CNC Journal

7 ways to tell your CNC Story

Legacy — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:35:00 +0000

In this ecomony everyone is always searching for ways to promote themselves and find more avenues for income. Some of the most effective ways to promote yourself are free. I will highlight a few of them here.

1- Become a Legacy Featured Artist. This is a great way to be able to talk with your customers and be able to say my work has been published. Being able to say this helps instill confidence in the potential customer and he is more likely to choose you because of it.

2- YouTube videos. With the rise of the smart phones, uploading videos to YouTube has become fast and easy with little or no editing.

3- Facebook postings. With everyone "plugged-in" these days Facebook has become a place where people go to find out about the newest products and services. Recently my wife posted some of her crafts on facebook just to show her friends, she has since recieved several e-mails asking if she will make more to sell. This style of "viral-marketing" is becoming more and more powerful.

4- Twitter. Tweeting is the newest way to talk. If people like what you have to say they can even re-tweet your posting. On twitter you can only use text so to use Twitter to your best advantage I use links and tweet out my pictures and videos from Facebook or YouTube.

5- Send in your Tips. This is a great way to get published. Many of our customers are much more clever than we are and have many great ideas on how to add jigs, make fixtures, DIY dust control and so on. We will be taking one tip a month and spotlight it in our e-mails. you can see all the tips on our forum.

6- Guest Instructor. Each week Legacy puts on two live online training classes. If you have a project or technique you want to share you could be our next guest intructor. Our online classes are growing each week and we are always looking for people that are willing to share their CNC experience. In the past we have had Dan Johnson teach a class on hollow spiral finials and Chris from Wheat State Wood Designs show us how to build a beautiful croquet set. You could be our next guest instructor. Contact John at john@legacywoodworking.com if you are interested.

7- Americas Hobbies. I just found out about this site through Jared Willoghby one of my customers. You can see his video here. He mentioned that with the posting of just one short video that his market has expanded across the USA.

Selling yourself is at least as important as selling your product for success. People buy for several reasons; they trust the seller, they like the sellers product, they have a need for the product, and they want to be proud of what they bought. By telling your CNC story you can have the confidence to say, "Yes, I can do that".

CNC Contest

Legacy — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:16:41 +0000

It is time to show off what you are doing with your CNC. Send pictures of you and your projects to contest@legacywoodworking.com and win the complete CNC Carving bit set. This set includes 4 tapered carving bits; 0.03 diameter, 0.06 diameter, 0.09 diameter and 0.12 diameter,that's a 250.00 value!

Investing Strategies

Legacy — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:28:21 +0000

Can you do better investing in the Stock Market or Investing in a Legacy 5-Axis Hybrid CNC? In this video we layout a business model and opportunity with a potential rate of return (ROI) on your investment that will surprise you. One of the best aspects of investing in yourself, besides the incredible potential rate of return, is that you are in control.

The CNC Experience - Building a Curved Front Cabinet (Week 2)

Legacy — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:46:06 +0000

Step Four - Mill the straight and curved moldings for the base and top of the cabinet.

The first step in creating the curved molding along the font of the base and top of the cabinet was to draw the curve in my CAD system.

The drawing above shows the base with bracket feet. I'll use the line at the front of the molding to create my tool paths in Aspire.

The CNC Experience - Building a Curved Front Cabinet (Week 1)

Legacy — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:01:48 +0000

Why CNC?

Over the past few years, as I've urged woodworkers to consider adding CNC equipment to their workshop, I've heard objections like these:

CNC routers are only useful for processing sheet goods.
CNC systems cost too much, I wouldn't get a good return on my investment.
I don't have the computer skills to run a piece of CNC equipment.
I already have a shop full of great equipment, the perfect shop in fact, why do I need a CNC router?
Automation is the enemy of creativity; I don't want my projects to look like they came out of a cookie cutter.

The CNC Experience

As I think about the best way to answer these questions I always come to the same conclusion. You have to experience CNC woodworking to really understand the advantages, the power, and the pure fun involved.

My Qualifications

First, let me say that I'm not an expert furniture designer or a world renowned woodworker, or even an author with several successful woodworking books in print. So, why am I writing a column on CNC woodworking? I know CNC equipment and processes. For the past 30 years I've used many different types of CNC equipment and CAD/CAM software to solve manufacturing problems and produce profits.

Purpose of This Column

Obviously, the very best way to experience CNC woodworking is to come to our factory and test drive a Legacy CNC woodworking system. Nothing beats real "Hands-on" experience; however, not everyone can make the trip to Utah, so I'll endeavor, in this column, to share the experience with you in print form. To do this I'll be building a series of projects.

