I just received my plates!!! I'm disappearing right now in my basement!

 

You say the sweetest things...

 

Woohoo!!!

 

Absolutely! I'll be sure to post after I finish my happy dance.

Thanks again!

 

My box of goodies came today, so, as promised, now that the happy dance is over I'm posting some pics!

For starters, you couldn't ask for any more professional packing than this. Every piece was individually wrapped and taped. The packing alone must have taken an hour! I thought that the use of OpenBuilds baggies was a pretty nice touch too.





They look even better unwrapped!





I'm building a black railed OX with aluminum accents, so I couldn't resist adding a touch of black accent to the plates. Ultimately I'll do the same thing to the OpenBuilds logo and OX name on all of the plates to make them pop. This was just the first quick pass and you can see a few brush strokes, but I'll clean them up and smooth the paint.



I can't say enough good things about the quality of Robert's work, his helpful nature, or willingness to go the extra mile. He must have spent all his free time for a week making parts for a complete stranger, and every time I suggested another part that I'd like to have, he was off making it.

This was the first "master" kit he'd made that contained all of the machined parts (since I wanted to copy his design in several ways, but with a few tweaks). I don't think he knew what he was getting into when I first made the request! It's an awesome kit, so if he decides to make more you can thank me for paving the way. If he says "never again", then you can curse me for ruining him.

A big thanks to you Robert for helping me build my vision of the OX!

 

Yeah, I couldn't believe how quickly it came.

You've piqued my curiosity as to what the new kit is. Maybe a kit for fricken' laser beams! (you have to read that in a Dr. Evil voice)

I'm as eager as you to start assembling. As soon as the rail becomes available I'll be off to work!

 

@robert...I'll send u a PM for pricing and shipping for the Ox plates. I'm in Calgary area, so at least it will be a domestic shipping
But now that I see u are creating a new build, I might wait to see what that will look like before committing to an order Any hints for us on what your build will look like?Cheers,
Stew

EDIT...where is the PM link link this forum?

 

@Robert Hummel, I sent a private convo regarding your set of plates with the cosmetic issues.

 

I'll send you a PM

 

@skrider I hope you will post photos and/or video of your build process!

I just finished assembling my shapeoko 2 kit. Bought it before I had been exposed to the OX. At any rate, I'm going to pass the shapeoko2 off to my boys and do a real build. The shapeoko2 was a snap to build, and I feel like if I had some good bones from @Robert Hummel I could actually do it. How to a send a PM and get some in the works?

 

@Anthony Webb , Log in to your account and start a new conversation but only include Robert Hummel in the participants.

 

I'm terrible about not taking assembly pics, but I'll try to make myself do it!

I was nearly in the same position. I'd decided to buy a Shapeoko 2 as well, and was just about to place the order when I saw a mention of Openrail in their forum. That led me here to investigate what is was, and when I saw the OX build I was hooked!

 

Yep. Things are in a holding pattern until my V-Slot ships, but then it's game on!

 

I've been keeping myself busy while waiting on the rail. I can't start assembling parts yet, so I've been painting!

 

I like the paint job - looking good

Tweakie.

 

Sorry Robert, but you know what they say about a better mousetrap...

I actually went through a couple of different paints. I started with some stuff from a craft store, but it left a sort of rubbery finish that showed brush strokes. I ended up stripping that off and repainted using "Model Master" enamel that came from my local hobby shop. I imagine you'd get the same results with Testors model paint too, this just happened to be the brand they carried. I added just a touch of thinner to it so that it would flow nicely and settle into a smooth glass-like finish. Hopefully the aluminum is porous enough that it will stick well and I won't have any flaking issues. So far it seems to be holding up well, but then all the plates have done is lay on the workbench...