CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Plasma Cutters can be used to make some amazing products & projects. Upload some pictures of projects you've completed using your plasma cutter.
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Tmate
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CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by Tmate »

I cut the following bikes from 11 gauge (1/8") steel. I put as much detail into the 19" long figures as I thought possible, keeping at least .150" between interior parts and lines.

BSA Gold Star, Vincent Black Shadow, Matchless 500 single, Ariel Square four, Triumph Bonneville TT Special, Norton Commando, Indian Chief (USA), and early Triumph Thunderbird. So far, I have applied some paint to three.
All Bikes 95 pct.jpg
Vincent Black Shadow 19 in x 10 in.jpg
Painted Thunderbird.jpg
black motor.JPG
ariel painted.JPG
2x2 CNC Plasma.jpg
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by Larry83301 »

Very nice job! Thanks for the pic.


Larry
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by adbuch »

Great work on the motorcycles! I assume your table is diy, but it sort of reminds me of the original Langmuir Crossfire. I happen to own several Norton Commandos and several of the Triumphs as well. If you don't mind sharing, perhaps you could upload your dxf files for those two bikes. I would love to cut one of each for display here in the shop.
Thanks,
David
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by greggomc »

Awesome. Great job. Very impressive.
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by adbuch »

I just ran across your post on the other forum. I think there may be a limited market for these as far as selling the finished product goes. Even and $100 per piece (finished, painted, and mounted). You can take a look on Etsy and search for similar sized items for comparison. For me personally making and selling these would not be the most efficient use of my time. In fact, for me this is just an interesting hobby. I think it just boils down to what your time is worth. There may be some interest from folks wanting to purchase the dxf files, but another thing to consider is that it is fairly easy to simply screen shot your photo and auto-trace/dxf from the image. So maybe better just to keep it a fun hobby.

Good luck with your endeavor.
David



https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/thr ... es.491054/
garage journal british bike dxf files.jpg
Last edited by adbuch on Wed Jan 26, 2022 11:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by adbuch »

Here are some similar results for vintage motorcycle dxf files. These sell for about $1.00 per file, and the collection of 24 is $24.99. But I must say that I have seem some of these exact files being offered by other sellers in their collections. Unless these are individually copyrighted, then I suppose they are fair game.

David

https://www.etsy.com/listing/894538492/ ... ro=1&sts=1
Vintage Motorcycle dxf file collection on Etsy.jpg
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by adbuch »

I actually own both the T120 (Bonneville) and TR6R (Trophy) versions of the bike shown below. T120 is the UK version, and T120R is the US version. Mine is an original UK bike exported privately at some point by one of the owners.
David
1968 Triumph T120R Bonneville 650.jpg
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by Tmate »

I was in the business of manufacturing CNC plasma tables (Torchmate) for many years. Since I sold the company 10 years ago, I have continued to play around with the process for fun. I don't want to, or need to sell the above shapes, although it has been interesting to see the reactions and opinions of people who have seen them on various forums.
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by acourtjester »

Nice selection of bikes I assume those are on display in your home office. thanks for posting. :Like :Like
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by Tmate »

Running out of places to put them - won't stop though! Of course there are others:
Christmas Carol figures.JPG
four trees.jpg
Haunted Castle 2.jpg
Horseman & Ichabad.JPG
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by acourtjester »

great to see the joy in your work, I'm sure there is a smile on your face as you add to the collection. :Like :Like :Yay
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by adbuch »

Lots of great work there! What design software are you using? Are these mostly original designs, or based on existing photographs or other imagery?
David
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by Tmate »

I do it all up to and including creating dxf files in CorelDraw, which I have used for many years. I trace over photographs for bikes and other objects I want to be somewhat realistic. This isn't too tough once you become familiar with node editing. Automatic tracing requires too much cleanup unless the background is white, and then only for the basic outline.

