I use a more error proof method to tile the forms in the CNC. There are 2 reference holes in a temporary spoil board. Two matching holes are cut into the form blank shifted 15” back. Once the first part of the profile is cut the holes are lined up and 3/8” dowels are driven into them.
Then the second part of the profile is cut.
Then the form is cut free from the blank.
There are 10 forms that are repetitions of this process. Well, there is one exception.
For some reason one of the forms is cut with the router bit on the inside of the profile. I’m pretty sure I missed a step when I set up the file. The form is now undersized by ½” (1/4” for each side). Luckily I stopped the cut and set the blank aside. The last form is quite a bit smaller and I was able to salvage the blank.
Now I have all 10 forms cut. I added reference lines to each form so I can verify alignment later on.
Next up is to get the forms mounted on a rigid flat panel (strong back). The total hours are now up to about 49.
That is a great tip for a fool proof method of using tiling to cut oversized pieces. I've only done it once and then only to see how it worked. I am going to file this one away for future reference.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
Thanks Nathan, I found out about this during a YouTube research session.
The cuts were very accurate. I had an inch of overlap for the 2 tiles. I could hear the bit touch the edge of the previous cut but there was never a detectible mismatch between the 2 cuts.
You are cutting forms, and you are making paper / cardboard templates that match the VW panels & doors, so I'm guessing we are going to see steam bending soon to create panels that cover the car. Just my interpretation of the work documented to date, and this is a wild stab on my part, and I've been known to be wrong more often than not. We'll see.
