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twixter
10-25-2007, 12:08 PM
Hi there. I don't have a machine, just window shopping. I have some projects in mind which would require drilling. Are there any plans to include this feature in a future model?

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/8508/twixtboardsectionqv7.png

Thanks!

Jeff_Birt
10-25-2007, 12:26 PM
twister,

The machine has a drilling function currently. Maybe if you were more specific about your needs, someone could be of more help.

twixter
10-25-2007, 01:37 PM
Ah, thanks! Maybe the advertisement should mention drilling. I want to make a game board which consists of a 24x24 square grid of holes minus the corner holes, for a total of 572 holes. These holes need to be drilled accurately and uniformly. I'm also looking for ways to make the pieces. There are two types of pieces, towers and links. Each tower is a cylinder with a peg on the bottom which fits into a hole on the board, and with an open hole on top which the links fit into. The links are supposed to be placed between two pegs at opposite corners of a six-hole rectangle, like a knight's move in chess. Ideally, it should not be physically possible to place a link between two pegs which are incorrectly spaced. Here is an image of a virtual set, created with POV-Ray:

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/6286/twixtboard1851325ic.jpg

The smaller image in my previous post is a close-up. A board 14.5" on a side would be fine, although this is slightly smaller than commercial sets. The holes should be deep enough to hold the towers securely, but not so deep as to make placing and removing them awkward.

So, drilling would be required not only for the board, but for the towers as well. Perhaps it would make more sense if I cut and drill some dowel rods. Note the link shown off the board. Its ends are designed to point "down" into the tower holes.

Does this sound feasible? Thanks again!

jlitz
10-25-2007, 06:51 PM
The machine will gladly drill that many holes fairly accurately. Though, setting up the layout will take some time with Designer since it does not have copy & paste with offset.

twixter
10-25-2007, 09:06 PM
By the time I can afford it, maybe the software will have improved. I read elsewhere that there are eight bits that come with the machine. I though those were carving bits, but apparently there is at least one drilling bit. But there are so many different sizes for drilling. Would I be able to use my own drill bits? drill bits have been very well standardized in terms of hole size. There's almost no variation, as there might be with carving bits from another supplier.

What about drilling and carving the two types of pieces? I would like to carve out a batch from a single slab of something. I would need to carve out both sides and end up with a bunch of pieces which I can manually break off and file/sand the break-off spots. Has anyone done something similar?

Thanks for all your help!

TIMCOSBY
10-25-2007, 10:29 PM
the machine comes with two bits a cutting bit (1/8" looks like an end mill with the staight side) and a carving bit that tapers to a point. i think you could do what yau are thinking about. it will carve, cut, joint the edges and make the corners 90 degrees, drill, route and more...
designer lets work from both the front and back of the board and the machine tells you when to flip the work peice. the cut path command will leave tabs to hold the peices (don't know about really small peices though)

oldjoe
10-26-2007, 06:51 AM
Looks like an interesting game idea. Is it yours? What size hole are you needing? And how deep are they do they go all the way thru the board?
If it is an odd size other then 1/4" , 1/8", or 1/16" it could take a while. But the machine will do it just fine. Did a check fixture for work once holes came out with in .005 on the location. Diameter veried a little but not bad.
Let us know if and when you get your machine and we will be here to help.
Good Luck with the game

Gman_Ind
10-26-2007, 07:28 AM
And older copy of the demo software has copy offset feature, this might work well for making your grid of holes. A nice added feature of the machine is you can add details like text or images the board might normally have silk screened on . The machie is shipped with two bits, 1/16" carving bit and 1/8" flat bottom mill. Other bitas and adapters are avaialbe from Sears, and a member on this forum (Rick) makes a great 1/8" adapter for holding the finer bits.

twixter
10-26-2007, 08:02 AM
Looks like an interesting game idea. Is it yours? What size hole are you needing? And how deep are they do they go all the way thru the board?

This game is called Twixt, invented by Alex Randolph around 1961. I have been hooked on it since 1967. The game is now owned by Hasbro, but they don't make it. I just want to make some sets for myself and some fellow players. I had no role in developing the game.

It looks like the 1/8" cutting bit would work. The holes won't go completely through the board, just deep enough for the pegs on the towers. You can see a tower lying on its side off the board on the large image.

Thanks very much for your help!

Digitalwoodshop
10-26-2007, 11:19 AM
Using the grid function and the snap to function along with copy and paste you could quickly make this in designer.

You could tell the computer you are using a 1/8 inch drill bit and since the hole size is less than a 1/8 inch just get the proper size drill bit and an adapter.

A hole bigger than 1/8 inch and the 1/8 inch bit goes down the center then expands to the size hole then repeats.

Remember to always select Center Grid.



AL