jacqui
01-20-2009, 07:57 AM
PURCHASING A CNC TOOL- A WIFE’S PERSPECTIVE
A few years ago, my husband came up with the brilliant idea of purchasing a laser engraving machine. While I understood his reasoning and how he planned on implementing it in his business, I must confess I was scared. After all, this is a man who is on a first name basis with the entire Fire Department in our town and the visions of ‘Dr. Evil’ and his laser beam did nothing to quell my fears.
Surprisingly, he did well with it… at first. He made his boat placards, engraved custom logo’s onto barware among other items and created a nice little niche for himself. Last September however, he decided he wanted to ‘expand’ his current line of goodies and add a new piece of machinery. He wasn’t sure yet what he would like to do, but the answer came to him after the fire. Oh… what fire was that you ask? That would be the fire the laser started and that nearly burned our house and shop down to the ground. Once again, the Fire Department was lining our driveway, shaking their heads at us.
It was during the subsequent filing of insurance claims that he began looking at CNC tools and machines. Being the quintessential scaredy cat that I am (and really… could you blame me?), I had questions – a LOT of questions.
What is a CNC tool?
What can you make with it that will turn some sort of profit?
How much are they?
But perhaps my most important question was ‘Will it burn our house down and raise our insurance rate AGAIN??’
Surprisingly, my husband decided to do a bit of research. He found a web-site for Shop-Bot and compared them to other manufacturers and made the trip to North Carolina to see them in person. Needless to say he was impressed with the machines. He was even more impressed at the way they approached their business. He came home excited at the prospect of owning one, but I was still skeptical. He then decided to take me to their training seminar so I could see firsthand how wonderful and glorious these machines are. He was like a high school boy in the throes of young love.
He signed us up for the training class and we made the trek to the Shop-Bot facility for their two day training class. I was the only woman in that class, surrounded by men that were no different from my husband and quite frankly, I only wanted to go shopping for shoes. As I sat through the class and watched the demonstrations however, I came to understand a few things.
1.
A few years ago, my husband came up with the brilliant idea of purchasing a laser engraving machine. While I understood his reasoning and how he planned on implementing it in his business, I must confess I was scared. After all, this is a man who is on a first name basis with the entire Fire Department in our town and the visions of ‘Dr. Evil’ and his laser beam did nothing to quell my fears.
Surprisingly, he did well with it… at first. He made his boat placards, engraved custom logo’s onto barware among other items and created a nice little niche for himself. Last September however, he decided he wanted to ‘expand’ his current line of goodies and add a new piece of machinery. He wasn’t sure yet what he would like to do, but the answer came to him after the fire. Oh… what fire was that you ask? That would be the fire the laser started and that nearly burned our house and shop down to the ground. Once again, the Fire Department was lining our driveway, shaking their heads at us.
It was during the subsequent filing of insurance claims that he began looking at CNC tools and machines. Being the quintessential scaredy cat that I am (and really… could you blame me?), I had questions – a LOT of questions.
What is a CNC tool?
What can you make with it that will turn some sort of profit?
How much are they?
But perhaps my most important question was ‘Will it burn our house down and raise our insurance rate AGAIN??’
Surprisingly, my husband decided to do a bit of research. He found a web-site for Shop-Bot and compared them to other manufacturers and made the trip to North Carolina to see them in person. Needless to say he was impressed with the machines. He was even more impressed at the way they approached their business. He came home excited at the prospect of owning one, but I was still skeptical. He then decided to take me to their training seminar so I could see firsthand how wonderful and glorious these machines are. He was like a high school boy in the throes of young love.
He signed us up for the training class and we made the trek to the Shop-Bot facility for their two day training class. I was the only woman in that class, surrounded by men that were no different from my husband and quite frankly, I only wanted to go shopping for shoes. As I sat through the class and watched the demonstrations however, I came to understand a few things.
1.