Written by Larry Allen
Life threw me a curveball recently when I got sick, making it impossible to work. Stuck at home and feeling restless, I needed something to occupy my time and bring in some income. That's when I remembered my dad's old woodworking tools.
Restoring the Past: A New Beginning
He passed away a while back, and his tools had been sitting unused for decades, gathering dust and rust. It wasn't even sawdust covering them — it was just plain dust, which felt almost disrespectful considering they were woodworking tools. They weren't even set up properly, just piled on a dolly.
I decided to tackle the challenge of cleaning and restoring them, even though my woodworking skills are pretty basic. It almost felt like a completed woodshop if I could get everything assembled, but parts were still missing, and I didn't realize what they were. It was like trying to piece together a puzzle where I had no idea what I was building, and it felt like half the pieces were missing.
The Switch to Genmitsu: Finding the Right CNC
After about four or five weeks of trying to piece everything together, my brother surprised me by bringing over a CNC machine he'd bought, wanting to get it running. It was like finding a big, clear puzzle piece that brought everything into focus. My brother wanted to surprise me with a carving, but it wasn't working correctly.
Even though it wasn't working, I could still see the amazing puzzle piece it could be. He ended up ruining his surprise and brought it over to me to get me to help him because he knew I was interested in fixing things like that, so when he brought over the orange machine, I was excited to see if we could get it running.
We realized it wasn't carving as deep as it needed to be. We returned it due to ongoing issues and poor communication. My brother was toying with the idea of not getting another machine, and I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me. I didn't know I could go without that puzzle piece.
So, after a couple of weeks without a machine, I bought my own Genmitsu 4040 Pro, and, amazingly, my brother ended up buying the same one. We didn't even know it until I told him I'd bought mine, and he said his was on the way too.
Overcoming Setup Challenges
We received them around the same time and found they both had the same depth issue. That's when I really dove into figuring things out, and my buddy came over to help with measurements. We realized exactly what was going on and found a reset code that cleared it up. That's when I was at ground zero.
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Mastering 3D Relief Carving
I started carving serving platters, trays, name plaques, and other common items, but they didn't feel like the kind of challenge I knew I could handle. So, I started looking for more complex projects and found some 3D reliefs. I wanted to combine a coffin and a skull relief, and since it was fall and Halloween was coming up, it felt like a good fit.
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But Easel, with my extremely limited knowledge, made it difficult. That was a crazy and even sometimes infuriating challenge, and it took many carves and broken bits, with some of the coffins literally exploding as they were being carved.
Victory: Winning the Contest
After that, I completed a coffin carving I really liked and entered it into a contest I didn't even know was happening. Two days before the contest ended, I got an email about it and thought, “That'd be fun!”
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Turns out, I won! I was so honored and grateful for the recognition. It really meant a lot to me after everything I'd been through.
