Shaper Origin (2023 Update)

[Leon]

Soooo my wife wanted several serving dish holders. Those things that hold candy, dishes, small decorate plates, and or what ever. She found a design with dowel rods to separate each piece.

I'm making a similar design with adjustable width and adjustable spacing. Several dowels, 12~16 or so in each holder with a double row of holes to custom fit/space for each piece.

So 8 bases with 29 holes in each. I needed to drill approximately 232 holes 5/8" deep in MDO and they needed to be snug but not tight for the

6, 4' dowel pins that I will cut to shorter lengths. And of course the dowels are all a little bit different in diameter.

So I determined that I needed to drill .395" and or 79/200" holes and good lock finding a bit to drill that size.

That is where the Shaper Origin came into play. No computer work needed to lay out the 29 holes along each of the 2"x 15" long bases. All on board tools did the job.

[krw]

Hell, I have a shotgun that'll do that.

25/64 is 4mils undersize. 10m is 1mil undersize. Seems a stroke or two of sandpaper would take care of that. A small taper might be a good idea too.

What happens to the holes after the base and dowels are finished or the humidity changes? I know you live Houston where the humidity is

95% year 'round but...

[DerbyDad03]

I did this on a drill press with a paper pattern taped to the board. Can you say "tedious"?

How would your tool have handled that task? What process would be followed?

[Leon]

;~)

I thought of a taper but it would still fit relatively tightly and I don't want to be involved with adjustments, if you know what I mean.

Well we are never not in conditioned comfort inside our home, RH is currently 54% inside, and a relatively dirt dry 65% outside. Mornings outside are typically about 95%

[Leon]

Thank you.

Tesious! nope I can't. tedious, YES! ;~)

Padauk and Maple?

In your case I would have drawn it in Sketchup, converted and saved as a SVG file and imported it into the Origin. It has WiFi.

And I would have used a 1/8" bit, assuming the holes are at least 1/8" in diameter.

I did my holes, 27/200" using a 1/4" bit. Because the holes were smaller than the target zone on the Origin screen I only had to hover the 1/2" diameter aiming circle over the target. The Origin recognized that the holes were smaller than the aiming circle and offered the "helix" cutting option.

Normally you hover over the area to be cut, press the plunge button one time and then follow the pattern on the screen. Since the pattern was small, I double pressed the plunge button and the Origin plunged and then cut, in a circular, to the desired diameter, automatically. Then I hit the retract button and moved to the next target to be cut. Repeat.

As long as the targeted area is less than 1/2" in diameter, you do not have to move the Origin, most of the time.

Much easier to do it than explain it. :~)

Finished product. Not for display, just to organize behind cabinet doors.

[DerbyDad03]

Yes

What if you already had a picture or PDF of the layout? e.g.

1/8" works for the metal pegs I bought.

[krw]

[Leon]

It has to be a file with coordinates and measurements built in. Unless you form a grid that is spaced as closely as the holes in the pic. Then each hole could be copy pasted at the intersections of the grid. But that would be much much slower than actually drilling the holes. Better to draw and import all of the target points.

So if you import the file into Origin and the bit is the correct size then it would be like using a drill press except the origin would be dead on accurate for placement. You would still press the plunge button and the retract button for each hole and move the Origin to the approximate location of the next target hole. It would hone in on the exact location.

[DerbyDad03]

Make sense.

Almost on the same level of tediousness, but much less stress. Mess up once on the drill press and you can toss the board in the fire pit.

Could you mess it up with a misplacement or is it pretty much idiot...errr...I mean wandering mind proof?

Compared to standing at the drill press and lining up each hole, how hard is it to aim the Origin? Are you leaning over it looking through a small window trying to find each target?

[Leon]

Exactly

Unless the Origin recognizes that it can cut where it is suppose to cut it will no plunge when you press the plunge button. On the Origin screen you can zoom out and see the layout and where it is suppose to cut. When you get ready to cut and you hover over the correct spot the screen zooms in and the area to be cut changes color, green IIRC to indicate the locked in position to cut. Once cut the spot turns blue. Then move close enough for the next hole to turn green. In the case that the holes are really close together the one it targets will have a suggested route to follow, like on a long line. On a circle close to another it picks the one closest to the center of the aiming circle and off you go.

Wandering mind. If you move the Origin beyond where it will correct it will immediately retract the bit. If you move the Origin while it is cutting a 1/8" hole it will move the spindle to correct up until you move the unit so much that the target is no longer in the aiming circle.

Clear a mud? ;~)

Easy, No, you are looking at a screen about the size of a smart phone and it is at an angle so you do not have to look down onto the screen. Everything you need to see is easy to see on the screen. In fact you cannot really watch the actual cutting.

Aiming is no issue, just get close, the Origin will move up to 1/2 along the x,y axis to correct. The interesting part is doing a spot small enough for the aiming circle to make all of the cuts, a hole or text for instance. You push the plunge button and the Origin does all of the moving by itself. You do have to hold it in place as the resistance will cause the Origin to move.

[DerbyDad03]

Pretty cool. I'd love to play with one someday. No way I could justify buying one.

[Leon]

Well the possibilities are almost endless. And the right single job could pay for the tool.

[DerbyDad03]

Hugs from the kids are worth more than any dollar amount imaginable, but for some reason Bank Of America doesn't accept them as payment. ;-)

[Leon]

There is certainly that, KIDS!

I have seen a floor that was embellished with an Origin and that embellishment alone, after the floor was installed, would have more than paid for the Origin. I suspect a day for design and 2~3 days for the actual work.

The design apparently was in a music room. The floor IIRC was maple and the inlay was probably walnut. The design was a flowing whimsical line of music with notes and the grand staff at the beginning. This went across the length of the room.