Risk Management

Legacy — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:32:45 +0000

In these uncertain times, risk management is more critical than ever. We often focus on the risk of over-reaching: What will happen if I expand now? Should I wait until things begin to pick up before I purchase new equipment? Will I gain more market share or will my income remain the same? What if I buy new equipment and the market stays flat? How will I pay for the new equipment? These are very important questions to ask when evaluating the risk of expansion or purchasing new equipment, but if we are going to take a complete look at risk, there are a few more questions to ask. If I put off my plans to expand, will I still have the same opportunities? Is my competition planning to expand right now? Will they expand and take some of my customers? How will this loss of business affect my future?

Risk Verses Reward

Overreach and you risk adding to your troubles, under achieve and you risk being left behind in a super competitive marketplace. Make the right choice and good things happen, make the wrong choice and a bad

Live Online Training Test

Legacy — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 16:56:03 +0000

Nothing can beat hands-on training; however, coming to Legacy's facility in Springville, UT for training is not always practical. On Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 6:00 pm Eastern Time, Legacy will be testing a live online training session. Class size is limited and will be offered to everyone who request an invitation on a first come first serve basis starting with Legacy customers and then open to everyone while spots are available. To request an invitation and reserve your spot use the Live Online Training Request email form found on the Contact Us page. Request to participate in this first class must be received by Sunday March 13, 2011 so that we can respond to your request and organize the class. If you are accepted you will receive an email 30 - 15 minutes prior to the start of class (5:30 pm - 5:45 pm Eastern Time) containing a link to the class. Once you click on the link you will be taken immediately into the class. The class will start at 6:00 Eastern Time and go until 6:30 with 15 minutes of Q&A following the class starting at 6:30 pm and ending at 6:45 pm Eastern Time.

The first class will be on creating a home location for the A-Axis using the G28 code. If, for example, you use a four jaw chuck and change the X-Axis home location so that you don't crash the cutting tool into the chuck, or if you inadvertently change the home location by mistake, you can easily return to the permanent home location and reset the coordinates.

The purpose of this first class is to test the chat, conference call, file sharing and control sharing capabilities of the program. We will attempt to record the class allowing Legacy to post the video on our website for later review.

We look forward to seeing you in class and examining the possibilities of the live online training.

Tracy Anderson
Legacy Woodworking Machinery

Remote Access Software Installation

Legacy — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 22:32:38 +0000

Any computer shipped from Legacy after 03/01/2011 will have the new Remote Access software installed and ready for technical assistance via the internet.

Remote Access software allows Legacy to log on to your CNC, update files, set parameters and fix problems. The software requires access to the internet which can be setup with either an ethernet cable or wireless connection. Once your computer is hooked up to the internet you can download the program from Legacy's website by logging in and clicking on Customer / Downloads / Software / Remote Access Software / LogMeIn.msi or Legacy can send an email with the download link. If you prefer to recieve an email with the download link please send an email to tracy@legacywoodworking.com. You do not need to install LogMeIn if your system was shipped after 03/01/2011. If you have any questions contact Legacy to see if your system is already setup for Remote Access. To install the Remote Access Software follow these instructions paying close attention to steps 12 and 13:

Section 179 - The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Legacy — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:23:16 +0000

Over the last two years a number of Legacy customers took advantage of the Section 179 tax deduction when purchasing their Legacy CNC. If you are not familiar with Section 179 then you should definitely study up and/or talk your accountant. Section 179 basically allows you to write off the full cost of the CNC this year significantly reducing the initial cost of ownership. If you are in a 15% tax bracket and can deduct the full purchase price, then you are essentially getting a 15% savings off the price of the machine. A great resource of information is the website http://www.section179.org. There you will find information on what types of property qualify for the deduction and "electing the deduction". It is important that you get the proper form (4652) and attach it to you tax return. You can download the forms and get all of the information you need at www.section179.org. This year may be a once in a lifetime opportunity.

When combined with financing or leasing, the section 179 tax deduction allows a business to minimize the first year net cost. In many cases the first year is basically free.

The Woodworking Bucket List

Legacy — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:09:46 +0000

One of the things that I enjoy most about working in the woodworking industry is the opportunity to meet and talk with woodworkers from all over the world. Woodworkers have a passion for what they do that is different than any other industry that I have worked in. Woodworking is more than a hobby, it's more than job or an occupation, it's a combination of passion, art, architecture, design, craft and self expression that has been with us from the beginning of history. Recently I spoke with one of our customers who stated that the reason he was purchasing a Legacy CNC was because he figured he had about ten good productive years ahead of him and he wanted to get the most out of that time. As I thought about what he said, I began to make a mental bucket list. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that woodworking played a major role in what I wanted to experience and accomplish in my life. I decided to create a woodworking bucket list and here is what I came up with.