Introduction: Removing Tabs, Sanding, and Finishing

About: Michael Koehle is the CNC shop assistant at Autodesk Pier 9. His background is in engineering and in art. He combines these to make work using drawing, painting, CNC, 3D printing, and laser cutting.

All that's left is cleaning up the DMS and a few manual steps.

Step 1: Clean Up and Power Down the DMS

Follow the steps on p. 15 of the Quickstart Guide to:

1) Stop the dust collector.

2) Remove the tools.

3) Clean the debris from inside and around the DMS.

4) Run the Goodnight program.

5) Shut down the router.

Don't forget your thumb drive!

Step 2: Remove Tabs

1) Bring your part into the wood shop, and place the miter on the vertical bandsaw.

2) Take a scrap piece of rectangular stock and place it in front of the miter, so that the front rectangular prism of the spoon is resting against it.

3) Clamp the scrap to the rectangular prism on the spoon.

4) With one hand on the scrap and miter and the other on the spoon, cut through the tab, leaving enough material behind to shape and sand by hand (see below). Repeat on the other side.

5) Clean up the tabs roughly with the spindle sander.

6) Use sandpaper and finish up by hand.

Step 3: Finish the Wooden Surface

To prepare the spoon for use, apply a food-safe finish to its surface. This could include mineral oil, shellac, or carnauba wax. Click here to read more about food-safe finishes for woodworking projects.

Congratulations! You have a functional serving spoon--but more than that, you have the foundation for a whole new skill set. As soon as you can, apply your new 3D CAM and machining skills to your own project on the DMS or another CNC Router. Be safe, take your time, and have fun!