I’m working on a commission that requires completion of one phase, delivering the product, then completing phase two a month or two from now. Oh, and the blank is a one-of-a-kind custom piece. Did I mention the blank is 2cm thick, so I can’t use the crumbtray? To say I’m nervous about this would be a vast understatement.
I decided to create a dedicated positioning jig for this project:
It’s registered to the inside corners of the flange/lip inside the front door, so it’s securely locked in place. Likewise, I crafted edge guide to hold the blank in place, too. The blank is elevated to the focus range by three pyramids based on my paint pyramid design shared recently.
I think I’m ready for the nerve-wracking part of the project engraving the decorations, then drilling 367+ peg holes (I’ll create an acrylic template with the customized tracks.). Gulp!
Best of luck! I generally liked positioning my jigs with the Snapmarks feature when it was available. But I occasionally had bizarre things happen where art would align, start engraving right on target, and then would skip or jump positions arbitrarily mid-run. Would never goof the same even on running the same engrave. So hard measured alignments is all that’s available now, but it beats having acrylic or pricey woods go to waste. Love a good game of cribbage!
I could probably count on one hand how many times I’ve used them for a real project. It was just a science experiment to get the calibration process working.
I still technically have them, but after going thru a lengthy (and unfruitful) process troubleshooting — which they otherwise did their level best to examine all the hardwar and software routes and make right — they told me not to use the feature any more. And while they were always a beta feature, but were one I would’ve loved had they worked out to be dependable. Either way, the OP is going the more dependable route to CAM with the ‘Forge.
