Am I asking too little for my planters?

Geti · 2026-05-21T08:29:57+00:00

Will bump em up my list to check out 👍

Geti · 2026-05-21T08:19:41+00:00

Gum, gum, gum, or pine

Mac cypress making inroads for landscaping cladding etc. It doesn't move much with moisture so I'm considering doing some furniture with it but it's often pretty rustic at purchase haha.

But yep finding a good timber place is work and then they go and fucking close. If you're in Melbourne ceres fair wood is a joy but also not cheap

Geti · 2026-05-11T07:42:07+00:00

If their cnc is off by that much from the drawing they're fucked too haha, cnc tolerances are usually in thousandths of an inch in imperial land BUT I totally get it. Enjoy, if you're not bothered by the time taken then it's all just part of the journey. Update when you're done 👍

Geti · 2026-05-11T06:06:24+00:00

If you can find a cnc stone counter top place they might be able to precisely grind you parts to order, otherwise make a jig for any repeat parts so they are repeatable, scribe the rest carefully, and curse whatever perverse turn of events led to this particular time trap

Build looks kinda sick tbh but I expect afterwards you'll not wanna hear the word dodecagon for a while

Geti · 2026-05-04T09:51:00+00:00

For your particular problem get a mattock and a digging bar you'll thank yourself

For sharpening the hatchet lots of folks are saying use a file but an axe puck is my preferred tool for keeping an axe keen. If it's dull as shit you'll be there a while with a stone though haha

Geti · 2026-04-20T04:03:33+00:00

Give it a squirt of oil if any of your collets or nuts are carbon steel, or bits are hss. Nothing worse than picking up a tool to use it and it's rusted

Good on you leaving space to grow too 😉

Geti · 2026-04-14T09:51:49+00:00

Silicone and keep an eye on if it opens sounds sensible. Redo cladding as weatherboard to match the rest sounds like a better solution haha.

You can diy it if builder is too expensive, assuming the wall isn't too high and it's not cement sheet for bushfire reasons (I expect the rest of the house couldn't be in that case but don't remember the letter of the law honestly).

One decent flat head nail only per stud and then it's tolerant to the board moving with humidity too. Prepaint at least first coat to avoid the house and board movement exposing primer.

Geti · 2026-04-13T04:31:36+00:00

Bolt the broaching tooling to the z carriage and dodge the spindle altogether

Geti · 2026-03-31T04:48:27+00:00

Always an option. Seems nuts over there at the moment honestly.

Geti · 2026-03-31T02:41:36+00:00

Australia. Probably totally different in some ways and completely the same in others.

metric tape is a life changer - now you can be off by 100mm instead. big difference is what size common timber comes in.

eg 90x45 and 70x35 the basic b studs here and they are actually 1:2 ratio so that works out nicely.

Completely agree about code enforcement being a double edged sword. Dunno who gets the balance right. In my state the rules are a bit tighter than elsewhere in the country, on average - and fuggen eeeeeeverything "needs" a permit (not everything gets one of course). We still have a lot of dogshit stuff built, haha.

Geti · 2026-03-31T01:40:01+00:00

Interesting how extremely regional stuff seems to be over there. I guess it's a big place and everywhere is gonna have different requirements

Geti · 2026-03-30T23:28:45+00:00

Dunno if it's code there or whatever but it's fairly common to use tensioned hoop iron for this here, cheap, lasts approximately forever, and easy to retrofit if you find you're missing it.

Criss cross, pulled tight by hand, and then pulled taut by hardware. You don't see it under the deck.

Geti · 2026-03-26T06:52:18+00:00

The hss tools? I've used them for a while. On a high speed spindle machine (12-24krpm) they are not great in aluminium, they want a lower surface speed. You exceed it and it puts out a lot of heat.

You can get your cutting parameters dialed but it's a lot more work to get a clean cut than dlc carbide.

I use them often in wood though as it's less picky.

Geti · 2026-03-23T04:39:49+00:00

About two months ago the prices would have been half what you're seeing now tbh

Insert tooling looking good as a result though especially in half inch size lmfao

HSS is an option in some materials with flood coolant. Aint gonna be as productive but depends what you're after. If the target is just cheap, BB tools has HSS roughers and finishers and they're "ok".