Many, if not most of the dxf files available on-line are unworkable in the real world. They can contain cutouts within cutouts, lines that are too close together, and internal shapes that crowd each other. Some are too complex unless they shape is gargantuan. Clipart and other art work found on line at least gives you an idea of what you want.
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by adbuch »

I really haven't purchased any dxf files online, but have created many using the auto-trace/edit approach. You are correct that some images are not well suited to auto-trace, while others can be edited first with Paint.net or similar to convert to black/white and adjust brightness/contrast. I personally generally use Inkscape for my auto-traces as I find that usually produces the best/cleanest result. But I do use CorelDraw, Design Edge, Aspire, LightBurn, VinylMaster, ProtoMax, and several others as the need arises. For manual trace I like Design Edge and Coreldraw, as I find them to be the most powerful and easiest to use for my purposes.
David
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by Scratch »

Tmate wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 11:51 am Running out of places to put them - won't stop though! Of course there are others:

Christmas Carol figures.JPG four trees.jpg Haunted Castle 2.jpg Horseman & Ichabad.JPG
Must have had a tip up or something on that Horseman piece, it looks like the head got cut off. I hate when that happens!
:)
I think I'm the oldest 10 year old boy on the forum...
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by acourtjester »

Ah yes to young to remember Disney’s THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW :HaHa :HaHa
head 2.JPG
head 2.JPG (72.39 KiB) Viewed 2292 times
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by adbuch »

Tmate wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 12:24 am I was in the business of manufacturing CNC plasma tables (Torchmate) for many years. Since I sold the company 10 years ago, I have continued to play around with the process for fun. I don't want to, or need to sell the above shapes, although it has been interesting to see the reactions and opinions of people who have seen them on various forums.
Tmate - are you willing to share your file for the Norton? If so, then it will be much appreciated.
Thanks,
David
Norton from paint.net.jpg
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by Tmate »

Added color to the Matchless 500.
Matchless single 500cc.jpg
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by adbuch »

Nice job Bill! Thanks for posting the updated photo of the Matchless. What type of paint are you using, and how are you applying it?
Thanks,
David
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by Tmate »

I'm using a Ace Hardware spray paint and a lot of painter's tape. If necessary, I touch up spots with a small brush. The spray paint dries in minutes, so I don't have to wait very long to apply tape over it and move on to the next section. I'm very much a beginner at painting this stuff.
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by adbuch »

Tmate wrote: Sat Jan 29, 2022 12:02 am I'm using a Ace Hardware spray paint and a lot of painter's tape. If necessary, I touch up spots with a small brush. The spray paint dries in minutes, so I don't have to wait very long to apply tape over it and move on to the next section. I'm very much a beginner at painting this stuff.
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by adbuch »

Bill - I use Rustoleum spray cans pretty much exclusively for my cnc plasma projects. These are usually gifts for family members for Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. - mainly "yard art" type stuff. They seem to like them.
David
20191224_024916_resized_1.jpg
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20210805_232235_resized.jpg
20210805_232521_resized.jpg
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by adbuch »

Bill - what would be handy would be if you still had your laser cutter and you cut the individual masking templates from thin cardboard and simply placed them over the parts that you have already painted. Or if you have a Cricut you could cut masking templates from removable vinyl, paper, etc. It might be more work than just using the masking tape/paper - but could be some fun to try.
David
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by acourtjester »

Or you could have one of these :HaHa
and use oramask 813 stencil film


https://www.ebay.com/itm/174581141812?h ... SwKcxf8SCF
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Re: CNC Plasma Cut Vintage Motorcycles

Post by Tmate »

acourtjester wrote: Sat Jan 29, 2022 9:55 am Or you could have one of these :HaHa
and use oramask 813 stencil film
Very cool idea. Since I am only doing one-off stuff, I don't want to put as much work into designing a painting mask as I did into coming up with the basic design. Unfortunately, I doubt that the same dxf/G-code files could be used for both due to the kerf width discrepancy.
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