Think It. Make It. Podcast

In this episode, we have a special guest, Marissa Pasternak from The Burned Edge. Marissa and her husband Stephen have been running a successful Etsy business selling products that they make using traditional woodworking and a CO2 Laser. They have recently added a CNC to their shop and we are grateful that she was able ... Read more

In this episode, we discuss the best ways to price your products along with a lot of things to consider along the way. Is your business a Hobby? Or is it a true business? This is a content-packed episode and we hope you get a lot out of it as you build your CNC business.

In this episode, we discuss how having a CNC can lead to friends and family asking for favors and how to schedule this so it is not a major disruption to your business. We all want to help friends and it can be exciting to make things for people, especially when you first get your ... Read more

In this episode we discuss Bobby's Corn Hole Board and various ways to customize it for the logos that he wants to include. We also discuss the viability of this project and other ideas that could spin-off from it to expand the offerings to other markets. We discuss V Carve wood inlays as well as ... Read more

In this episode Erick and Greg discuss all the things you need to know and be aware of when you decide to buy or are considering to buy a CNC. While it is not hard by any means and we feel virtually anyone can learn and be successful with a CNC router, it is always ... Read more

This week Greg walks us through his pet memorial plaque project and we discuss some ways to improve his very cool concept. He has incorporated a lithophane into the center of the plaque with the photo of the pet. These will be very unique memorials for your furry loved ones. We discuss, in detail several ... Read more

This week we finally start to dive into the design and CAM of our projects. Erick will discuss how he intends to make his whole project with the CNC and no other power tools with the exception of a drill for the hinge screws and a palm sander before staining. He designed the project with ... Read more

This week has been crazy and we did not have a lot of time to spend on our Think It Make It Challenge projects, so we discussed some other things going on around the shop. We also spend some time talking about CNC In Education and our experiences over the last 8 years working with ... Read more

In this episode we discuss the real costs for Fusion 360 for the hobbyists. There is a lot of confusion over this and some think it is free for only the first year. We dive into this and hopefully clear this up for many of you. We also talk about Fusion 360 and Vectric V ... Read more

In this episode we continue discussing our Challenge projects and Greg has a complete new idea and finally settled into what his project is going to be. We discussed more details about features, materials and some possible challenges that we will each face with our projects. This episode is really good for anyone who is ... Read more

Well we had a week to think about what product we were going to make for our Think It. Make It. Challenge. For those of you that missed Episode 16, Greg, Bobby and Erick decided to have a friendly challenge amongst themselves to come up with a product and take you through the journey from ... Read more

After a long break, we are finally bringing the Think It. Make It. Podcast back on the air. There were a lot of things keeping us from getting the podcast done including moving our company, COVID issues and just plain being very busy. To make it easier for us to do on a weekly basis, ... Read more

Starting with a small, inexpensive CNC, Mike quickly grew his business into a full-time income which all began from his two-car garage. Using a STEPCRAFT Q.408 CNC System along with a host of other high-end tools, Mike creates some amazing custom signs and other woodworking projects. There are a lot of posts online where people ... Read more

Why do competitors do this? In all industries, a sales person will choose to concentrate on putting down a competitor’s product rather than focusing on what is good about their product. I have been on the receiving end of this type of a conversation more often then I would like. I have gone as far ... Read more

I had the privilege to talk with Stephanie Downing, Marketing Director and Adam James, Technical Director for Vectric Ltd. Vectric offers the world some of the easiest to use and most powerful design and CAM programs for CNC router users. Every other year they release a new major version of the software and the recent ... Read more

Andrew Griffing of Griffin Lee Artisans talks about all of the ways they have grown their business with a 2×4 CNC and now is planning to upgrade to a 4×8 CNC system for processing sheet work for projects such as kitchen cabinets.

After upgrading from a Stepcraft D-Series to a Q-Series CNC system, John went from absolutely no CNC experience to using his machine for his work in many different applications. He makes a lot of use out of attachments on the machine such as a 3D Touch Probe, Drag Knife, Hot Wire Foam Cutter and more. ... Read more

Bill Griggs is the founder of the CNC Router Tips group on Facebook with over 15,000 members and the creator of the CNC Router Tips Podcast. He also has a website called The Maker’s Guide on which he sells a device that he designed called the Triple Edge Finder. In this episode we discuss a ... Read more

In this episode I talk about the differences between a CNC router/milling machine and a 3D printer and why you might want one over the other… or perhaps both. There are a lot of things that each type of machine will do better than the other and there is a lot to consider when you ... Read more

Mike Winn is a first time CNC’er who has not only learned how to design and program his CNC machine, but he turned his hobby into a profitable business. As you can see from the photos below, Mike is very creative and produces some very high quality items on his machine. We discuss a lot ... Read more

Bob Warfield is a proven CNC expert and is the creator of www.CNCCookbook.com and the very popular G-Wizard Speed and Feed Calculator software. We are thankful for Bob taking the time to discuss his software, speeds and feeds and much more. Bob discusses how he started CNCCookbook and what led him to starting the G-Wizard ... Read more

In this episode, Lars Christensen and myself talked about Fusion 360 and the features and benefits that it has for CNC router users.   Lars has been with Autodesk for over 5 years now and is known around the world for his Fusion 360 tutorial videos on YouTube with over 100,000 subscribers.  In this episode we ... Read more

In this episode we discuss some basic things to consider and common questions from beginners when looking into getting a CNC. We go over the following: What computer/programming skills are required What type of computer you will need Kits vs Ready-to-Run vs DIY CNC machines Spindles vs Routers Your desired machine uses Long term goals ... Read more