MAS.863: How To Make (Almost) Anything

Week 4: WaterJet and ShopBot

Something not so big

Four book-binding jigs that I cut on the waterjet for my brother.

He sent me templates as Adobe Illustrator files, which I converted to PNG with Preview and then to DXF with cad.py.

The aluminum (1/8") on the water-jet, after the first jig was cut out.

The jig is used to cut book cloth at a 45 degree angle after it's been attached to the book boards. It's important to leave the right amount of space at the corner so the cloth meets when folded. Pictures from Jeff Peachey's tool catalog.

I also worked with Jonathan to try to cut one of his milling machines on the ShopBot.

Unfortunately, there was no 1/2" plywood (MDO) left, which was what the machine was designed for. Jonathan tried to adjust it for 3/8" plywood, which we had.

Together with Erik, I figured out how the pieces fit together. We're waiting to order the other parts before properly assembling the frame.