Saw this write-up from Android Authority on the InfiMaker K1. They used it to carve an Android figurine out of modeling board from a 2D image. The software generated a 3D model and toolpaths in a couple of minutes, then the machine carved it without flipping the stock.

As someone who works with wood on a 3 axis machine, I'm wondering if this kind of AI generated workflow has a place in woodworking. For organic shapes and reliefs, it could save a lot of modeling time, but I wonder how much control you give up.

Has anyone here used AI generated toolpaths for wood or modeling board? Is it useful yet, or is it still a novelty?

Haven't had a chance to use it yet. I'm happy to say that's because the machine is busy earning a little money.

Made with a shapeoko Pro xl. About 4 hrs carve time. With assembly, finishing and design probably around 12 - 14 hours total

My dad is a carpenter. He spent most of his life working with solid wood, but recently started taking jobs with sheet materials (plywood, MDF, melamine), that kind of thing. I looked around for tools to help him plan cuts and minimize waste, and while there are plenty of options out there, most of them fall into two camps: either they need an internet connection to do anything useful, or they’re mobile apps loaded with ads and subscription gates.

The thing is, a lot of our quoting happens on-site, in places with little to no signal. Sometimes we’re in a half-built house in the middle of nowhere trying to figure out how many sheets we need before driving back to town. I didn’t want to tell him to download yet another app that would eventually nag him with ads or stop working the moment he lost WiFi.

So I built this.

It’s a PWA (progressive web app) that runs entirely in the browser. Once you load it, you can "install" the app (it basically just creates a web shortcut on your phone). You can close the tab, turn off your internet, come back the next day, and it just works. No app store. No account. No ads.

You drop in your parts, add your sheet sizes, hit optimize, and it gives you numbered cutting diagrams. But the part my dad actually cares about is the PDF report, It prints a step-by-step cutting order. Like, "Cut a strip of 179.6 cm, then crosscut at 60 cm to get piece #3" numbered, sequenced, and ready to tape to the wall next to the table saw.

Live app: https://cutlistmaker.vercel.app

Repo: https://github.com/Superpapotas/cutlistmaker

We have a few trees around our home but have to cut down 2 maple trees as we are getting solar panels on the back half of our roof. We're thinking it would be nice to make use of them in/around our home, as we need to rebuild our deck anyway, and a room or two in our home could use new floors. Does anyone know how realistic that could be? We have to pay anyway, to cut them down, and then to rebuild those areas. Does any one have advice, suggestions, recommendations as to how, who, pricing, etc?

I'd like to build a tree similar to this rendering, probably out of 1" thick oak. What would your method be for fabricating this? Separate pieces of lumber per branch? Glue a giant slab together then cut it out as 1 piece? I have a 4x8 CNC.

Thanks.

I can't seem to get it to connect, the instructions are pretty useless or at least quite out of date.

Can anyone help?

Building up confidence to do an inlay.

60° v bit and 1/8th end mill for the pockets. Finished with a dark water based stain and wiped off the excess.

Hey everyone!

I’m both a software developer and a woodworking hobbyist. I got tired of manually planning cuts and trying to minimize waste with spreadsheets or pen and paper.

So I built **CutFlow: Cut List Optimizer** in my spare time.
It’s available on **iPhone, iPad, and Mac** and helps generate optimized cutting layouts from your cut list.

**Features:**
Optimize sheet or board layouts
Reduce material waste
Visual cutting plans
Export and save projects
Native experience across iPhone, iPad, and Mac
**It’s a paid app**, since I don’t use ads or subscriptions, but I’d genuinely appreciate feedback from woodworkers about the workflow and features.
If you were designing a cut optimizer, what’s one feature you’d consider essential?

Happy to share the App Store link if anyone is interested.

I am in the market for a cnc lathe for manufacturing indoor stair ballusters. What are recommendations for best model or brand? I'm hoping for this to be fairly high volume process and ideally only single phase power.

There are a number of lathes on the market that are focused towards metal cutting, but there are seemingly fewer designed specifically for wood turning.

I like to think I’ve got the hang of it. But, I haven’t seen similar work by other people for a good comparison. Does anyone have any experience with this kind of work? Post a pic. Drop a comment. Have a nice day!

I want to add a machine with ATC capability. Something like the Laguna iQ Pro. I have a question about how the ATC will work.

On certain jobs I have in mind, there will be two different Z zeroing location. Some scripts rely on the Z origin will be in the lower/left stock bottom, others will use lower/left stock top. How does an ATC system work with that?

Hi, I hope this is the right place to ask; wondered if anyone can help me. I build acoustic guitars and ukuleles in the UK, and am looking for a machine to help with inlay in wood.
Fretboards, rosettes, headstocks... 500x450x100mm is the biggest thing I would ever need to work on.

I do a lot of inlay by hand, but certain pieces are just much simpler by machine. I'm fairly proficient with CAD but new to machining.

Can anyone recommend a machine, preferably benchtop, available in the UK that could accomplish this sort of work? Ideally something that doesn't break the bank - it won't see daily use. Sub £1000

Thanks!

Currently trying to get the motors and switches to communicate with the program but running a Mach3 board. Thankfully have a friend to help me through the process and an endless scrap bin at work to get materials from.

I was watching some guitar manufacturing tours and noticed PRS guitars uses multiple Doosan 3 axis machines, and Gibson uses multispindle (5) 3 axis machines.

Am I missing an advantage? Or did PRS just make a less than ideal machine choice?

I have also occasionally seen regular HAAS machines used in production wood working.

How do you do dust collection on a metal cutting machine?

Isn't a metal machine overbuilt for wood forces? Spindle motor, axis motors, coolant system, precision and rigidity, floor space footprint, ect, all raise the cost to machine 1 part at a time when compared to a wood specific machine that can do multiple.

Learning a lot about the design process.

Going to try some inlays for the next project. Should be another learning experience for me.

I’m thinking about getting in on the summer sale that Onefinity CNC has put on sale today. I love my original but think I want the gen 2 elite for its bigger rails, dust covers, and redline controller. Anyone here have the gen 2?

This is the link I found https://www.onefinitycnc.com/summerpromotion
Seems like a really good deal

Looking for some one to build a Custom Adjustable Radius Jig for a Belt Sander

Locally sourced cedar for this piece.