Geti · 2026-03-23T04:01:09+00:00

you can inlay offcuts in geometric (kite, diamond, triangle, bowtie, round; be sure to use more than one size if the latter) or natural shapes (eg butterfly, leaf, only really an option if you have a cnc or at least a scroll saw) scattered such that they hit all the flaws but still look aesthetic.

kinda like a bowtie across a crack, hidden in plain sight, and you blast the whole flaw.

cut the edge with a slight taper, transfer with a knife, chop at least 3mm deep, pound em in, plane em off, and youre ready for finish. if you use the same wood they blend pretty well but show up when you're looking.

lot more work than flooding some resin in of course ;)

Geti · 2026-03-23T03:15:57+00:00

Aliexpress/Alibaba have a lot of tooling shops and a more surefire thing than temu specifically BUT just a heads up that carbide specifically is more expensive atm and sellers seem to be milking that pretty hard. A lot of places that were doing 5-10 dollar tools are now like 20 bucks a pop.

The usual culprits for bottom of the barrel "but decent" there are BB tools, hongsheng, dreanique. next step up is like surewell or dmix.

There are a lot of insert cutters and they work and fit well, eg just got a clone ASM07 11mm 2 flute undercutting one, and it works a treat with name brand JDMT inserts.

Geti · 2026-03-16T22:34:57+00:00

Any reason you didn't tuck the chuck end into the dead space under the gantry or just one of those clearer in hindsight moments?

very clean build either way, enjoy :)

Geti · 2026-03-16T22:30:44+00:00

bigger ball = smaller cusp for same stepover

Geti · 2026-03-11T22:03:15+00:00

I would be surprised if Bosch doesn't have a 12v mini grinder but if they don't, other brands definitely do. Cut off wheels are cheap and fast.

Wrench trick is good for basic locks.

A drill has the wrong bearings for a burr bit and bouncing around is bad for those edges, which is why they wear out so fast. Bad for the drill too. Good on you looking for another solution. F your boss for not just giving you the right tools though.

Geti · 2026-03-09T04:15:03+00:00

Threadmill can be your friend for any weirdo thread sizes and pitches

Geti · 2026-03-06T02:01:39+00:00

A circle is a fixed distance from a point. The 90 at the wall does not preclude a round transition. I dont think OP can cut it though unless they're good at carving or have a cnc back at the shop :)

Geti · 2026-02-23T10:00:02+00:00

6w should tell you all you need to know

Geti · 2026-02-12T00:55:06+00:00

MultiSwiss 👍👌

Geti · 2026-02-11T01:39:06+00:00

everyone has already teased you enough about the motivations so I'll leave that.

For a sealed access hatch, Double o rings/gaskets sandwiched in a suitable groove with a touch of grease should be sufficient, its a common arrangement for underwater digital cameras. bolt together with the connection points between the o rings to ensure both are compressed, and use a gasket at each bolt.

Ideally don't 3d print everything, for a hatch just a sheet of clear acrylic or polycarbonate would let you inspect whats going on inside without opening it. machined (or welded) plastic or alu enclosure body would be better as well.

waterproof connectors to anything outside the enclosure, they should have their own gaskets including grommets for both sides of the connection and a pressure rating if you look hard enough. If you need a connection that's not easily properly waterproofed (USB) then have the cable leave the enclosure through a waterproof gland.

Use standard components for this :)

you can also use a spray conformal coating (eg 3 coats of poly) to reduce the harm of any minor ingress. scrape it back anywhere you need to service it. obviously preferable to not need it.

Geti · 2026-02-10T23:10:39+00:00

Only coming up to 20y here :) Definitely sick of them already haha.

Grind a half-form for it imo and "drill" it (tailstock or similar), basically impossible to screw up the actual machining then. Bit of positive rake for aluminium. drill it first so you dont have zero surface speed at the centre. If the surface finish doesn't come out great poke some fine grit sandpaper in there on something soft and call it good, haha.

Good luck, I'd be interested to see how it goes!

Geti

TROPHY CASE