Hey, I'm looking to develop a quick "Wikihouse" system without the need of a CNC panel cutter...

[BJD Bowman]

Hey all... 

I'm new to the Wikihouse community.

As many of you are aware, most of us do not have the US$6,000 - $8,000 to shell out for a CNC table panel cutter... So with that in mind and looking at all the work that is already completed here in Wikihouse... 

I'm looking to move forward with a simplified version using symmetrical panels that can be cut on a table saw to finished width and then rabbited/dado joint (again on a table saw) to receive the "box" connections and then placed in a small 4' long (half part sized) jig/template and the "first half" is routed using a good heavy duty off the shelf router. The 8' long panel strip would then be reversed in the jig/template and the other half routed out just the same as the first half was.

My idea is to seek a simple and cheep way for "Joe home owner" to mass-produce their project without the need of a CNC machine. This is because the cost to pay someone to cut a panel project on a CNC machine (and if not locally sourced) and then ship the finished cut panel project to them would not be cost effective. Remember that both the cutter and the shipper are making profits from this scenario. There is not a CNC panel cutter service in the county where I live so I would have to source both service for my project.

I see that the Wikihouse project is to develop projects so that anyone can assemble without the need to know how to use tools, and I would agree, but I want to avoid the need of the CNC machine altogether. Any skilled workman can work a router, a table saw and a drill press, but not everyone has access to a CNC machine.

With this in mind, has anyone already gone down this rabbit trail?

I want to first create a standard "shed" that can be used as a spray booth or a storage unit or a stand alone CNC panel cutter plant where you can insert a panel into one end and the finished project would come out at the other end. This shed could be used in a production facility and added onto as the facility increase in production.

I would like to incorporate this basic concept so that these type of projects can be built with panels that can also be routed as a whole sheet with the CNC machine and then "shipped" or moved "onsite" with the last step being running or cutting the sheets (into predefined strips) through the table saw to segregate the panels from the sheet... just opposite from the "poor mans" system as described above. This would also cut down on the CNC cutting time and overall CNC lengths of cut, if this is how you are being charged by the CNC cutting vendor.

This new system concept would also avoid all the "wasted material" from the removal of the non longitudinal tabs that are prevalent within the existing Wikihouse concept. In place of these tabs along the edges of the parts I would use alternative "key locks" and/or dado joints.

This all sounds anti-Wikihouse, but the purpose of this concept is 1) to build complete projects only from standard panels, 2) design projects to be stronger than the conventional construction system by utilizing part interlocking and pre-cut keys, 3) be easy to assemble by a single person (with a limited number of standard parts), and easily reproduced by anyone with a table saw a router and a bit of simple woodworking knowledge.

My main issue with the Wikihouse concept is the mandatory need to have access to a CNC machine... I know this is 2016 and printing out your project is way cool but not everyone has access to these CNC monsters... but anyone can get a table saw and a router at the local big box store where they can also purchase their standard structural plywood panels. The great idea is that people can buy two or three routers and using templates and/or jigs (defined in the project kit), they can get their spouses and their neighbors to help out with the mass production of their parts. Now this is way cheaper than the hire of a CNC monster. One could even hire local labor for the day and with minimal training the simple task of routing out the standard parts in the easy to handle size parts would be a piece of cake.

I remember working at a construction site in the Bahamas where specialized equipment and people with specialized training to run them where non-existent but labor to run a table saw or a router was easy to find and everyone wanted to do the easy work.

So Wikihouse Community... let's hear from you and let's see if we can get some ideas flowing on this subject...

Thanks,

-B