SSYTC082 Australian Animals Series

Podcast – Stu's Shed

Australian Animals CNC

(A slight delay in the SundayCNC post!)

The Australian Animal series, from MakeCNC.com (scroll down a bit to the Australian Animals)

A really nice set of designs, with some real standout patterns. By far and away, the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo is the most impressive, at least in my opinion. However, it was the Echidna that I had to make a second time, because the first was ‘requisitioned’ by one of my work colleagues, as being “too cute”.

I really like the delicate magpie, and the facial (and mouth) detail of the Tasmanian Devil. But I’m sure everyone will have their own favourites.

I would say these are more advanced patterns, as they take a bit more effort to assemble, but slowly and surely each can be bought together. I occasionally shaved some pieces down just a little to loosen the fit, as I was gluing them, rather than leaving the models so they could be disassembled at a later stage.

Routed on the Torque CNC 9060, using the 1/16″ straight, 2 flute 45190 cutter from Toolstoday.com, running at around 40mm/sec, and 12000RPM. Each cut from 3mm MDF, with most being able to fit either 2, sometimes 3 to a 900×600 sheet. Except for the Cockatoo – that took pretty much an entire sheet on its own. Of course, there is no reason why you cannot go bigger if you choose – cutting from 6mm, 12mm (or thicker) MDF. And you don’t actually need a CNC to make use of the patterns. A laser and/or router are all very well, but you are not limited to computer controlled machinery. Print out the designs and stick them on stock timber, and you could cut them out with a scrollsaw or bandsaw.

The animals in the series are:

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Magpie
Kookaburra
Emu
Echidna
Bilby
Frilled Neck Lizard
Salt Water Crocodile
Dingo
Wallaby
Wombat
Kangaroo with Joey
Tasmanian Devil
Koala Walking
Koala in Tree
Platypus

A fun series, with some real standout designs.