3d carving machine plans

I have recently found the following web site that offers plans to construct a high function , inexpensive, 3 dimensional carving platform that I believe could help one in quick reproductions of one's original carvings. I have just sent for the plans, $26.00. They look promising for those of us who are trying to lower cost of production. Thought readers would like to know: http://www.copycarver.com

Whoah! I'll be over to try that out!!!!

There's no soul in mass productions. :(

Dave, no need to be negative on someone's first post! Ha HA Even if it might be true!

On 2011-06-15 12:22, Lake Surfer wrote:
There's no soul in mass productions. :(

You speak right Dave.

However the concept of this "home made" machine is interesting.

Besides, the ceramics folks get to use molds...

Not entirely on-topic, but tangentially related, is is feasible to directly carve onto clay? If so, would it have to be semi-set, or would a green dried blank be carvable?

I've been keeping an eye on the hobby-level CNC stuff, and had the idea of being able to do a design on the computer and go directly to clay with it.
As a further refinement, I had been kicking around a way to do parametric designs that could generate many unique designs from a single template.

(Going even further blue-sky, I recall seeing something at one time about the Iranian architect Nader Khalili proposing a CNC system to poop out cement to automate building construction. That sounds like a fun project to build a small version that could squeeze out clay.)

A quick search of thingiverse didn't turn up any designers doing tiki-related stuff yet.

It seems like we already have room everything for mass-produced to hand-made mugs. This would fall somewhere in between. Although personally, a one-of-a-kind, hand-made by the artist would always be most desirable.

[added: mods please feel free to kick this to a separate thread if it's too much of a derail]
blog post about Jonathan Keep, who is using a reprap to extrude clay. Check out them crazy shapes he's making! There's also some mention of a virtual pottery wheel. Although, from looking at the photos in the blog, it doesn't look like reprap has the resolution to turn out finished work for tiki mugs.

[ Edited by: Philot 2011-06-16 08:35 ]

On 2011-06-16 02:41, MadDogMike wrote:
Besides, the ceramics folks get to use molds...

Mike, there are still guys like Tiki Tony that do some wonderful one offs of mugs, while producing a good size inventory.

Surfin Dave, just my opinion, but I enjoy each and every piece I make by hand. If I had to go into machine production, I'd quit. There wouldn't be any fun in it.

Carving is an art form, something that comes with years of practice and knowledge, and I'd hate to see it go the way of the machine the way everything else in this world has gone.

But to each his own...

It's kinda designed for the "hack engineer" with no artistic talent. :P