CNC Router Essentials: Basics for Mastering the Most Innovative Tool in Your Workshop

CNC Router Essentials will have woodworkers operating their CNC machines with skill and confidence.

CNC machines are now easier to use, less expensive to purchase, and will greatly increase woodworking productivity in the shop. So, if you&;re looking to buy one &; or you already have but wish the user manual actually made sense -- then CNC Essentials is for you. Veteran woodworkers Randy Johnson, CNC teacher and previous Editor in Chief of American Woodworker, and George Vondriska of Fine Woodworking, WOOD, and the WoodWorkers Guild of America walk you effortlessly through each step in learning to use this game-changing woodworking machine. Project design essentials, toolpath basics, machine setup, bit selection, and more are all explained in an approachable and easy-to-understand format that will have any woodworker  maximizing the full capacity of their CNC machine. Helpful practice projects in 2-D and 3-D will ensure that you&;ve grasped the basics of this versatile tool, while a gallery will inspire you to create your own imaginative designs.

George Vondriska has been teaching woodworking since 1986 and you may know George from his work as the Tools and New Products Editor for American Woodworker, his articles in Fine Woodworking, WOOD, and Woodworkers Journal, or from his current position as Managing Editor of WoodWorkers Guild of America. In addition to running his own woodworking school, George has taught woodworking courses for woodworking shows, woodworking schools, retail stores, the U.S. Peace Corps, the Pentagon, Northwest Airlines, and Andersen Window. George is the primary instructor for Vondriska Woodworks woodworking classes. If you're looking for woodworking classes in Minneapolis and the surrounding area, please visit Vondriska Woodworks. George can also be found at www.vondriskawoodworks.com

Randy Johnson started woodworking in his dad's shop, along with metalworking, machine tinkering and all those things kids did before computers. His mother, a lifelong teacher, gave him a deep appreciation for learning and the arts.  Those experiences put Randy on a lifelong journey that has crisscrossed between the practical and the creative. Along the way, he has managed large and small shops, served as Editor-in-Chief at American Woodworker magazine and even taught woodworking in the U.S. Virgin Islands. For the past several years he's been exploring CNC router technology and ways to apply it to his woodworking. Randy currently lives with his wife in Minnesota, where he enjoys catamaran sailing in the summer, cross-country skiing in the winter and woodworking all year around.