CNC router machine has made wood cutting significantly convenient for woodworkers. Apart from them, a lot of creative (and patient to be honest!) hobbyists have also developed a great liking for CNC routers as their passion for DIY wood furniture is largely addressed. This article is focused on such individuals. However, if you are a newbie to the wood cutting world and need a basic level understanding of CNC routers, we have got you covered as well.
Why Use CNC Router for DIY Wood Furniture?
It is true that CNC routers have greater utilization at the industrial level. However, making use of these routers for DIY furniture brings several advantages to you.
Complete Freedom to Showcase your Creativity
While shopping for furniture, you have, to some extent, compromised on the creativity it depicts. You see the product but were not present while it was being manufactured. As a result, you are not completely satisfied. Having a CNC router at home puts you in the driver’s seat. You can cut, mould, and carve as per your own liking. If you are experienced enough in wood cutting, having a CNC router is ideal.
Affordable Option
This is another catchy feature of having a CNC router. Furniture shopping as per your own liking can get a little hefty considering the price. On the contrary, designing something just requires you to purchase raw material and the required tools. If you are passionate enough, that won’t be a hurdle for you while allowing you to save big bucks.
What DIY Wood Furniture can you build?
Let’s not wait for any further and take a walkthrough of what among the DIY furniture products can be crafted by leveraging CNC routers.
Wooden Wardrobe: Give your Room a Whole New Outlook
Any bedroom is incomplete till it has a wardrobe. You have loads of clothes that need to be racked in a sane order and this is where a wooden wardrobe comes into play. So, you go to a furniture shop and ask about the price of a wardrobe you like. However, a more affordable option is to create one yourself. This way, you do not have to compromise on the creative touch it has. Following the traditional wood cutting process, you’ll prefer buying one from a shop because of the manual effort it requires.
At this point, CNC furniture making comes to your aid. By following a simple 3-step process, you can showcase your creativity and passion for woodcutting via a wardrobe. Among all the steps, the first two are the most crucial. This is because the last step includes the automated mechanism of a DIY build CNC machine transforming your input into the desired product.
The first step involves the selection of tools. This is solely dependent on what type of product you want. Although a CNC machine gets the job real quick, it is the utilization of suitable tools that add precision. There are finishing bits and engraving bits. You have to be clear about the bottom and edges of the bits you are going to use.
Once the right selection is made, you have to input the digital design into the machine. You just need to input what you need and leave the rest to your router.
Coffee Tables: Add more Joy to your Mornings
Decorative coffee tables also come as essential to your living room. Having a view from the window while enjoying your coffee makes your mornings and evenings equally joyful. In addition, coffee tables are one of the highly customizable DIY wood furniture products. A lot of engraving and carving are involved as you see different styles of these tables on the top as well as the bottom.
Therefore, while designing your coffee table with a CNC router, make sure you are equipped with the right bits and mills. Moreover, you must carefully choose whether you want to stain or paint the product. If these selections are made right, you are on your way to being a creative hobbyist.
Bookshelves: Organize your Collection as you like
A large percentage of creativity comes from reading. This requires a whole collection of your befriended books. Placing your collection in the desired order requires a bookshelf, which falls among the CNC furniture making products.
However, building a bookshelf while using your CNC router is something easier said than done. This is due to the bookshelves including several hexagons which requires you to program the router precisely. Experienced or not, the creation of a bookshelf comes as a pretty time-consuming task. Each shelf needs handling at an individual level which takes a significant amount of time.
At the same time, it gives you more freedom to express your creative skills and you can program each shelf as per your own liking. Therefore, it is a suitable trade-off for wood making enthusiasts.
Study Tables: Impress the Little Ones with your Creative Skills
Study tables act as one of the steppingstones for the learning and development of your children. No matter what other part of furniture you have around, if there are kids, study tables are a necessity. Creating one with your CNC router at home comes as a viable option considering the affordability and design aspects. Gather the plywood material and a DIY build CNC machine and off you go with the creation.
Kids have a keener eye for creativity and no one understands this factor better than a parent. If you are one as well as a woodworking enthusiast, it forms a perfect combination to design a study table for your kids. You know what they like and what sort of engraving and carving would come into play. You just have to tell it to your CNC machine by programming it as per your requirements.
The Takeaway
The introduction of CNC routers has significantly eased woodcutting for industrial workers as well as hobbyists. Its ability to facilitate DIY wood furniture has brought a large number of enthusiasts to the fore as well. Although time-consuming, designing DIY furniture products at home with the freedom to express your creativity has come as a valuable trade-off. In this article, we took a detailed look into why CNC routers should be used for DIY products while including a number of products you can design at home.
Read more about protecting your wood from burns while using a CNC router.