I thought I would post my latest project because I am thrilled with the reduction in time it takes me to produce these 'guys.' My dad has been making pig shaped cutting boards as gifts for friends and family for as long as I can remember. He has two paper templates (for a big pig and a little pig) and he traces the pig onto a board and cuts them out on a bandsaw then sands them. Several years ago I made a dozen of the little pigs for gifts and I "improved" the process by making a router template out of 1/4" thick ABS plastic. This let me quickly rough the shape on the bandsaw and then template route the pig to final shape followed by a quick spindle sanding around the edges. This was still very time consuming and at times stressful trying to not screw up a pig on the bandsaw or router (and believe me, a few of them didn't survive! LOL). This year, my wife wanted me to make 20 pigs for her employees and some friends. I decided to re-create the pig in a CAD file which also allowed me to add a curly tail with the Ally 'A' logo (my wife works for Ally Bank). Last night I was able use my CNC machine to knock out 10 pigs in an hour (not including milling the rough lumber and having to empty out my 55 gallon dust collection drum - nothing fills up the DC bin faster than planing lumber!). Here are a few pictures of the finished pigs. After I cut 10 more tonight, I will finish them with my homemade beeswax and mineral oil blend.
