It can be hard finding decent talent for CNC cutting. We would like to invite all builders who get their parts CNC cut locally to share the contact information and the quality of the overall experience. Price would also be of interest.
It can be hard finding decent talent for CNC cutting. We would like to invite all builders who get their parts CNC cut locally to share the contact information and the quality of the overall experience. Price would also be of interest.
For those in the Puget Sound area, I've had great experiences with Edensaw Woods. They stock marine plywood (although they are currently out of 4mm Okoume like everyone else) and seem to price their CNC jobs fairly. CNC work is done out of Port Townsend, but you can pick up in Tacoma.
In Port Townsend, Washington, there are two options - Turnpoint Design and Edensaw Woods. Brandon, the owner of Turnpoint is really knowledgeable and does the cutting for the RowCruiser kits (which are sold through Duckworks, also in PT). From what I've hears, Edensaw is good too. So for PT peeps there are choices.
Here in Victoria, BC there are a couple of options. There is Maximum Prototyping and Westwind Hardwoods. Maximum Protoyping is the company that cuts all our kits, and Jordan, the owner, is a whizz. I would highly recommend them, though they can be busy at times. Westwind also sells okoume plywood, so it could work well as a one-stop shop.
Hey Guys! I live in the Toronto area, and I've used Noah's a couple of times for my CNC cutting. Prices aren't bad, and they know what they are doing. They have a 5'x10' table, so can fit big pieces of wood on it. More info can be found here: http://www.noahsmarine.com/100-cnc_custom-cnc-cutting-service.html
Here in the UK I had my boat parts cut at Fyne boat kits. They are based out of Cumbria, so a bit of a trek for those of us in the south. They do great work, though, and really understand kit boats. Their contact info is
I found Wilson Custom cabinetry in Billings Montana and they did an excellent job of cutting my Amas for the sail conversion row cruiser. They have a beautiful CNC machine that cuts from full sheets and were able to use the cut program supplied with the plans. It cost around 200 US, (3 years ago) which was well worth the time and effort, and the Amas went together perfectly after some gentle persuasion. I found the main hull was easier to form than the tighter curves on the amas, but I got them together eventually. Building the amas is like building 2 additional boats.
I sourced the Okume from Chesapeake Light craft back east.
I am building the expidtion rowboat i Norway. I could not find the plywood around here so i ordered finished cnc cut plywood from Fyne Boat Kits in England. It took 2 weeks from when i send the cnc file to when i received the package. Total cost of cnc cutted plywood was around 950 pound and just below 300 pounds for the freight. + import taxes.
@Colin Angus
I'm delighted to share my experience with Want.net CNC Machine Service for a local CNC cutting job. Their pricing was fair and the quality of their work was outstanding. Their customer service was attentive and professional, and they proved to be extremely helpful throughout the entire process. I was very happy with how my project turned out in the end, which was even better than I had hoped. They really went the extra mile to ensure that I got the results I wanted. Highly Recommended Site for CNC Machine Service, If you're looking for a reliable, professional, and affordable CNC cutting service.
@Colin Angus Hello , I would be interested in knowing how to evaluate the potential of finding a CNC shop that can handle this kind of work. What are the specs, requirements I'd be asking them about. Size of table? type of CNC machinery, how is pricing generally calculated, etc?
Thanks
Steve
Hello Steven,
When looking for a CNC service here I asked these questions;
[1] - Do you do one-off jobs?
[2] - Do you have a 8-foot by 4-foot bed?
[3] - Is your machine compatible with DXF files (one service provider here wanted the plans in PDF, he was confident he could scan the images into his system - I got him the PDFs, didnt work)
NOTE: the diameter of the cutting tool is important. One service provider here asked me for a sample of plywood. He planned to cut out the two sides of a finger joint to ensure all was set up correctly. This is a prudent request for you to ask of any potential service provider.
Quoted costs of cutting per 8x4 sheet where in the region of €100 including taxes.
All the above applies to Ireland.
Hope this helps,
Tony
Again, here in the UK, an option in the south is the shop I used for my Oxford Wherry build.
Rob was interested in the project, cost came to a very reasonable £394 (Jan '23) for material (2x sheets 4mm & 1x 6mm good quality Okoume) and machining.
Rob did some samples to get the finger joints spot on.
It also happened to be within a few miles of where I live, saving any delivery costs.
For those in New England, Tree House Hardwords & Millshop in Vermont were awesome to work with.
It also felt pretty nice to drive from the ocean up into the mountains to pick up the cut parts.
https://www.treehousehardwoods.com/
@Jay hi Jay. I live on Lake Tapps. Would really love to be able to see a finished boat if you have one and your experiences building it if you have time since we're in the same area.
-Scott
I have not purchased yet so can't comment on the quality - but here in the UK Fyne Boat Kits located in Cumbria have quoted me the following for a sailing row cruiser (6/11/20024):
Full kit £3462.43, excludes mast sockets, mast / spars, paint and varnish, oars:
Plywood only £1126, cut out and marked up ready to glue together and start building, mainhull and floats
They also do courses for boat building where you can work on the boat you've ordered.
One week (5 days) course is £710.
10 day course is £1215.
Extra workshop time if needed is £75 per day or £345 per week.
I think they're a well established firm and I'm told they have built at one sailing row cruiser last year and have just been been commisioned to build another. Colin has had direct dealings with them in the past so he may be able to comment as to the quality of what is on offer. I intend to order a Plywood kit from them (maybe more?) once I have some logistics sorted, so I'll update this thread when I know more.
