POTD- PROJECT OF THE DAY: What Did You Make In Your Shop Today?

[pontiac428]

Mach 3 is a purchase. I've had it for a few years and haven't had to renew a subscription. It's gone up in price to $175, but you'll own it.

You are right, I shouldn't tar them all with the same brush. Mach3 is a one-time, and so are the add-ons.

 

[Just for fun]

I had a little problem with the front frame horn on my Bronco project, I needed a little porta power which I didn't have. I couldn't get the bumper to fit, seems the frame was dented a little. I decided to build a manual unit, and it worked great.







Then I decided I needed some extra light at my portable band saw. Hey, that little sleeve thing should work.... My light fit perfectly, I drilled and taped it, bolted it up to a magnet and Bobs your uncle!

 

[Gnpenning]

I had a little problem with the front frame horn on my Bronco project, I needed a little porta power which I didn't have. I couldn't get the bumper to fit, seems the frame was dented a little. I decided to build a manual unit, and it worked great.

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View attachment 437628

Then I decided I needed some extra light at my portable band saw. Hey, that little sleeve thing should work.... My light fit perfectly, I drilled and taped it, bolted it up to a magnet and Bobs your uncle!

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Great idea for the light mount.

Now about that Bronco... A little more info and pictures please. Looks like a C4

 

[dkemppai]

Rent-to-own is a scheme, but this is something even more predatory. It's rent-to-oblivion, where if you don't pay your rent, your tools disappear into oblivion. I do not like...

Edit: FreeCAD is probably my next step.

Let us know how free cad works out for you. I tried it, and LibreCAD a few years ago. I wasn't impressed with either of them.
LibreCAD was really bad, they kept reverting bugs back into the updates. Not something I'm willing to suffer through.

I really like the idea of open source software. But the reality is, unless the leadership has their game together, it can be really bad. At the end of the day, I need software to get things done. I can't afford to spend endless hours helping someone find a bug that gets reverted back in on the next version. At shop rate (even in the hobby shop) it's easy to burn up $500 in time fighting software. That's better spent elsewhere.

 

[ChazzC]

All of this discussion makes happy I'm Mac-based and found MacDraft.

 

[francist]

I'm Mac-based and found MacDraft.

Gosh is that still around? I was fooling around with that on a little SE thirty years ago!

 

[WobblyHand]

Let us know how free cad works out for you. I tried it, and LibreCAD a few years ago. I wasn't impressed with either of them.
LibreCAD was really bad, they kept reverting bugs back into the updates. Not something I'm willing to suffer through.

I really like the idea of open source software. But the reality is, unless the leadership has their game together, it can be really bad. At the end of the day, I need software to get things done. I can't afford to spend endless hours helping someone find a bug that gets reverted back in on the next version. At shop rate (even in the hobby shop) it's easy to burn up $500 in time fighting software. That's better spent elsewhere.

LibreCAD when I tried it was 2D. I could make a few drawings, but it wasn't a 3D modeling system. I really needed a 3D CAD for the tasks I needed to do.

FreeCAD was hard for me to learn, but I persevered over three weeks and it finally clicked. During those three weeks I put on headphones to block out any sounds or interruptions and slowly went through the videos, some times replaying multiple times at reduced speed so I could see what the presenter was doing. Some of the videos took me two days to understand, others were quick.

I had never done 3D CAD before, so some of the concepts were hard for me to grasp. But I slogged through it. There's still stuff that I have trouble with, namely the local plane orientations, which somehow continue to baffle me as I don't find them intuitive. But all the ordinary stuff is now relatively easy for me. I found learning 3D CAD also enhanced my understanding how to machine some items, simply because I could now see several ways to generate the surfaces.

 

[rwdenney]

All this talk of software issues reminds me of the issues I've had with photography editing software. I finally caved and subscribed to Photoshop after trying the alternatives when Adobe switched to the subscription model. It's just too good, particularly for making high-quality properly color-corrected prints, compared to the competition. But I resisted as long as I could.

But I still have a drafting table and all my supplies for stuff I make. I'm glad I learned drafting well enough in the deeps of time to do it professionally--I don't find that I have to model something in 3D to understand the shape when I can draft it with orthogonal views. And, truth be told, visualizing how software is dealing with three dimensions on a flat screen is more difficult that constructing the third dimension in my head. Cheapie CAD or even an old copy of Corel Draw is enough if I want to use the computer to make measurements for me.

I reserve the right to change my mind in the future, but I'd rather be in the shop than at the computer.

Rick "but still has never rebuilt the photo darkroom since the last move 25 years ago" Denney

 

[WobblyHand]

All this talk of software issues reminds me of the issues I've had with photography editing software. I finally caved and subscribed to Photoshop after trying the alternatives when Adobe switched to the subscription model. It's just too good, particularly for making high-quality properly color-corrected prints, compared to the competition. But I resisted as long as I could.

But I still have a drafting table and all my supplies for stuff I make. I'm glad I learned drafting well enough in the deeps of time to do it professionally--I don't find that I have to model something in 3D to understand the shape when I can draft it with orthogonal views. And, truth be told, visualizing how software is dealing with three dimensions on a flat screen is more difficult that constructing the third dimension in my head. Cheapie CAD or even an old copy of Corel Draw is enough if I want to use the computer to make measurements for me.

I reserve the right to change my mind in the future, but I'd rather be in the shop than at the computer.

Rick "but still has never rebuilt the photo darkroom since the last move 25 years ago" Denney

For simple stuff a paper napkin and a sketch is great. But for more complicated assemblies I need something like 3D to assist me. Might be a crutch, but it helps me get stuff done.

 

[Eyerelief]

For simple stuff a paper napkin and a sketch is great. But for more complicated assemblies I need something like 3D to assist me. Might be a crutch, but it helps me get stuff done.

I'm with you. I find that I can avoid more traps and pitfalls by CAD drawing things first. Sometimes it seems like the long way around but when it reveals an issue I haven't thought of I feel glad I did it.

Don't know if I'm lazier than I think or just a dimwit, but I cant see beyond the next beer...........
Wait a minute! I think this means I am too lazy to even acknowledge how lazy I am!