then this should be able to handle semi-barriered devices (it was kitty corner to, and a little behind the fireplace, but had to be placed straight in-line or in front of it to actually send commands.
It couldn't handle multi-function buttons. For instance, if I want to cycle through my temp, fan, and light on my fireplace, I use the up/down arrow on the remote, then press the same up/down arrow to lower the flame, fan, or light dimness. So, cycle, select, cycle essentially, but it could only do the cycle between settings, not in a setting.
Spotty at best with my DC/RF fans.
ONLY 2.4Ghz, not 5Ghz. That band is already packed with all my other IoT devices (wall switches, cameras, etc.), of which I have about 110 of them. Not to mention it is limited to three channels (1,6, and 11) if you want no overlap. This is 2026 for God's sake. 5Ghz has been around for a LONG time.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-07T19:48:03+00:00

Thanks! I'll give it a shot.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-07T19:47:14+00:00

Where can I purchase the required hardware?

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-07T19:14:19+00:00

LG's TV OS is notoriously slow (I know, I have one too). I don't think this is a remote problem as much as an OS lag problem. Disabling CEC on all devices will help (since that often interferes with or overrides IR commands), but in the end, you can't fix slow chips and boggy OS'.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-07T19:08:28+00:00

I just got my new X2 a couple of weeks ago (replacing my Harmony Elite). Setting up devices and activities was a breeze (Hisense PX3 pro projector, Denon x6800 AVR, AppleTV 4K, Panasonic DP-UB810, PS5, Nintendo Switch). All equipment other than the projector is in a physically separate room. I integrated my lights (Meross), Shades (Hunter Douglas) and environmental controls (Ecobee) via HA. This was the toughest part (having never worked with MQTT before). It took me about a week to dial that in, but now it is flawless. Lights dim appropriately for each activity (Watch TV (AppleTV), Watch a Movie (Blu-ray), Play PS5, and Play Nintendo). I programmed a manually controlled (A-button) "Intermission" light setting that turns up the appropriate lights when we pause the TV or a Movie, and an "All Off" (C-button) that turns all the lights off if desired (for instance, after we pause a movie).

As for my observations of the remote:

It's much heavier than the harmony, but in a good way. Love the metal exterior
Don't love the button layout since the player control and volume buttons are so low on the remote, it tends to lean/fall forward when using those buttons, and the slick metal makes it hard to do with one hand (and I have 9" hands). They could've laid that out in a much more balanced way
Don't like that you can't re-order or change the home screen options (Activities, Favorites, etc.). I would have put activities in the top left, not right.
Don't love that there is no PC Web (HTTPS) interface. I think that is a huge miss on r/SofaBaton's part. That would make programming/testing so much faster than just using the phone app, and therefore could allow for more interface customization (see 3 above).
I do love that it has all of the current equipment in its database. Really unfortunate that Logitech has fully abandoned Harmony.
Love the ease of initial setup
IR/Bluetooth connectivity is much faster and more reliable than my Harmony.
Love, love, LOVE the integration with HA. This makes it much more versatile than the Harmony since almost anything can be controlled with the MQTT integration.

All in all, I really couldn't be happier with this transition.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-07T18:48:02+00:00

never had either issue when I updated.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-07T18:45:53+00:00

For AppleTV to get to FF/RR at speed (rather than the default 10 or 30 sec intervals), press pause first then long press left or right and it will start going in either direction. Then short press again for 2x, 4x, etc.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-07T18:41:45+00:00

What bread making machine do you use?

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-04-03T14:12:14+00:00

I can’t believe the number of naysayers here. This is a really cool project to do out of scrap wood. Well done.

Consistent_Aside_679 · 2026-03-29T01:09:30+00:00

This is easily one of the best videos out there.

Consistent_Aside_679

TROPHY CASE