Physical Kit Expectations

Now that CNCKing.com has re-entered the physical kit business in a BIG way, it’s time to lay out expectations of CNC laser cut (for now) models available on the site. These are NOT mass-produced plastic toys coming out of massive injection molding factories in China but individually cut to order physical kits where YOU assemble, YOU sand (where needed) and YOU glue together.

Burn Marks

There will be burn marks on the surface of these models, although we take the time and added expense of masking them (they are shipped this way, the masking is quickly removed along with the burned surface markings. We still ship it looking like the above… sure it isn’t pretty but it protects the pieces during the cutting and shipping process. REMEMBER TO REMOVE IT before building your model and especially painting!

Sometimes, smoke does get between the masking paper and the surface, this can be easily sanded off or just painted over.

Gluing and Sanding

You can expect, especially for larger models like our Wooden Big Wheels, to do quite a bit of sanding to get some parts to go together properly. This ISN’T a design flaw, it’s what happens when you glue many parts together with glue, it will seep through the layers and needs to be sanded to put other parts or interlock into it.

For instance, the back wheels do spin in this model but I had to sand both the axle and the inner wheel portion using a rasp (quicker than sanding!) because the parts shifted slightly during the glueing process. Humidity in your shop or house also affects parts and how they intersect. CNCKing.com does account for some of this by “over cutting” parts slightly so that the fit isn’t too tight but at the same time, not too lose so that things can move slightly during the gluing process.

By the way, if parts don’t fit perfectly together due to variances in your assembly process, it’s up to you to make them fit. This isn’t a design flaw, if I show you a video of me assembling the model then rest assured, you can as well but sometimes a little elbow grease is required and some forethought before jumping in.

CNC router full-scale version of the Wooden Big Wheels

Assembly Process

Be sure to have plenty of clamps, there is no such thing as having too many! I’ve found assembling things in stages to be more efficient than trying to do everything in one shot, watch the videos of the above model and you’ll see how I went about doing this with both the CNC laser and router version of this Wooden Big Wheels. Note that the CNC router version is double the scale of the CNC laser kit.

Things will take time so have patience, if you break any parts during this process, let us know and we’ll cut a few extras for you and ship them to you ASAP (there may be additional costs).

Chocking Hazard

None of the physical models available on CNCKing.com are for children to assemble on their own, there are small parts and it’s your responsibility to make sure they don’t start making a meal of them. These parts are a choking hazard and by purchasing our models, you acknowledge that we are not liable for anything that arises if you do not follow our advice and keep the models both in kit form and assembled away from children.

Painting

I’ll be the first to admit that MDF isn’t the most high quality material you can get, you can of course contact us with your material preferences. What is good about MDF is that it’s easily painted though! I’d strongly suggest you paint the model AFTER it has been assembled and not before as it adds to the model thickness which may cause issues with assembly. What use to be 3 mm raw will become maybe 3.2 or 2.4 mm after painting it on both sides and that’s just enough to cause you PROBLEMS best avoided by painting after everything is glued and dried thoroughly.

RAW fully dried Miyajima Gate Kit

Primed Assembled Miyajima Gate Kit

Enamel Painted Miyajima Gate Kit

As for paint type, I prefer using enamel, it protects the model from moisture and really makes it pop! As for primer, I can’t say I notice much of a difference but if you have a can of it lying around, give the model a quick spray beforehand as it helps for adhesion especially over glue that seeps out between layers.

HAVE FUN!

The most important thing to keep in mind is that these kits are made available so you enjoy building them, I’ve designed my models on CNCKing.com to be as intuitive as possible as I also build these things! I hate it when a designer gives you a bunch of sticks that all look the same but are a few mm off. If you have problems assembling the models, there are “live” videos showing the entire process to review and 3D animations too! The assembly instructions that do not come with the physical kit but ordered separately aren’t necessary most of the time but if you get stuck, a good idea to have hand.

DO NOT JUMP TO A COMPLICATED MODEL ON YOUR FIRST TRY! These models may seem easy to build, and many actually are, but don’t even bother trying to build the Wooden Big Wheels if you’ve never worked with wood, glue, clamps and the like. Start-off with the simple stuff and build your way up.

The best piece of advice I can give you after designing and assembling hundreds of these models myself across an array of CNC equipment is this. If you get frustrated, walk away, cool down and hit the ground running the next day. When you start to get frustrated, things tend to break and it goes downhill from there. Remember, CNCKing.com sells you FUN kits, not frustration kits. Take your time, enjoy the process and buy again!