Once the glue has set, the mug is roughly sanded using a drum sander and then finished by hand sanding. The back of the top ring is notched to allow easier access to the tumbler when drinking. The sides of mug rings number 2 & 8 (counted down from the top) are notched so that the axe handle can be glued into place. The mug handle is cut and then hand sanded to resemble an axe. The bottom ring has an inside lip to prevent the tumbler from sliding all the way through. Once the 10 rings were cut, I pinned them together using a ¼ dowel rod and glued them together to create the mug. If I am feeling energetic, I work on assembling the mug while the face is being carved.ĭue to the design of the mug it was quite easy to assemble and finish. All in all, it takes the cutting/carving process about 7 hours to complete. It amazes me how much detail you can get using a ball nose bit. The second pass on the Viking face is a finish machine tool path using a 6.2 tapered ball nose bit ran at 12000 RPM 40 IPM feed rate. 25 end mill ran at 12000 rpm, 100 IPM feed rate. The first pass on the Viking face was a roughing machine tool path using a. I cut the mug rings, guide peg holes, and axe handle using a 0.25 endmill, 12000 RPM, 100 IPM feed rate.
Another favourite feature is that the software warns you if the toolpath will cut entirely through the material. It is also nice to be able to save the projected image, which allows me to share it with the recipient and make any needed changes before starting the cutting process, it’s a real time saver.
A favourite feature of the software was being able to see how the toolpaths will cut before investing time and material. I imported the basic design into Aspire and created precise vectors and the toolpaths using the imported file as a guide. I drew out quick designs in Xara Photo & Graphic Designer as it allowed me to use a drawing tablet. I am contemplating making a mug using the wizard and/or dragon models included in Vectric’s clipart collection.ĭesigning it was a smooth process. Of course, many different models could be placed on the front of the cup using the same process. I sourced the screaming Viking face model on Etsy and resized it to a depth of 1.5 inches using Aspire. All material was purchased from a local big box store. I could have used a harder wood, but a few nicks and dinks which will be accumulated during its use will add to the Viking facade. A piece of 1.5 inch pine is used for the Viking face. With this project I used ¾ inch pine for the cup rings and handle. I soon realized that a custom mug is a must-have for game nights and made a few of mugs for my grandkids. I noticed quite a few interesting mugs, many of them homemade and thought it would be fun to design my own mug. Inspiration came while attending a Renaissance festival and later an Octoberfest festival. Now that we know a bit about his background, we couldn’t wait to find out all about the project that captured our attention… Stephen’s fascination and love for how things are made was sparked from an early age and we can see that it has not left him since. I started with VCarve Desktop and upgraded to Aspire a couple of years later as I wanted the ability to create my own models. I consider the blending of computers and woodworking a match made in heaven. I bought a Next Wave Automation – Shark CNC several weeks after seeing the in-store demo. I got into CNC as a hobby after watching some YouTube videos and seeing some real-life examples at the local woodworking store. CNC’s and today’s software have brought back some of the childhood tinker’s magic I experienced as a boy. I am now 60 years old and have been using a CNC for the last four or five years, more actively during the past two years. I loved the look & feel of the old hand tools, each with its own story to tell. I remember poking around my father’s workshops intrigued by the projects scattered across his workbenches. My love of tinkering began when I was ten or twelve years old. I have been self-employed for the past ten years, designing and running websites for a living. My employment background is in Information Technology, my last corporate job was in Data Centre Facilities Management.